Middle-class majority: In a first for the world, more than half the global population is now middle class or wealthier, writes Brookings. “For the first time since agriculture-based civilization began 10,000 years ago,” reads the report, “the majority of humankind is no longer poor or vulnerable to falling into poverty.” Some 3.8 million people, as of September, live in households with enough “discretionary expenditure” to be considered “middle class” or “rich.” Read the full report.
Dollars and sense: Exxon Mobil Corp. is committing $1 million over two years to promote a tax on carbon emissions by corporations, which The Wall Street Journal reports is one of the few times an oil company has given money to make fighting climate change a political priority in Washington. Exxon sees a carbon tax as an alternative to patchwork regulations, putting one cost on all carbon emitters nationwide, eliminating regulatory uncertainty hovering over Exxon’s business in states that might seek to target oil companies. Read the full story.
Debt ahead: Democrats and Republicans have plenty at stake in the upcoming midterm elections. But Bloomberg reports it’s already looking like a no-win situation for the U.S. bond market. If Democrats take the House, it raises the odds that congressional leaders will propose an infrastructure-spending bill similar in scope to President Donald Trump’s original trillion-dollar proposal. And if the GOP defies expectations and holds on in Congress, tax cut 2.0 becomes more likely. In either case, the result will be more debt. Read the full story.
