BARRON’S MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The Global Building Boom’ – Ports, bridges, factories, and more: A worldwide burst of construction is just getting started. Ten ways to invest.
Artificial intelligence and data centers are in the spotlight, but investors should pay attention to a less-noticed boom in global manufacturing. Ten ways to play the new wave.
Whether to buy or sell the stock has never been about fundamentals. It has always been a bet on the future and Musk’s ability to see it more clearly than anyone else.
Across the globe, wildfires are on the move. Acrid smoke from huge Ontario fires choked major cities across Canada and the US last week, while in western Europe, France, Portugal and Spain have each been torched by a record-breaking number of blazes for this time of year.
In the UK, parched conditions after a hot dry summer have helped fuel blazes from national parks to cities. Last weekend, firefighters were tackling a blaze on Arthur’s Seat, the volcanic outcrop in the middle of Edinburgh. The week before, dozens of crews were confronted by a wildfire in north-east London.
Because of the climate crisis, fires are burning simultaneously in more places around the world – and they are often hotter, less predictable, and greater in number. For our big story, Ajit Niranjan surveys what seems to be a new normal and considers the impossible decisions specialist fire crews are making when multiple fires are burning in different parts of the world.
In Australia, bushfires have always been part of the country’s landscape. Graham Readfearn talks to some of those who have learned to live with the ever-present danger and asks what they can teach others in this rapidly changing world.
Spotlight | Trump is risking midterm disaster. Why? Less than a month after hailing a ceasefire, Trump resumed strikes on Iran – a move experts warn could prolong the war and hurt Republicans in upcoming elections. Robert Tait asks what is going on
Science | Is the world facing a male reproductive crisis? Reports of falling sperm counts and testosterone levels have fuelled fears over chemicals, pollution and modern lifestyles. Hannah Devlin investigates
Feature | The business of rewilding Intensive farming has all but destroyed England’s ancient woodlands and freshwater wetlands. On a farm in Lincolnshire, a radical aristocrat hopes to show there’s money in protecting nature. Patrick Barkham went to find out
Opinion | What’s left after this World Cup? A kind of messy hope Kazakhs cheering Uzbeks, Bengalis wild for Argentina … This tournament was once a playground for nationalism. Now it shows how flimsy that allegiance is, argues Jonathan Liew
Culture | All shook up: the return of Alabama Shakes With Brittany Howard at the helm, the American three-piece band are back with a new album railing against the state of the US in 2026. Dave Simpson caught up with them
Agnes Stamp meets the cereal-snaffling, bed-wrecking, turkey-wrangling miniature bull terrier who took the title—and rounds up the best (or worst) of the rest
The 39 steps to being a good dog owner
From clamping down on begging to sweetening bad breath, William Hanson presents his guide to modern pet-iquette
Ian Seath’s favourite painting
The Royal Kennel Club chairman chooses a work that celebrates canine collaboration with humans
Pup and coming
There have never been so many options for pampering your pooch. Mary Skipwith explores the rapidly evolving world of canine luxury
Country-house treasure
John Goodall marvels at the extensive 18th-century library at Powderham Castle in Devon
The legacy
Kate Green applauds Enid Blyton for dreaming up the spirited adventures of the Famous Five
A power in the landscape
In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores the early history of Curraghmore in Co Waterford, one of Ireland’s great houses
Bone appétit
Why settle for discarded street snacks when there is succulent chicken on the menu, asks Jack Russell Maud Parker Bowles
Interiors
Arabella Youens investigates interiors designed with pets in mind and Amelia Thorpe shares accessories for the (dog) house
Winging it
Why can’t we learn to love the wood pigeon, asks Mark Cocker
You got me there
David Profumo pursues tricky brown trout in a day on the Test
Everything bar the Oompa Loompas
Harry Pearson visits The Oldest Sweet Shop in England, which has traded in treats since 1827
Luxury
Fruity accessories offer rich pickings for Amie Elizabeth White
Colour for all seasons
Kathryn Bradley-Hole admires the spectacular successional planting in the new gardens of The Copper House in Kent
Travel
Steven King savours the spirit of the Hebrides and the natural beauty of the Isle of Harris during a stay at historic Rodel House
Arts & antiques
The rise of service à la russe in the 19th century turned the tables in upper-class British dining, discovers Carla Passino
To say nothing of the dog
Michael Prodger examines the history of canines on canvas and reveals how artists have warmed to Man’s best friend
The alleged scam, organized by a 24-year-old from Philadelphia, offered athletes ownership of bogus websites as a place to park cash from their lucrative careers.
The Unanswered Questions Driving the Stock Market Drop
The biggest problems aren’t caused by what you don’t know, but what, as Mark Twain put it, “you know for sure that just ain’t so.” And that’s a massive problem for the stock market right now.
Andy Burnham is to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, having secured the Labour leadership with the landslide support of his party’s MPs.
The former Manchester mayor is now set to replace Starmer as Labour leader on Friday before walking through the doors of No 10 and becoming prime minister next Monday.
For our big story this week, Daniel Boffey looks at how Burnham charted the route from school politics to No 10, while Jessica Elgot runs through the bulging in-tray awaiting him when he steps into the new role. And Gaby Hinsliff examines how the PM-in-waiting might fare on the global stage, asking whether, unlike Keir Starmer, he has the skills to deal with Donald Trump.
Spotlight | A revolution in ruins Discontent with Venezuela’s Trump-backed government is mounting as Chávez heirs struggle to respond to the earthquake disaster, writes Tom Phillips
Science | We’re going on a water bear hunt Scientists hope DNA sequencing tardigrades – tiny yet virtually indestructible creatures – could help us understand the secrets of their superpowers. Patrick Barkham reports
Feature | The battle of the Bell hotel Tim Burrows visits the town of Epping in Essex to hear from local people about the impact of last year’s far-right protests that centred on a hotel housing asylum seekers
Opinion | The real source of Trump’s power exposed The Nato summit showed the US president’s willingness to violate all norms, rules and laws – and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces, argues Robert Reich
Culture | Never-ending story With Christopher Nolan’s take on the Odyssey set to break box office records, Charlotte Higgins asks why a poem from 600BC holds a vice-like grip on pop culture
Investment, organisation and effort can guarantee secure water supplies for everyone in Britain, argues Lord Deben
The power of water
Kate Green surveys the surging strength of the Severn Bore, the haunting beauty of the flooded Somerset Levels, life on the edge at Dawlish and the capital’s mighty Thames Barrier.
Why every drop counts
People who work with water tell Kate Green and Mary Skipwith why we need to reconnect with our most precious resource
Up with the gulls, to bed with the owl
Patrick Galbraith experiences an eventful day in the life of the ever-changing, but enduringly beautiful Cley estuary in Norfolk
On peak form
Artists such as Turner, Bierstadt and Wolf took painting to new heights with their depictions of mountains, finds Michael Prodger
Let all the world sing
The 2026 BBC Proms promises to be a truly global spectacle, as Henrietta Bredin discovers
The queen of spas
Scarborough in North Yorkshire is the original Victorian seaside resort. Kathryn Ferry charts the development of its spa complex
The Revd Sam Wells’s favourite painting
The St Martin-in-the-Fields vicar chooses a painting where ‘magnificent humanity’ is laid bare
Country-house treasure
John Goodall unearths evidence of Bowood in Wiltshire’s wartime role as a ‘beacon of recovery’
Pooling assets
George Plumptre is charmed by the Anglo-Italian landscape at Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire
The legacy
Agnes Stamp pays tribute to speed merchant Sir Max Aitken, the king of British powerboating
Winging it
Mark Cocker assesses the anti-social antics of the herring gull
Luxury
Jonathan Self ponders the power of fine jewellery and Amie Elizabeth White finds coral for all
Interiors
Arabella Youens visits a kitchen giving a nod to history, and reveals that chequerboard floors are back
Travel
Rosie Paterson is looking for a New England in Nantucket
Arts & antiques
Carla Passino investigates the intriguing tale of ‘Mad Madge’, a pioneer of science-fiction
Truth, lies and somewhere in between
Michael Billington delves into a world of deceit and infidelity
In case you missed Donald Trump’s triumphalist address marking America’s 250th anniversary, you weren’t alone. Lightning storms caused by an extreme heatwave sent the Washington crowds scattering and delayed the US president’s address by four hours – but it was still a trademark piece of Trumpian dystopia, a highly politicised polemic that followed on from a white nationalist march on the streets of the capital.
David Smith’s brilliant feature essay this week reveals how the US president has hijacked the country’s milestone anniversary and turned it into a joyless, farcical series of largely self-serving events. And from Moscow to Mexico City, there’s a terrific reported feature from our correspondents around the globe on how the world views America at 250 in the age of Trump.
Spotlight | At the ayatollah’s funeral, Iranians call for revenge Crowds swelled through Tehran as mourners dressed in black carried flags proclaiming: ‘We will rise’, reports diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour
Environment | The changing symphony of Britain’s dawn chorus The country has lost an estimated 73 million wild birds from its landscape over the last 50 years, but a new project aims to recreate their sound. By Sandra Laville and Madeleine Finlay
Feature | Morality and the machine Since 2017, philosopher Iason Gabriel has worked at Google DeepMind, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference, asks Robert P Baird
Opinion | Thank heavens for the pope In a political wasteland dominated by billionaires, war criminals and mega-corporations, the head of the Catholic church is a rare figure of moral leadership, argues Simon Tisdall
Culture | An invitation you can’t refuse Director Olivia Wilde and co-star Edward Norton talk to Catherine Shoard aboutThe Invite, their new movie about marital bed death that is the season’s buzziest, funniest release
Hold off on that online-shopping impulse buy — there’s no substitute for carefully crafted quality
It’s getting hot in here
Ben Lerwill sets his tastebuds a-tingling as he meets the British chilli-sauce makers adding to the spice of life
Luxury
If you only buy one suitcase, make it a classic GlobeTrotter, suggests Amie Elizabeth White
Winging it
Mark Cocker looks beyond the raven’s grim reputation to seek the truth about our largest corvid
Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s favourite painting
The Speaker of the House of Commons is captivated by the Westminster riverfront in a work with a photographic quality
On top of the world
Kirsty Fergusson applauds the stamina of the hardy souls who tend the spectacular clifftop gardens at Chygurno, Cornwall
Country-house treasure
John Goodall stands in the stead of William Tyndale behind a preacher’s pulpit at Bucklebury House in Berkshire
The legacy
Agnes Stamp salutes Agnes Marshall, the Queen of Ices
While the cat’s away…
David Glasper lifts the lid on the cat flap, the means by which the regal feline can come and go precisely as it pleases
An architectural evolution
Jeremy Musson charts the rise of Selwyn College, Cambridge, from its origins as a memorial to a 19th-century missionary
The raw deal
Tom Parker Bowles savours the lip-smacking summer freshness of that Peruvian classic ceviche
Travel
Rosie Paterson unpacks the latest in luxury-yacht looks and follows in Frida Kahlo’s footsteps
Arts & antiques
Beauty and function were fused in the form of the sedan chair, the conveyance of choice for the upper echelons of Georgian society, reveals Carla Passino
Art to dine for
Intriguing art can be a meal-time conversation starter in country-house dining rooms, as Melanie Cable-Alexander discovers
Catch of the day
Collector Paul Martin shares his tips on amassing a school of exquisite antiquarian fish prints
It’s neatly ironic that the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote should have been marked this week by yet another prime ministerial resignation.
The two things aren’t directly related – the intense pressure put on Keir Starmer to step down was partly down to his own political flaws. But the rise in the polls of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s populist rightwing party that morphed out of the Brexit-obsessed Ukip, was a key factor.
The fact that the country is now set for its seventh prime minister in the decade since Brexit speaks volumes. The vote in 2016 to leave the European Union deeply fractured Britain, a country that remains volatile and impatient for change to this day.
Change has come to the UK as a result of Brexit – only not for the better, as senior economics correspondent Richard Partington explains for our special report this week. We revisit the buildup to the vote as key figures at the time recall how it shook the country’s politics. And there’s even a quiz to test your memory of the more arcane sideshows of it all.
Spotlight | Iran’s regime survived the war. Will it make peace with its people? If the conflict with the US and Israel triggered a rare moment of solidarity in the divided country, many doubt it will be used for reform, reports Saeed Shah
Spotlight | Why did Somali children become targets of US drone strikes? Six months ago, at least 12 people, including eight children, died during a US attack. The US has never admitted the civilian deaths. Mark Townsend pieces together what happened that day
Environment | The online archive sharing scientific knowledge with everyone The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt. Donna Ferguson reports
Opinion | There is still hope for international law Even in this age of global rupture, do not despair: developments in Ukraine and Iran show that the military superpowers are not getting it all their own way, argues Nathalie Tocci
Culture | Why time is still on Keith Richards’ side At 82, the Rolling Stones guitarist is still hale and hearty, enjoying life as a great-grandad and jousting with Mick Jagger like old times. Ahead of a new Stones album launch, Alexis Petridis caught up with him
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
