ECONOMICS

May 20 2026CRYPTO

Staking 101: How PoS Keeps Crypto Safe and Yields Money

Proof of stake is all about putting money on the line to help a blockchain stay running. A person puts tokens into a special contract and, if enough of them are locked, they get to run a validator node. On Ethereum that means staking 32 ETH by yourself; other chains may let you join a pool or delega

reading time less than a minute
May 20 2026BUSINESS

Power Plants Face a Costly Gamble: Gas or the Future?

Energy companies are investing heavily in natural gas power plants, betting they’ll stay profitable for decades. But here’s the catch—renewable energy is getting cheaper by the year, and soon, running a new gas plant might cost more than powering it. Gas plants once looked like a smart upgrade from

reading time less than a minute
May 20 2026BUSINESS

How New Trade Rules Changed the Game for Businesses Everywhere

Back in 2025, something big happened in how countries handle imports and exports. Instead of just raising prices on foreign goods, new rules forced businesses to rethink how they move things around. Before, companies could predict costs easily. Now, unexpected fees popped up everywhere, making it ha

reading time less than a minute
May 19 2026BUSINESS

How an economist changed how we see jobs and prices forever

Edmund Phelps proved that keeping jobs high forever isn’t possible without causing big problems later. He showed that trying to push unemployment too low usually just makes prices rise higher instead. This idea became a key rule for central banks worldwide. Phelps also proved that people’s expectati

reading time less than a minute
May 17 2026FINANCE

Investing smarter: Small moves to dodge big money mistakes

Money decisions often trip people up—not because they lack options, but because human brains naturally lean toward shortcuts that backfire. Picture walking into a store convinced today’s sale is the deal of the century, yet five minutes later, the same product is 20% cheaper elsewhere—your brain sti

reading time less than a minute
May 17 2026OPINION

Portland’s Creative Pulse is Fading Fast

Portland still brags about being a city where art and small businesses thrive. But the places that once made it special are disappearing—not all at once, but one by one, like ice melting in spring. Rents are skyrocketing, forcing artists, writers, and shop owners to work extra jobs just to scrape by

reading time less than a minute
May 06 2026ENVIRONMENT

Rethinking Growth: Why We Need Green Economics

Green economists argue that the current focus on GDP is too narrow. They say we should look at how money affects nature and people’s well‑being instead of just counting production. This shift means measuring progress by the health of ecosystems and community happiness, not only by how much mon

reading time less than a minute
May 06 2026TECHNOLOGY

AI at work: more tasks or more jobs?

Technology has always shaped work. When farm tools got better, fewer farmers were needed—but food got cheaper, and new jobs appeared in towns. Electricity did the same, and so did the internet. Dario Amodei now believes AI could create jobs, not just destroy them. He points to the Jevons Paradox: wh

reading time less than a minute
Apr 30 2026POLITICS

Why Anchorage’s shrinking electricity use could mean bigger bills

For years, the main concern about Anchorage’s power supply has been whether natural gas will run out. But there’s a quieter issue making bills rise: people are using less electricity. Over the past 15 years, power use in Chugach Electric’s territory has dropped by about 1% each year. In 2025, it fel

reading time less than a minute
Apr 29 2026BUSINESS

Quixote Shuts Down Big LA Soundstages Amid Hollywood Slowdown

A big Hollywood property firm is pulling back sharply from its Los Angeles studio business, cutting jobs and closing key soundstage sites. The decision comes after a period of rapid expansion during the streaming boom, when demand for production space was at an all‑time high. Now that studios and st

reading time less than a minute