EXPLAINED: 36 | Rare Historical Photos

Private equity’s $860 billion zombie company problem

The zero-interest-rate era left private equity with thousands of companies it can't exit, can't sell, and can't quite kill.

Fortune · Aug 25

Trump now plans to grow his way out of $40 trillion debt crisis—it's a 'fantastic story' but virtually impossible, says top budget economist

"If you tell the debt markets: 'Hey, we think we're gonna be able to grow our way out of this,' and then a year later they're not seeing any improvements from that, then it's a credibility issue."

Fortune · Aug 25

The data-center backlash has broken into the midterms but the industry’s problem is larger than communications: America needs a new bargain

The companies building and using data centers should pay the costs they create. In return, states should give responsible projects certainty and speed.

Fortune · Aug 25

Four firms control more than half of the world's seed supply. Italian farmers are fighting back and returning to the bartering system

Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, and BASF dominate the global seed market. Growers in Italy are saving and trading seeds outside that system.

Fortune · Aug 25

Jamie Dimon and his wife, Judith, donate $12 million to 12 HBCUs—betting they're the 'springboard to success' for the next generation

The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation’s gift to 12 UNCF schools comes as HBCUs brace for a federal pullback.

Fortune · Aug 25

What Anthropic’s Dario Amodei can learn from the airline industry’s painful lesson about marketing and the concept of safety

The airline industry discovered that stating a fear about yourself is worse than saying nothing, because the word does the same work against you.

Fortune · Aug 25

Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp has professors who never sleep–but that’s because they’re AI clones

Founders can rehearse pitches, sales calls and board meetings repeatedly with avatars modeled on seven HBS faculty members

Fortune · Aug 25

Asia’s founders are going global faster, sometimes even before they're sure what their business is, says Stripe's SEA MD

To help businesses expand, Stripe is announcing partnerships with an array of Southeast Asian payment processors like ShopeePay, GCash, and TrueMoney.

Fortune · Aug 25

College can cost $100,000 a year. Some parents are spending thousands more on the dorm room

Families are projected to spend a record $14 billion furnishing college dorms and apartments this year.

Fortune · Aug 24

FTC moves to make retailers disclose use of ‘personalized pricing’ as technology now enables broad consumer surveillance

The proposal would warn companies that failing to disclose that they are using personal data to set prices could violate the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices.

Fortune · Aug 24