Economics in the News – Sept. 22-28, 2025
Economics impacts our lives every day. Below are some of the top storylines from this past week related to economics.
o The global economy is expected to grow at a 3.2 percent clip this year, one year after growing at a 3.3 percent rate. Companies raced against the clock to have their imports delivered before President Donald Trump’s tariffs kicked in. As the effect of the tariffs takes hold, global growth is projected to shrink with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecasting growth to fall to 2.9 percent in 2026.
According to the organization, the US economy has seen a large boost from its investments in artificial intelligence (AI), while firms are using up their inventories to take on the initial impact of the tariffs. And the tariffs aren’t just impacting the domestic economy, which is forecasted to see growth stall to 1.8 percent this year compared to 2.8 percent a year ago. Europe’s economy is projected to see growth of just 1.2 percent this year and one percent in 2026. China is also projected to see a 0.1 percent decline in growth in 2025 (4.9 percent) compared to 2024 (5.0 percent). [The New York Times]
o For many movie lovers and baseball fans, the baseball field featured in “The Field of Dreams” is a pilgrimage. The field, located in Dyersville, Iowa, is in the middle of a corn field and thousands of fans visit the site of the fictional film each year to take picures and see the familiar house from the movie that stars Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.
The site has become increasingly commercialized over time, capitalizing on the movie’s success. Tourists can rent the home for a weeknight price of $600 and see the re-enactment of parts of the movie. Major League Baseball has also travelled back to the site, playing regular season baseball games there. The site of the movie is a working farm, harvesting corn. Now, visitors can take a tour of the property, while an increasing number of youth baseball tournaments are played on the field built adjacent to the original with entrance fees up to $849 per team. [The New York Times]
o Drivers may soon rely upon sunlight to recharge their vehicles. California-based automaker Aptera Motors has built a solar-powered car that can travel between 15 and 40 miles per day on solar power before its EV battery kicks in. All told, the vehicle will be able to travel up to 400 miles between charges. The car is projected to cost $40,000.
One of the greatest obstacles for building a vehicle that relies on solar power are the potential hazardous road encounters. But the company says that it has developed a durable glass skin for the panels. However, the trade-off for the vehicle is large. It’s technically a 3-wheel motorcycle with a seating capacity for two people. It’s also fully enclosed. In addition to Aptera, DartSolar is another company seeking to provide solar energy for cars. However, DartSolar wants to sell solar boosters to existing EVs that sit on the roof rack and can provide an extra 10 to 20 miles of range. [The Wall Street Journal]
o Congress and the American people are faced with a potential government shutdown. That means that funding for national parks to national parks to services funded by taxpayers could dry up this week while lawmakers seek a resolution for new funding. The White House budget office has informed agencies to consider broad layoffs pending a shutdown. All indications are that the shutdown, if it occurs, could go on for a while.
The shutdown is due to the President Donald Trump administration ignoring spending laws and blocking money for programs that aren’t in line with their administration’s policies. Meanwhile, Democrat leaders are upset that already approved dollars for public broadcasting and public aid have been canceled and are worried that future approved aid could be redirected without their consent. [The Washington Post]
o Worldwide movie goers are opting for more non-American made movies than they once were. Nine of the 10 highest-grossing movies of all-time were produced in the United States.
China has seen their movie culture, including the only outlier in the top 10 highest-grossing movie of all-time – Ne Zha 2. China has seen its movie industry develop because the Chinese government lowered the cap on the number of foreign movies that could be shown in the country as the local-language films improved drastically in both quantity and quality. Overall, the share of gross sales among global audiences for American movies has dipped from 92 percent to 66 percent in the last two decades. Meanwhile, American movie makers rely on the international market for more than half of their revenue, but China relies on the international market for only two percent of the revenue generated from its movies. Ne Zha 2 has grossed $2 billion worldwide as of Sept. 18, equivalent to the three biggest releases in Hollywood this summer. In addition, Ne Zha 2 surpassed Star Wars: Episode VII as the highest-grossing film in a single market. [Bloomberg]
