The upcoming US presidential election is poised to be a historic one, with its outcome closely tied to economic performance. Recent events, including the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring inflation, and the US-China tech rivalry, have created a turbulent global landscape. Voters are primarily concerned with economic issues, employment, healthcare, and immigration.

The gig economy is rapidly growing, raising critical questions for policymakers about balancing workers’ rights, business interests, and technological advancement. By 2027, gig workers are expected to make up 51% of the US workforce. Hong Kong faces similar challenges, necessitating improvements in its traditional labour protection system.

Since ChatGPT was introduced, large language models (LLMs) have quickly become a focus in the global tech competition. LLMs are being applied in various fields, presenting ample opportunities for AI development. The U.S. currently leads in technology development and innovation, with its models excelling at the technological forefront. In contrast, Chinese models focus on optimizing for local languages and practical applications. Striking a balance of competition and cooperation between the two countries will be crucial in the coming years.

Over the past 5 years, the US government’s fiscal deficit has persistently exceeded $1 trillion, positioning the country among global leaders in debt levels. Economists and international institutions are concerned that the government’s fiscal deficit has consistently exceeded 3% of GDP. Currently, US public debt stands close to 100% of GDP, projected to rise to 116% by 2034, posing a significant burden on the country’s long-term economic development.

Household spending is a key factor in personal and family financial planning, as well as policymaking to improve people’s livelihoods. While the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a mainstream indicator, it often fails to accurately reflect the daily living costs of the public. CPI has limitations, such as over-emphasising non-essential goods and services (e.g. Rental expenses and furniture), and people’s subjective inflation perceptions tend to be higher than the actual data.

The authors have found that pressuring businesses to implement a completely fair pricing system may actually backfire and lead to tacit collusion where consumers will ultimately suffer. In today’s wave of big data, companies are building more complex advanced algorithms to categorise consumers and set different price points. The goal is to help businesses identify […]

While Africa is gaining a voice globally, with the African Union joining the G20, its economic progress lags behind. Africa’s per capita income declined from 30% of the global average in 1990 to only 21% in 2023, with low participation in international trade beyond exporting raw materials.

The World Economic Forum has identified misinformation and disinformation as the most significant short-term risks faced by the global community. Another research report suggests that the financial impact of fake news results in a $39 billion loss in the stock market annually.