Opinion

• Healthcare’s Risk to the Economy Is Now Too Big to Ignore
  Consumer confidence is collapsing, hiring is weak and the housing market is largely frozen. All of which serves to underscore that the US economy is only holding up because of the boom in artificial intelligence and an aging population spending ever more on healthcare. Although the former seems to garner all the attention these days, the latter is becoming a rising source of vulnerability. The risk is that unsustainable federal budget deficits will force a reckoning, with the government throttli
• Starbucks Should Avoid a Grande-Sized Gamble on Chipotle
  Starbucks Corp. has reportedly explored a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. in what would be the biggest restaurant deal of all time. It’s unclear whether Starbucks is still pursuing a tie-up, or if it has dropped the idea. It should do the latter and avoid creating a slop bowl with a side of cold brew.
• The AI Giants Are Facing a Severe Case of Financial Indigestion
  Amid heated discussion of the astonishing (and also rather worrying) capabilities of artificial intelligence, investors are realizing that the underlying computing and energy infrastructure relied upon by OpenAI, Anthropic PBC and their ilk is much harder to construct than a chatbot prompt.
• Kansas Deserves More of Democrats’ Midterm Money. Yes, Kansas
  Yes, Democrats have a shot in Kansas.
• Iger and Chapek’s Feud Is Embarrassing Disney — and Them
  Bob Chapek and Bob Iger may no longer run Walt Disney Co., but lately the two former CEOs have been doing the company a favor.
• Trump’s Trouble Is the Message and the Messenger
  Complaining about subpar public relations is the last refuge of the political loser. It’s a bipartisan affliction that surfaces in every American election, including this year’s midterm campaign. President Donald Trump is patient zero this time.
• AI’s Risks Are No Reason for Panic
  “Nobody knows anything,” the screenwriter William Goldman famously said of the movie business. Much the same can be said today for artificial intelligence, a technology that’s moving fast, destination unknown. Unlike movies, though, the bots may one day rise up and exterminate humanity, according to some in the industry. It’s fair to say that people are worried.
• Boots’ Pessina, the Ultimate Dealmaker, Still Has the Touch
  Stefano Pessina, the Italian entrepreneur behind British drugstore chain Boots, is the consummate dealmaker. He hasn’t lost his touch.
• Drahi Gets Locked Into $22 Billion Game of Chicken
  Telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi has nudged creditors at his US cable empire into a corner and they’re pushing back with a jumbo 165-page lawsuit. It’s a desperate fight over a melting ice cube. But the tale should be required reading for credit investors given how neatly it illustrates the risks of lending to a smart controlling shareholder.
• China Can Give Europe a Break on EVs
  With Europe and China on the brink of a trade war, Beijing has a stark choice: offer a concession to defuse tension or fan the flames. It should opt for the former, and phasing out an incentive that rewards its carmakers for selling more vehicles overseas is a good place to start.
• Deshaun Watson’s ‘Comeback’ Exposes the NFL’s Flaws
  Deshaun Watson matters again. After a few years of lousy play, injuries and irrelevance on the Cleveland Browns, he’s led the team to three straight victories and first place in their division.
• Trump’s Steel Policy Is Working. That’s the Problem
  With great fanfare, President Donald Trump announced last week that “the largest steel plant ever built in the United States” would be coming to Lee County, Iowa, adding that Mesabi Metallics’ $15 billion investment in a pivotal midterm swing state proved his “powerful 50% tariffs” were working.  He’s right: The announcement is a tangible result of American steel policy — but, contrary to what the president said, that’s not a good thing.
• British Anti-Semitism Has Made a Distressing Return
  This week should have been a triumph for the UK’s Green Party. Instead, it finds itself a pariah; riven internally, isolated politically and condemned globally, thanks to a toxic embrace of hardline anti-Zionism. Its stance has brought shame to one of the world’s oldest environmental parties, a once admirable movement dedicated to confronting the climate disaster long before it was fashionable.
• Latino Voters Are the New Swing Voters
  Almost as soon as next month’s elections are over, arguments will begin about the lessons and implications for 2028. But one conclusion is already undeniable: Latinos are America’s new swing voters.
• AI Is Eating Software and Investors Have Noticed
  The economist Robert Solow’s famous 1987 adage about the computer age — it can be seen everywhere except the productivity statistics — also applies to generative artificial intelligence.
• Florida’s Dengue Fever Outbreak Is a National Warning
  For a state whose government officially doesn’t believe climate change is real, Florida remains our nation’s busiest climate-change laboratory.
• Elon Musk’s $40 Billion Cash Grab Tests the AI Debt Boom
  Elon Musk has been a mixed blessing for Wall Street. His mega-financing deals have generated lucrative investment-banking fees while reshaping global market dynamics.