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It's never too late for design school: Home writer goes back to class to earn a degree
Marni Jameson went back to school and became a certified interior designer.
Trump risks walking into an Iraq-style trap in Iran
Donald Trump might never have been president but for political and social backlash to the Iraq war that shattered trust in the governing establishment.
Mar-a-Lago shooting: NC man shot, killed never interested in politics, guns, family says
Austin Tucker Martin rarely, if ever, talked about politics, seemed afraid of guns, and came from a family of Trump supporters, according to a cousin.
Mar-a-Lago shooting: NC man shot, killed never interested in politics, guns, family says
Austin Tucker Martin rarely, if ever, talked about politics, seemed afraid of guns, and came from a family of Trump supporters, according to a cousin.
Mar-a-Lago shooting: NC man shot, killed never interested in politics, guns, family says
Austin Tucker Martin rarely, if ever, talked about politics, seemed afraid of guns, and came from a family of Trump supporters, according to a cousin.
Samsung Unveils Galaxy S26 Series: The Most Intuitive Galaxy AI Phone Yet
With powerful hardware working together with an industry-leading camera system and intuitive AI experiences, everyday tasks have never been easier and faster
‘We melt it down’: As gold hits record highs, business has never been so good for San Diego precious metals merchants
It is a boom time for bullion, as people dig through jewelry boxes and coin collections to turn metal into cash. Instead of reselling those items, many businesses will convert them into gold and si…
Scientists finally solve the mystery of the horse whinny
Horses have a vocal trick no one fully understood until now. Scientists have discovered that when a horse whinnies, it produces two completely different sounds at the same time. One is a deep tone created by vibrating the vocal folds, similar to how humans sing. The other is a high-pitched whistle generated inside the larynx, something never before confirmed in a large mammal. This rare ability, known as biphonation, likely helps horses send multiple emotional signals in a single call.
Never eat the candy on your pillow: reentry politics
Your circumstances rarely change with reentry no matter who’s president, and it’s easy to forget that there is power in the political
Dear Annie: Do I set a boundary with a friend and ask that we never talk about politics?
Do I try to have an honest conversation and risk blowing it up? Or do I accept that this is the cost of friendship in a divided world
Hospitals fighting this virus confront a challenge – few doctors have seen it
As the Carolinas near 1,000 cases, health care workers who’ve never seen this vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.
Hospitals Fighting Measles Confront a Challenge: Few Doctors Have Seen It Before
As the number of cases grows to about 1,000 in the Carolinas, health care workers who’ve never seen the vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.
Olaplex links with ‘SNL’ star to blend science, style and humor in new ads
Chloe Fineman serves as Chief Hair Officer for “Science Never Looked So Good,” a campaign that promotes the hair care brand’s bond repair treatment.
Armed man shot and killed at Mar-a-Lago was never interested in politics or guns, cousin says
The 21-year-old North Carolina man who entered a gate at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a shotgun before he was shot and killed worked as a golf course groundskeeper and sold illustrations of golf courses. Braeden Fields, a cousin who grew up with Austin Tucker Martin, says he never talked about politics and seemed afraid of guns. Fields told The Associated Press that he has no idea why his cousin would do this. Authorities say Martin walked through a gate at Mar-a-Lago in Florida early Sunday and raised a shotgun when confronted by law enforcement, who opened fire. Trump was at the White House at the time.
The creators of Dark Sky have a new weather app that shares multiple predictions
Acme Weather embraces the idea that forecasts are never 100 percent accurate.
Armed Man Shot and Killed at Mar-A-Lago Was Never Interested in Politics or Guns, Cousin Says
The 21-year-old North Carolina man who drove onto President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a shotgun before he was shot and killed worked as a golf course groundskeeper and sold illustrations of golf courses.
Armed man killed at Mar-a-Lago never interested in politics or guns: Cousin
The 21-year-old North Carolina man who drove onto President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a shotgun before he was shot and killed worked as a golf course groundskeeper and sold illustrations of golf courses. Braeden Fields, a cousin who grew up with Austin Tucker Martin says he never talked about politics and seemed afraid of guns. Fields told The Associated Press that he has no idea why his cousin would do this. Authorities say Martin drove through a gate at Mar-a-Lago in Florida early Sunday and raised a shotgun when confronted by law enforcement, who opened fire. Trump was at the White House at the time.
No evidence behind RFK Jr’s claim keto diet can cure schizophrenia, experts say
Health secretary likely referred to Harvard psychiatrist who says he’s ‘never used the word cure in my work’
"I Will Never Financially Recover From This": 29 People Who Woke Up One Morning And Watched Their Entire Lives Slowly Spiral Out Of Control
That, my friends, is not an ideal situation.
'Grey’s Anatomy' alum Katherine Heigl pays tribute to Eric Dane
Katherine Heigl pays tribute to late 'Grey’s Anatomy' costar Eric Dane in an emotional post: 'I have never been comfortable grieving publicly...'
Exiled Iranian princess: Islamic regime 'has never been this close' to falling, people 'begging' Trump to help
Exiled Iranian princess Noor Phalavi said Iran's regime has never been weaker than it is now and urged action against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Supreme Court wades into U.S.-Cuba business disputes, with billions at stake
The justices have never interpreted Title III, under which Congress authorized the U.S. president to suspend if deemed "necessary to the national interests."
Anti-Trump Republicans Face Divisions and an Uncertain Future
Divisions over what and who should come next were evident as G.O.P. critics of the president, weakened in their party, gathered at a summit near Washington.
Dan Marino ranked as 10th best quarterback of all time
Marino is highest ranked quarterback to have never won a Super Bowl.
Anniversary: The Legend Of Zelda Turns 40 Today - How Did You First Play It?
And we've never looked back
6 Things You Should Never Add to Your Tea
Tea is a healthy beverage that promotes heart health and longevity, but adding the wrong things to your brew can diminish its health benefits.
Ocean floor expedition discovers creatures never cataloged by science
Expedition in Argentina discovers enormous reef and nearly 30 species never before recorded in the deep Atlantic.
Motorola's latest foldables are finally getting Android 16 in the US
Better late than never, as they say. Motorola's Razr 2025 and Razr Ultra 2025, also known as the Razr 60 and Razr 60 Ultra outside of North America, are...
Volkswagen Revives The Golf GTI W12 For GTI's 50th Anniversary
Volkswagen painted the 650-horsepower, W12-engined Golf GTI W12-650 red to celebrate GTI's 50th birthday, and it's never looked better.
Batting Around: Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest MLB player ever?
Ohtani is doing things we've quite literally never seen in baseball. So what's the argument against him?
'The greatest rivalry in sports': United States vs. Canada
The United States vs. Canada is a hockey rivalry that never gets old. Take a look inside the historic matchup and what makes it so special.
OPINION: Discussing politics in the classroom shouldn’t feel unsafe
I’ve never been one to shy away from a debate or hold back my thoughts. I approach conversations with confidence and have always felt comfortable expressing my beliefs and opinions openly. Valuing open discussion is always important. But when it comes to politics in the classroom, I often don’t f
She built a career in Japan and says one thing is non-negotiable
Lauren Rose Kocher never worked full-time in the US, so her understanding of corporate culture was formed almost entirely in Japan.
125 million-year-old dinosaur with never before seen hollow spikes discovered in China
A 125-million-year-old dinosaur just rewrote what we thought we knew about prehistoric life. Scientists in China have uncovered an exceptionally preserved juvenile iguanodontian with fossilized skin so detailed that individual cells are still visible. Even more astonishing, the plant-eating dinosaur was covered in hollow, porcupine-like spikes—structures never before documented in any dinosaur.
The Sticky Politics of Wall Texts
I never thought I would become an art critic who complains about exhibition didactics. And yet, after a visit to the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, here I am.
One in three people carry this brain parasite but the body has a kill switch
A parasite that may already be hiding in your brain has a shocking survival trick: it can infect the very immune cells sent to destroy it. Yet most people never get sick, and new research from UVA Health reveals why. Scientists discovered that when Toxoplasma gondii invades CD8+ T cells — key defenders of the immune system — those cells can trigger a self-destruct mechanism powered by an enzyme called caspase-8. By sacrificing themselves, the infected cells also wipe out the parasite inside them.
Welcome to the United States of Side Hustles
Side hustle culture has exploded in America. Entrepreneurs say its never been easier to start something, but succeeding is another story.
Why everyone is talking about ‘affordability’ now
“Affordability” is shaping the political conversation like never before as wages struggle to keep up with cost increases.
Human "biology was never intended to handle" ultraprocessed foods, former FDA head David Kessler warns
Montgomery teen entrepreneur wins major local Small Business Award
A Montgomery teen is proving you’re never too young to turn a dream into something real.
10 Free TV Streaming Platforms Worth Trying in February 2026 — Hidden Gems, Classics, & More
For 2026, cord cutters can save money and enjoy great content by utilizing free, ad-supported streaming (FAST) platforms. FAST has quietly become the smartest way to watch, especially if you’re tired of paying for dozens of channels you never open. These services give you real choices of live channels that feel like TV, on-demand libraries […]
Ego Nwodim draws gasps from 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' audience after admitting she's never seen this classic film
Ego Nwodim faced the wrath of Jimmy Kimmel's live studio audience after admitting that she's never seen a certain classic film: 'I thought this was a safe space!'
I left the US and live around the world. The reverse culture shock is hard.
After living abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, Kat Smith knew she needed to live around the world. Her life would never be the same.
Don't forget to call mom: MLB catcher gets candid about sports struggles
Sports was never the solution to Maverick Handley's problems in life. It was more like a release. How his experience can help young athletes.
Exclusive | Casey Wasserman Putting His Talent Agency Up for Sale After Epstein Fallout
Wasserman has said he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” and told staff he felt that he had “become a distraction” to the firm’s work.
Sports-politics' unholy alliance: Never-ending toxic relationship?
Sports and politics have never really been separate. Sport markets itself as fair play and unity, but politics is driven by power and interest. When they...
‘So special’: Mr. Sticky’s named Small Business of the Year by Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce
Phil Poorman never believed the health inspector’s word of doubt. Poorman, founder and owner of Mr. Sticky’s, the Phillips/Plankenhorn Small Business of the Year Award 2025 Recipient at the 140th annual Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet this week at Farrington Place, had other plans. Sweet success “We’ve gone through some hard times but we […]
Play Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition Tomorrow!
The edition celebrates 30 years of the limbless hero with five versions of the game, a never-before-playable prototype, 120 additional bonus levels, an exclusive interactive documentary, and more.
Norland Nanny training: the confidence boost she never knew she needed
Roxanne Ardekani has studied in the US, Austria, and the UK. Her educational experience at Norland is unlike anything she's experienced elsewhere.
Accelerating science with AI and simulations
For more than a decade, MIT Associate Professor Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli has used artificial intelligence to create new materials. Now, he believes AI is poised to transform science in ways never before possible.
This Comet Stopped Spinning. Then It Started Rotating Backward.
The unusual event, never seen before, might be a way small comets are “blown to bits” in the solar system.
Democrats vying for Michigan Senate seat clash over corporate money at first forum
Mallory McMorrow no longer accepts donations from corporate PACs. Abdul El-Sayed boasts that he never did. Haley Stevens, who does, sidestepped a question about the issue.
Pokémon Pokopia - The Final Preview
We’ve had some relaxing Pokémon games over the years, but we’ve never quite had a game that embraced this secondary cozy aesthetic fully into its gameplay–until now, with Pokémon Pokopia. I played the first hour of Pokémon’s first life-sim, and the sheer amount of discovery to be made hooked me.
Local sports schedule for upcoming week
Although it seems like winter never came to Durango, local winter sports will be over sooner, rather than later. Durango High School’s boys and girls basketball teams will celebrate their seniors on ...
He’s back, but probably not from Africa: Perennial candidate Paul Congemi joins St. Pete Mayor’s race
The repeat mayoral candidate has never earned much support, but he made national headlines in 2017 for telling another candidate to go back to Africa.
Dallas Cowboys superfan remembered after passing
Cowboys Nation mourns Carolyn Price, a superfan who never missed a moment of her team's historic ride over the decades.
One of the Winter Olympics’ oldest sports is facing steady decline. Its savior could be finally allowing women to compete
Nordic combined is one of the 16 original Winter Olympics events, dating back to the Games’ origins in 1924 in Chamonix, France. It’s also the only winter sport to never allow women to compete at the Games.
How — and why — to keep politics out of the office
Never assume that your work colleague shares your opinions on politics, our guest columnist writes along with seven golden rules for keeping the workplace conflict-free.
Healthy Hofstra makes Towson look sick
The Pride raced out to a 46-20 lead at halftime and never looked back
Healthy Hofstra makes Towson look sick
The Pride raced out to a 46-20 lead at halftime and never looked back
Zambia bishops instruct clergy and faithful to stay out of partisan politics
“The Church is not and must never be a mouthpiece for any political party or candidate,” the Zambian bishops stated. Read more in this roundup of world news that you may have missed this past week.
Opinion | Lincoln as you’ve never known him
Matthew Pinsker reveals how the 16th president carefully built a partisan base essential to his rise.
They paid thousands for new solar panels. Then their Oregon contractor went dark
One man says he used all his savings to pay for solar panels that were never installed.
Saying Goodbye to the Mass Market Paperback
The mass market paperback, light in the hand and on the wallet, once filled airport bookstores and supermarket media aisles. You may never buy a new one again.
Stop Using Windows 11 Like a Beginner: 31 Hidden Tricks Microsoft Never Taught You
Windows 11 is more advanced than you might think. We show you how to take advantage of AI‑powered Copilot tricks, customization tips, hidden settings, multitasking tools, security tweaks, and more.
US man shares clever AirTag trick that Apple never explains when you buy it
US tech creator reveals a simple AirTag setup trick Apple doesn’t explain, plus a small habit that makes trackers far more useful day to day
Analysis: The Epstein storm could topple a world leader — but it’s not Trump
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was never mixed up with Jeffrey Epstein but is in grave peril of losing his job because of him.
Headliners and announcements for Entertainment Council’s annual Brainfreeze show
The winter quarter concert will feature Rocco, Sarah Kinsley, a pre-show art gallery and more By MIRIAM RAMAKRISHNAN — arts@theaggie.org In the midst of classes, midterms and the never-ending tule fog, the music scene at UC Davis doesn’t stop kicking. Brainfreeze, the annual winter concert hosted by ASUCD’s Entertainment Council (EC), is set to return […]
Mental health at Olympics is taken seriously, but it wasn't always
Gracie Gold knows all about the pressure of the Winter Olympics, and she's helping Olympians care for their mental health with resources she never had
The No. 1 Heart Disease Symptom a Cardiologist Never Ignores in Her Own Body
A cardiologist at the Columbia Women's Heart Center shares the heart disease warning signs she looks for in her own body, including the most alarming symptoms besides chest pain.
'Let a thousand flowers bloom': Jensen Huang says demanding ROI from AI is like forcing a child to make a business plan for a hobby
You don't ask your kids to prove to you how they're going to make money for you, Huang said. "We never do that at home. But we do it at work."
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics take shape, in photos
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are fast approaching. As the torch relay nears completion, athletes are arriving, with some already making headlines. There are 16 sports in total, including some never before seen, with 116 gold medals to be awarded.
Trump criticizes CNN reporter for 'not smiling' after Epstein question
President Trump told Kaitlan Collins he's never seen her smile after the CNN anchor asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Patriots' rookies ready to take on sport's biggest stage as they prepare for Super Bowl
More than half of New England's players had never played in a postseason game before last month, and they now find themselves on the biggest stage in sports.
This 3D Printer Just Broke My Tests, Because the Future Is Here
I've never seen a 3D printer complete my tests as well as the Bambu Lab H2C.
Musheinesh: Trump ignores the devastating toll tariffs have on Michigan businesses
No person — not even the President of the United States — has the unilateral power to slap taxes on the entire nation whenever they feel like it.
Normalizing surveillance under the banner of helping lost pets
Now, surveillance doesn’t arrive announcing itself as surveillance. It shows up wagging its tail, asking for help, and hoping you won’t notice that the cameras never stop looking.
What is the US strategic minerals stockpile?
President Trump said the stockpile would 'ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage'.
What can you do today to improve your heart health? Simple steps can make a difference
It’s never too late to protect yourself from heart attack and stroke. Here’s what experts say you can do now. #HeartMonth
A parent’s guide to preventing measles infection and what to look for
Measles cases are rising in the U.S., and for many parents, it’s a never-before-seen disease. Here's how to spot the rash, and protect your family against this dangerous infection.
Pixel 10 Pro Laughs at Profit Margins With $250 Off Sale
Pixel 10 Pro deal sends it to $200 off, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL drops by $250. We talk quite often about how you should never pay full price for any of the Pixel devices made by... #Deals #Google
‘I’ve never taken drugs or drunk alcohol,’ says Zack Polanski
Green party leader wants to legalise all drugs, regulate their use and not be ‘the fun police’
“Existential risk” – Why scientists are racing to define consciousness
Scientists warn that rapid advances in AI and neurotechnology are outpacing our understanding of consciousness, creating serious ethical risks. New research argues that developing scientific tests for awareness could transform medicine, animal welfare, law, and AI development. But identifying consciousness in machines, brain organoids, or patients could also force society to rethink responsibility, rights, and moral boundaries. The question of what it means to be conscious has never been more urgent—or more unsettling.
Pols & Politics: Teamsters endorse Moulton, Shortsleeve picks up support
Saying that Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton “has never wavered in his support for our members,” the Massachusetts Teamsters union announced it endorses his bid for U.S. Senate.
The 4 best wired earbuds for super-reliable sound, tested by editors
Wired earbuds can offer superior sound quality, and they never run out of battery. Here are the four best pairs our editors found after years of testing.
LaRussell joins Super Bowl 60 entertainment lineup with game-day performance
The Vallejo rapper’s rise has never followed the industry playbook. Now, his hometown ethos is taking center stage at Super
Sydney Sweeney on “MAGA Barbie” Nickname: “I’ve Never Been Here to Talk About Politics”
"I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of," the 'Christy' star said in conversation with Cosmopolitan.
I Treat Pregnant Moms. I’ve Never Seen So Much Anxiety.
As our government abandons science, pregnant women are increasingly turning to unvetted online resources to soothe their worries.
Milan Cortina 2026 events calendar
The 2026 Winter Olympics are here. Follow all the Milan Cortina Olympic action and track upcoming calendar events before they happen so you'll never miss a beat.
Louisville Defeats Stanford 84-66
Louisville played a balanced game against Stanford and never trailed and racked up another 20-win season. They finished with five players in double figures with Mackenly Randolph and Laura Ziegler having career highs. However, Coach Jeff Walz was not impressed with his team’s outing. Coach Walz said, “Actually I don’t think we played well at […]
Stephanie Grace: Washington Mardi Gras attempts to bypass politics. It only somewhat succeeds.
If there’s a key word to the annual Washington Mardi Gras, it’s camaraderie. Yet as columnist Stephanie Grace reports from the nation’s capital, politics are never far from the surface.
Tim Walz says he’s done with politics: ‘I will never run for office again’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declares "I will never run for an elected office again" amid massive fraud scandal that forced him to abandon 2026 re-election bid.
At World’s Busiest Port, China’s Unbalanced Economy Comes Into View
The shipping traffic and factories never stop in China’s port city of Ningbo, but the local housing market has crashed and nearby restaurants sit empty.
Tim Walz says he'll never seek elected office again
The Minnesota governor unexpectedly announced this month that he wouldn't run for re-election.
The White House’s shocking lies about Minneapolis
Never forget how this administration misled you.
Analysis: Trump’s team almost never backs down from its false claims. This past week has been different
From the start, this has been a say-anything presidential administration.
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash
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