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Financial Times | 02/20/2026 | Kristin Forbes
A new paper by professor Kristin Forbes showed that 20 years ago, America's net international investment position (NIIP) was "just" equivalent to 11 percent of its GDP, in negative terms. This means that the value of American assets held by non-Americans slightly exceeded Americans' holding of non-US assets. But the most recent data (late 2024) shows this negative NIIP has exploded to the equivalent of 91 per cent of US GDP.
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Financial Advisor | 02/24/2026 | Mark Kritzman
A recent study by senior lecturer Mark Kritzman and co-author found that, irrespective of their high market concentration, heavily weighted stocks aren't necessarily riskier investments. It's a "fallacy" to equate market weight with risk. A highly concentrated market is a "natural consequence" of growth, not an "aberration," they said.
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MMR: Mass Market Retailers | 02/23/2026 | Vivek Farias
The future of commerce won't be driven by better filters or keywords, said professor Vivek Farias. It will be driven by agents trained on large language models to reason, recall and recommend.
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The New York Times | 02/23/2026 | Christopher Knittel, Catherine Wolfram
In a recent paper, associate dean for climate and sustainability Christopher Knittel, professor Catherine Wolfram, and co-author estimated that Americans are paying between $400 and $900 per person annually because of global warming. "We're likely at this inflection point where costs are going to start growing more rapidly," Knittel said. "The observed costs have been fairly linear so far. Going forward, that's going to start increasing at an increasing rate."
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Fortune | 02/22/2026 | Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson
Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu argued that while Trump's authoritarian tendencies are weakening the country's institutions, the president is not the root cause of the broader structural problems. "If we go down this path of destroying jobs and creating more inequality, U.S. democracy is not going to survive," he said.
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Inc.com | 02/21/2026 | Kate Kellogg
In a field study by professor Kate Kellogg and co-authors, 70 consultants from Boston Consulting Group used GPT-4 for a complex financial analysis task. Participants were asked not just to create output, but to validate that output. Instead of correcting the mistake, the AI frequently responded with more detail, more data, emotional affirmation, and even more confident language, almost like it was trying to win the argument.
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The New York Times | 02/20/2026 | Athanasios Orphanides
Before being tapped for Fed chair, Kevin M. Warsh characterized the A.I. boom as "the most productivity-enhancing wave of our lifetimes — past, present and future." Professor of the practice Athanasios Orphanides noted: "I don't think we are anywhere close yet to having evidence that A.I. has increased potential output significantly. That's why it's tricky to use this argument to say this clearly justifies lower rates today."
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The New York Times | 02/19/2026 | Christopher Knittel
The costs of utility investments could add up quickly, said associate dean for climate and sustainability Christopher Knittel. "If it's just a few industrial customers with behind-the-meter power plants, it doesn't really matter," he said. But as data centers grow bigger and more plentiful, he added, "these things are going to matter so much."
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Poets&Quants | 02/18/2026 | Richard Locke
MIT's performance was strategic and methodical, no different than its namesake beaver building a dam. Call it a major coup for Richard Locke, John C Head III dean of MIT Sloan.
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Financial Times | 02/17/2026 | MIT Sloan
The Financial Times rankings are discussed in this podcast episode, with key factors being salary, three years post-graduating, and research expertise. MIT Sloan was cited as being very much at the center of the tech revolution and working with a lot with other departments at the university. (Rankings discussion starts at 8:50 minutes.)
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| Opinion |
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Project Syndicate | 02/23/2026 | Catherine Wolfram
Professor Catherine Wolfram wrote: "A report that I co-authored with colleagues from the Global Climate Policy Project at Harvard and MIT shows that a coalition of countries pricing carbon in heavy industries could generate billions of dollars in revenue, while also meaningfully reducing global emissions."
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The Wall Street Journal | 02/22/2026 | Robert C. Pozen
Senior lecturer Robert C. Pozen wrote: "Since returning to the presidency, Donald Trump has governed with the same volatility that defined his first term — but now with a new tool in hand: federal ownership stakes in private companies. This unprecedented economic power grab, coupled with opaque decision-making and conflicts of interest, has created a climate of instability for investors and companies."
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The Boston Globe | 02/21/2026 | Robert B. McKersie
Professor Emeritus Robert B. McKersie wrote: "It was clear during those early years of the 1960s that Jesse Jackson was a brilliant and visionary leader."
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MarketWatch | 02/23/2026 | Robert C. Pozen
Senior lecturer Robert C. Pozen wrote: "The refund debate underscores the need for clear rules. Who is entitled to a refund: the plaintiffs in this case, all the businesses that paid import duties or all consumers who paid higher prices for imported goods? When a president relies on expansive readings of emergency statutes and rapidly changes tariff rates on an ad hoc basis, the result is litigation and political chaos."
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| Students + Alumni |
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The Boston Globe | 02/24/2026 | Bill Aulet
Klaviyo cofounders Ed Hallen (MBA '12) and Andrew Bialecki are donating $6 million to bulk up the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship's "delta v" startup accelerator program. Professor of the practice Bill Aulet, the Martin Trust Center's managing director, said the gift from Hallen and Bialecki represents the largest donation to the accelerator program in its 15-year history.
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The Washington Post | 02/21/2026
Nicholas Curcio (MBA '26), CEO of Bamboo Hotels, said: "If we can successfully create a true home base for digital nomads, adventure seekers and the design-focused 'Instagramable' crowd, we can create a strong community among road trippers at a national scale."
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