Free Republic

There’s a new term to describe the heightened sense of ennui workers are going through right now: “quiet cracking.” “Quiet cracking” is what happens when you feel backed up against the wall with no other options but to work at an unsatisfying job. In a recent TalentLMS survey of 1,000 employees, over half of them said they experienced the symptoms of “quiet cracking,” or a persistent feeling of workplace unhappiness that led to disengagement, poor performance and a strong desire to quit. To understand why Americans feel so trapped and disillusioned, simply look at what’s happening with the job economy....

Business production spending has seen its highest climb since 1997, when accounting for post-COVID reopenings, the Trump administration has announced in a release obtained by Blaze News. Capital expenditures — or capex, which refer to what companies spend on their research and development, software, transportation, and more — are a great way to gauge how much businesses are expanding or developing their operations. Additionally, real wages are also rising, according to the Trump administration, and the growth speed in 2025 has been outpaced by only one previous administration. Business equipment production jumped 11% in Q2 2025 after already garnering a...

Quantum computing developments over the past 12 months, including Google Willow, IBM Majorana 1, and innovations at IBM, PsiQuantum and Atom Computing. Quantum Computing 2025 Update | 17:04 ExplainingComputers | 1.12M subscribers | 3,935 views | July 27, 2025

Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called AI a new engine for growth while adding that governance is fragmented.China said on Saturday (Jul 26) that it wanted to create an organisation to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), positioning itself as an alternative to the US as the two vie for influence over the transformative technology. China wants to help coordinate global efforts to regulate fast-evolving AI technology and share the country's advances, Premier Li Qiang told the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. US President Donald...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria this week. Bessent broke the news that President Trump’s pro-growth policies are driving a major CapEx comeback. According to Investopedia, CapEx, or capital expenditures, refers to the money a company uses to acquire, upgrade, or maintain physical assets. CapEx investments are essential for a business’s growth. Thanks to President Trump, business investment is surging in the United States at the fastest pace since 1997! Scott Bessent cheered the news on Mornings with Maria: Treasury Secretary Bessent: Maria, this is a combination. It’s the tariff’s bringing back manufacturing to the...

OK, here we go again. Senator Charles Perry [R] was behind the last debacle that Greg Abbott VETOED because then, as now, this is NOT what the Governor wants, ie. NO BANS. He wants regulation and reporting of testing and more security on retail outlets. So of course here come the purple republicans trying yet again to "git tough" on (no longer a) crime. Forget the 8 Billion in sales that roll over in the communities about 3 times, taxes on the sales, payroll for 53,000 employees which also rolls over in the communities about 3 times as well. Opening...

Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is giving business leaders fair warning: He promised he’d tax them and wealthy New Yorkers if elected — and he means to keep that promise. He basically dared them to leave the city if he did. Say goodbye to city tax revenue and jobs and hello to a downward spiral, if that happens. On Tuesday, the Dem front-runner met with 100 of the city’s top business leaders and made absolutely no attempt to hide his plans. “He didn’t back away from any policy position,” one attendee told The Post. As The Post’s Charles Gasparino reproted,...

Get ready for a deep dive into one of the most exciting technical setups in recent memory. In this episode of the Gold & Silver Show, Mike Maloney and Alan Hibbard break down a massive “cup and handle” pattern forming across multiple timeframes—6‑month, quarterly, and annual—forecasting a possible silver breakout into the $300–$500+ per ounce range (yes, really). From historic parallels to the 1970s bull run, you’ll see how current price action mirrors volatile, vertical gains—complete with confirmation signals across key charts. Discover why silver may need to hit $200–$468 (or more) just to reclaim its inflation-adjusted purchasing power, and...

Americans have one more reason to celebrate this Fourth of July: getting all the gear needed to host a pool party costs less than it has in years, according to a market research company's preliminary data. The total price to buy beach towels, a beverage cooler, bathing suits and other accoutrements of summer fun averaged $858 in June, the lowest amount for the month since 2020, consumer data provider Numerator said in an analysis prepared for The Associated Press. The finding from the firm's seasonal snapshot comports with broader economic measures indicating that U.S. consumers so far have not seen...

Del Monte Foods, the 138-year-old company best known for its canned fruits and vegetables, has filed for bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer. Late Tuesday, the company announced it was voluntarily entering Chapter 11 and is going through a sale process for all of its assets. Among the company’s product lines are a number of well-known kitchen staples, including College Inn broths and Contadina canned tomatoes, as well as its flagship Del Monte brand. “After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create...

The second largest alcohol distributor in the US has announced it is pulling out of California, blaming rising costs of doing business in the state. Texas-based Republic National Distributing has said that it will no longer do business in California after September 2. This has sent more than 2,500 drinks brands scrambling to find a new wholesaler and distributor in the state, which is famous in large part for its wine production. The departure of a wholesale giant from the largest wine market in the US is also a warning sign for an industry which is already struggling as Americans...

PART OF THE MAKE-OVER FOR BOTH ARE PHARMACEUTICAL CEOs of BioNTech, Pfizer, J&J and Merck Make List of Highest-Paid Pharma Execs. We Spent a Year Investigating How the FDA Let Risky Drugs Into the U.S. Market. Our investigation revealed a previously unknown practice within the FDA that allowed more than 150 drugs or their ingredients to enter the U.S. over the past decade, despite being manufactured at factories banned from shipping their products here.

Boeing’s Air Force One project has fallen years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget amid continued labor and design hiccups. The Government Accountability Office said in a report this week that “ongoing design issues, modification rework, and workforce challenges” are still plaguing the manufacturer. The Trump administration has resorted to procuring a $400 million jet from Qatar to serve as the interim Air Force One. Boeing is continuing to battle production issues plaguing the jets that will serve as Air Force One, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Pentagon told the congressional auditors that “ongoing design...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque business owner is facing a murder charge after police said he shot a fleeing shoplifter. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, the owner of Moe’s Smoke Shop shot a shoplifter who was reversing his car away from the store. “A lot of commotion. We went ahead and came to the windows by my work, we looked out, we saw a guy running out, that fled in a white Toyota Camry. Then we saw the owner of the smoke shop also out there,” said an employee at a nearby business who wanted to remain anonymous....

A woman in her 70s in Norrbotten, Sweden, started selling homemade bread and pastries in 2019, but without a registered business and without having a government-approved kitchen for food production. Her cinnamon buns, in particular, became a hit with locals. She was given a fine by the local council, but despite repeated pressure, she did not pay. The case first gained attention in autumn 2024 when the woman was ultimately sentenced to one month and 14 days in prison after continuing her sales and not paying any fines. The verdict is being appealed to the Court of Appeal for Upper...

Verizon announced the termination of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in a Thursday letter sent to FCC Chairman Brandon Carr. The telecommunications company said it recognized that some of its DEI policies were "discriminatory" and vowed to terminate all company roles focused on DEI effective immediately. This comes after the Trump administration launched a probe into the company over such policies in February. Verizon cited Supreme Court rulings, President Donald Trump's executive orders, and federal mandates for its decision to eliminate DEI from the company. The company will no longer maintain workforce diversity goals and said it would...

New York business groups are blasting Attorney General Tish James for a pro-consumer push that they fear would be a legislative misfire — boosting greedy lawyers and unleashing “legal shakedowns.” James’ FAIR Business Practices Act looks to tighten up consumer protections to crack down on shady crimes like deed theft, junk fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions, but critics said it will open up small businesses to frivolous lawsuits and legal threats. “The so-called FAIR Act would be anything but fair to New York’s business community, especially Main Street businesses,” said Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of NY....

The second largest carmaker in the world will be relocating the manufacturing of its luxury brand to the United States after President Donald Trump has been encouraging car companies to do business in the US. Volkswagen Group, which is the second largest car manufacturer in the world, will be joining a number of other car manufacturers in moving production to the United States for the German automaker's luxury brand, Audi, per the Daily Mail. A spokesman for the company told the outlet, "We want to localize more strongly in the USA. To this end, we are currently examining various scenarios....

Gov. Kathy Hochul is delivering a big win to businesses that have been pressuring her to pay off their billions of dollars in unemployment-insurance debt — but she’s stealing the cash from state reserves to do it. Hochul said Monday that the state will cover the roughly $7 billion debt still lingering for employers from the pandemic. The businesses had hoped federal money that the state received during COVID-19 would at least partly be used to help cover the deluge of unemployment claims spurred by the pandemic, as most other states did.+ But the state used the money for other...

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday she plans to team up with other lefty AGs nationwide to sue the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services over healthcare funding cuts. “The White House is threatening our way of life in so many ways, and I just want you to know that in the coming days we will be filing a lawsuit against [HHS],” revealed James at a National Action Network rally in Harlem. James cited as examples anticipated cuts in federal aid to the Head Start program that helps low-income kids ages five and under prepare for...