Credentials and Certificates

Professional credentials and certifications are booming, but 'many of them are crap'
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/professional-credentials-and-certifications-are-booming-but-many-of-them-are-crap-170138114.html/
 
The credential boom is here, but which ones actually help workers?
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/credential-boom-which-ones-help-workers/ 

Dangote's Mission

This Billionaire Traded Glam for a Mission to Industrialize Nigeria
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/world/africa/nigeria-dangote-refinery.html
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has an ambitious vision for the continent’s most populous nation, but hurdles stand in his way. 

Retirement Savings

4 Ways to Enjoy Your Savings in Retirement Without Going Broke
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/business/retirement-savings-spending-finances.html
Once paychecks stop, it can be frightening to shift out of the savings habit. But there are strategies to enjoy your nest egg and make it last.  

Why more retirees are moving abroad — and where they're settling
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-more-retirees-are-moving-abroad--and-where-theyre-settling-143031133.html/

Regime Change and Power Vacuums

The Perils of a Power Vacuum in Iran
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/power-vacuum-in-iran-heightens-nuclear-threat-by-stephen-holmes-2026-03
The US sees regimes it can strike and concludes that striking them resolves the dangers they pose. But eliminating a visible adversary does not neutralize the underlying threat; it merely transforms that threat into something elusive, decentralized, unaccountable, and impossible to negotiate with or monitor. 

Rise of the Middle Powers

Canada’s Leader Heads to Asia and Australia to Build ‘Middle Power’ Bonds
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/world/canada/carney-asia-australia-visit.html
Mark Carney is visiting India, Australia and Japan, seeking deals to strengthen his country’s ties to Indo-Pacific powers and break Canada’s dependence on the U.S. 

India is signing trade deals with other middle powers. Canada cannot get lost in the shuffle
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-india-trade-deal-middle-powers-eu/

India and Israel pledge to boost ties in defence and technology
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly14vppym2o
Related:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-25/modi-seeks-to-deepen-india-israel-bond-with-defense-trade-deals

India’s Middle-Power Dilemma

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/india-will-struggle-to-join-middle-powers-alliance-due-to-foreign-policy-mindset-by-ajay-shah-2026-02
Many hope that India will participate in a coalition of middle powers to uphold a rule-based international order. But it will take time for the country’s foreign-policy establishment to move away from “strategic autonomy” as a guiding principle, and recent US behavior has confirmed skeptics’ arguments that the West is unreliable. 

India’s Middle-Power Strategy Won It a Reprieve from Trump’s Sky-High Tariffs
https://www.wsj.com/world/india/indias-middle-power-strategy-won-it-a-reprieve-from-trumps-sky-high-tariffs-31c23668
New Delhi powered ahead with trade deals that strengthened its hand in negotiations with the U.S.

The Predatory Hegemon
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/predatory-hegemon-walt

Squeezed by U.S. and China, the World’s Middle Powers Are Teaming Up
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/squeezed-by-u-s-and-china-the-worlds-middle-powers-are-teaming-up-77603dee
Nations are increasingly seeking to bypass the bigger players on trade, supply chains and security.

Active versus Passive Investing

Fewer active managers beat index funds last year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/active-managers-vs-index-funds.html

Better Conditions Did Not Yield Better Results for Active Managers in 2025
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/better-conditions-did-not-yield-better-results-active-managers-2025

Your Investing Strategy Is Great, So Long as You Don’t Actually Trade Anything
https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/your-investing-strategy-is-great-so-long-as-you-dont-actually-trade-anything-3a3d2b09
A look at a popular ETF shows why real-world returns don’t always live up to expectations. 

The hidden cost of the passive investing boom
https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/why-government-should-fear-the-decline-of-active-fund-managers-20260219-p5o3nt

Why Hands-Off Investing Pays Off
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/business/investing-fund-returns-interfere.html
Put money into low-cost stock and bond funds, but don’t forget the rest of the recipe: Leave your investments alone. 

The AI Job Apocalypse Debate

The Week the Dreaded AI Jobs Wipeout Got Real
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-week-the-dreaded-ai-jobs-wipeout-got-real-3ba5057b
After Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced his fintech firm was laying off 4,000 people, concerns rose that other companies would follow suit.

AI fears give tech CEOs convenient cover for cuts
https://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/ai-fears-give-tech-ceos-convenient-cover-cuts-2026-02-27/
Payments firm Block is firing nearly 50% of workers, saying automation lets it do more with less. It grew bloated during the pandemic and overpaid for questionable deals. A $6 bln stock jump illustrates the handiness of using disruption, real or imagined, to rebrand a clean-up.
 
Tech Has Never Caused a Job Apocalypse. Don’t Bet on It Now.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/tech-has-never-caused-a-job-apocalypse-dont-bet-on-it-now-d192b579
Neither theory, history nor the latest data suggests a recession driven by AI job dislocation is likely.

BMW to use humanoid robots on production line
https://www.ft.com/content/2f7b77d0-e4d7-4bb2-b106-7e7199e6c312
Group joins Tesla and other carmakers as industry turns to AI-powered robots to cut labour and manufacturing costs.
 
India Built the World’s Back Office. A.I. Is Starting to Shrink It.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/technology/india-technology-jobs-ai.html

AI Gave Investors a Glimpse of the Future This Month. And They Sold Their Stocks
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/ai-gave-investors-a-glimpse-of-the-future-this-month-and-they-sold-their-stocks-2a9d2f0f
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite fell in February, dragged down by firms whose businesses might be disrupted.

My take from Feb 2025:
Is the Trump administration fighting the wrong economic battle? 
https://thehill.com/opinion/5151848-generative-ai-economic-concerns/
Looking ahead, the rise of generative artificial intelligence poses a much bigger challenge for policymakers. Generative AI appears to truly upend prior assumptions regarding the stability of high-skill positions as it can easily and rapidly perform many cognitive and non-routine tasks. Suddenly, white-collar jobs appear vulnerable. Entry-level positions in information technology, law, finance, accounting, marketing and other professional services are already experiencing cutbacks.