Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk.
American workers are taking home the smallest slice of economic output since records began in nineteen forty seven, with labor share falling to fifty two point eight percent. Meanwhile corporate profits have surged, the S and P five hundred up six hundred percent over recent decades, and the number of Amazon workers relying on food stamps has tripled even as the company posts record revenues. It is a structural shift, not a cyclical blip, and it is reshaping how we think about the relationship between growth and wages.
Turning to immigration and entrepreneurship, a German-born founder is making the case that America's startup edge depends heavily on immigrant talent. His argument is pointed and personal — Germany builds brilliantly within established systems, but building something from nothing requires a different tolerance for risk, one that immigrant founders disproportionately bring to American shores.
And finally, a lighter note that carries real weight for anyone thinking about artificial intelligence and the data it trains on — researchers and observers have noticed that AI systems consistently name blue as their favorite color. The reason comes down to training data reflecting human preferences, a reminder that these models are mirrors of us, biases, quirks, and all.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
