The economist Lord Jim O'Neill, who has been advising the prime minister, has said he will not be taking a job in Andy Burnham's government. Lord O'Neill, a crossbench peer, was once a treasury minister under the Conservatives. As first reported by, external the Financial Times, he said he did not want the constraints involved in taking on a formal role. The former chief economist at Goldman Sachs had been tipped to become Burnham's chief economic adviser. He said he was enjoying what he was currently doing too much and did not want to have to give up control of his business interests to comply with official rules.

What with a 250th birthday, Taylor Swift's wedding and the football World Cup, Americans could be forgiven for taking their eye off the ball this summer. But signs of economic trouble have been building. This week they hit the headlines when US national debt passed the $40tn (£29.4tn) How did we get here? It took almost 200 years for US national debt to reach $1tn for the first time, says Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Robots have been a prolific theme in Japanese pop culture and media since the 1950s, which includes global icons like the, and ( 1). Perhaps not coincidentally, Japanese citizens have a positive outlook on robotic technologies and their use in the labor sector compared to many other nations ( 2); much to their advantage, as robotics continues to be a vital pillar for ensuring Japan's economic resilience and future growth. Here, we discuss priorities and long-term agendas as presented in Japan's national robotics strategies. Although weather control is among Japan's lofty research goals for the next 25 years ( 3), geological disturbances remain inevitable. As such, disaster mitigation and response are high priorities that serve as motivation for robotics development in Japan ( 4).

Long-term borrowing costs across some of the word's biggest economies hit fresh highs because of concerns over inflation, government debt levels and spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The interest rate on US borrowing over 30 years hit 5.33% on Tuesday, the highest since June 2007, meanwhile UK long-term debt reached 5.85%. There were similar moves in Germany and Japan. Interest rates on bonds - which are a type of debt - are known as yields and can directly affect the borrowing costs consumers pay on mortgages, car loans and credit cards. Rising oil prices are the main driver behind this recent surge in bond yields, as investors fear inflation could spike again. If that happens, central banks may choose to raise interest rates to cool inflation.

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AI was supposed to massively displace workers across across industries. Economist say it's having a very different effect. AI was supposed to massively displace workers across across industries. Economist say it's having a very different effect. AI was supposed to destroy jobs.

If A.I. Takes the Jobs of Young People, How Will They React? The Democratic electorate is already moving left, but that may be nothing compared with what happens when unemployment really starts to rise. In the first column in this series, I wrote about how the economic reality for young people in this country doesn't exactly match the bleak picture that is sometimes painted of it. In the second, I offered a theory about the discontent that is nonetheless fuelling a new populist economic politics among college-educated Gen Z-ers and millennials. In short, these voters believe, not without reason, that the old-fashioned trappings of middle-class life--homeownership, stability, a sense of purpose--are out of reach.

What Does the Humbling of Leopold Aschenbrenner Mean for the A.I. Bubble? In the classic book " Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises," the economic historian Charles Kindleberger divided episodes of speculation into five stages. Citing the work of Hyman Minsky, the post-Keynesian theorist, Kindleberger writes that the process begins with a displacement, such as the emergence of an important new technology, or a major policy shift, that gets investors excited about the future. They start to bid up asset prices, and capital floods into the affected sector. As optimism spreads, an investment boom--the next stage--develops, much of it facilitated by credit expansion, and the repercussions are felt in the broader economy.

Beijing is competing with the U.S. for tech supremacy. Who wins will have huge political implications. As Donald Trump has cut research funds, China has pursued what one investor calls an "all-hands-on-deck approach to national innovation." Kai-Fu Lee, the C.E.O. of the artificial-intelligence company 01.AI, lives in a mirrored high-rise in Beijing, near a procession of landmarks that emperors considered the center of the cosmos. Lee takes early meetings at a nearby hotel that could be in any country, except that the room service is delivered by robots painted in the livery of butlers and maids. State propaganda hails these robots as emblems of China's ascent; in the hallway, most people sidestep them with the kind of indifference usually reserved for a Roomba. Over breakfast one recent morning, Lee, wearing a white polo shirt and rimless glasses, spoke about the future with an air of sanguine curiosity. He was born in Taiwan in 1961 and built his career by following the moving ...