What does it actually take to win a World Cup? Talent? Tactics? A functioning democracy? Not necessarily. As the 2026 World Cup begins, the largest ever, we analysed all 22 past tournaments to find the common threads that link every single champion. From the tactical innovations that shocked the world to the political forces that fuelled past victories, history shows there are eight distinct ways ...
What does it actually take to win a World Cup? Talent? Tactics? A functioning democracy? Not necessarily. As the 2026 World Cup begins, the largest ever, we analysed all 22 past tournaments to find the common threads that link every single champion. From the tactical innovations that shocked the world to the political forces that fuelled past victories, history shows there are eight distinct ways to lift the famous trophy. Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory World Cup 2026: guide to all 1,248 players Continue reading...
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing’s commitment to North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un was “unwavering ” on Monday. The trip is Xi’s first foreign visit of the year, and during his talks with Kim in afternoon, Xi expressed strong support for the North Korean leader. “No matter how the international situation changes, the firm stance of the Chinese [Communist] Party and government in high...
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing’s commitment to North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un was “unwavering ” on Monday. The trip is Xi’s first foreign visit of the year, and during his talks with Kim in afternoon, Xi expressed strong support for the North Korean leader. “No matter how the international situation changes, the firm stance of the Chinese [Communist] Party and government in highly valuing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of...
State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLE) offers broad energy exposure at a lower cost, while Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEMKT:AMLP) specializes in higher-yielding pipeline infrastructure. Investors looking for energy sector exposure may choose between broad industry giants or focused income strategies. While both funds provide a window into the American energy landscape, they differ signif...
State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLE) offers broad energy exposure at a lower cost, while Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEMKT:AMLP) specializes in higher-yielding pipeline infrastructure. Investors looking for energy sector exposure may choose between broad industry giants or focused income strategies. While both funds provide a window into the American energy landscape, they differ significantly in portfolio construction, costs, and tax treatment. Liquidity also varies, as the State Street fund manages a much larger pool of assets. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
Released just before the World Cup kicks off, this upstart football game is positioning itself as a credible alternative to EA Sports FC This month something extremely unusual happened in the video game world: someone launched a new football game. It used to be that the market could support a vast array of contenders, from arcade kickabouts such as Super Sidekicks and Hat Trick Hero, to serious si...
Released just before the World Cup kicks off, this upstart football game is positioning itself as a credible alternative to EA Sports FC This month something extremely unusual happened in the video game world: someone launched a new football game. It used to be that the market could support a vast array of contenders, from arcade kickabouts such as Super Sidekicks and Hat Trick Hero, to serious simulations named Actua Soccer or This Is Football, to eccentric oddities such as Namco’s LiberoGrande which made you experience the whole match as a single onfield player. For the past decade plus, however, the scene has been dominated EA’s Fifa series, now EA Sports FC. With the exception of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer, now eFootball, there have been few competitors – and few plucky upstarts. Continue reading...
Market Snapshot S&P 500 futures 7,419.50 +0.3% Nasdaq 100 futures 29,197.75 +0.6% Stoxx Europe 600 Index 620.93 -0.3% Korea's Kospi 7,484.41 -8.3% WTI crude oil futures $94.60 +4.5% Market data as of 06:31 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. Five things you need to know US stock futures gained even as Israel and Iran trade missile attacks in defiance of President Donald Trump’s calls for a ...
Market Snapshot S&P 500 futures 7,419.50 +0.3% Nasdaq 100 futures 29,197.75 +0.6% Stoxx Europe 600 Index 620.93 -0.3% Korea's Kospi 7,484.41 -8.3% WTI crude oil futures $94.60 +4.5% Market data as of 06:31 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. Five things you need to know US stock futures gained even as Israel and Iran trade missile attacks in defiance of President Donald Trump’s calls for a halt to fighting. Brent crude climbed above $97 a barrel. Europe’s Stoxx 600 fell. Asia’s main stock benchmark fell 3.2%, tracking the rout in AI stocks in the US on Friday. South Korea’s Kospi index tanked more than 8%, imperiling the world’s biggest rally as investors pulled back from AI bets. Nvidia and SK Hynix have agreed to partner on designing future generations of memory chips for AI. That’s a win for SK Hynix as it vies with Samsung Electronics in a red-hot arena. Intesa Sanpaolo offered to buy Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank, for $35.3 billion. The move could herald a new phase of dealmaking in Italian finance. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that after facing crisis upon crisis, the world needs to build foundations that can withstand future shocks. Bulls undeterred The sudden pullback in markets after months of investor enthusiasm is putting the spotlight on three key headwinds: Rising oil prices Mounting bets on US interest rate hikes Concerns over AI stock valuations These negatives might have staying power. The clearest sign is the dramatic escalation in the Middle East conflict, which is feeding through to commodity prices and could stoke inflation fears, forcing central banks to increase borrowing costs. Yet the bulls will not be deterred . Morgan Stanley strategists led by Mike Wilson said the selloff in US stocks on Friday was “inevitable and ultimately healthy” if the rally is going to continue into the end of the year. His optimism was echoed by Citigroup strategists led by Scott Chronert, who raised their year-end target f...
onsemi has unveiled its Elite Pairing Studio, an innovative online design tool aimed at optimizing power electronics applications, including those used in electric vehicles. This first-of-its-kind platform facilitates the pairing of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and gate drivers, offering engineers enhanced visibility into device-level behavior to make more informed design decisions early in the d...
onsemi has unveiled its Elite Pairing Studio, an innovative online design tool aimed at optimizing power electronics applications, including those used in electric vehicles. This first-of-its-kind platform facilitates the pairing of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and gate drivers, offering engineers enhanced visibility into device-level behavior to make more informed design decisions early in the development process. The Studio aims to reduce design iterations and risks by enabling efficient...
June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM26) are up +0.71%, and June Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQM26) are up +1.40% this morning, signaling a rebound from Friday’s selloff on Wall Street as investors stepped in to buy the dip in technology stocks even as tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.
June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM26) are up +0.71%, and June Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQM26) are up +1.40% this morning, signaling a rebound from Friday’s selloff on Wall Street as investors stepped in to buy the dip in technology stocks even as tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.
The slogan ‘Albania is not for sale’ reveals a nation that respects itself, and will not sell its soul for investment “That’s how we found it. We swam to the island, we went on a hike barefoot to the top and we were just captivated. And over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realise its potential.” If the woman sharing her desire to improve a foreign island had disemba...
The slogan ‘Albania is not for sale’ reveals a nation that respects itself, and will not sell its soul for investment “That’s how we found it. We swam to the island, we went on a hike barefoot to the top and we were just captivated. And over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realise its potential.” If the woman sharing her desire to improve a foreign island had disembarked from a smugglers’ boat, her dream would have been crushed in one of those migrant detention centres that the Albanian government has recently built with Italy . But the boat in question was a multimillion-dollar yacht, and the woman hiking barefoot to the top was Ivanka Trump . Realising the dream merely required summoning the country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, and volunteering her husband, Jared Kushner, and one of his companies to turn a protected wildlife zone into luxury real estate . Lea Ypi is professor of political history and philosophy at the London School of Economics and author of Indignity: A Life Reimagined Continue reading...