While Italians scoff at Americano slop and Japanese people cringe at stateside 7-Eleven hot dogs, Americans are having the last laugh when it comes to economic prosperity.

The US economy is doing better than that of any other member of the rich countries club (aka the Group of Seven), the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. The global economy watcher upgraded its prediction for US GDP growth to 2.8% this year, compared to the 0.9% average for all G7 countries.

Economists attribute the strength of the US economy to rising inflation-adjusted wages and strong consumer spending, all fueled by longtime investment. Experts say it boils down to Americans being more efficient workers.

Americans get more done

US workers are more productive than their counterparts in Europe and Japan, but probably not because they take shorter vacations or drink less wine at lunch. US companies have more money to invest in innovation due to lower energy prices and strong government support.

Workers benefit from updated machinery and software to operate more efficiently. According to The Economist:

• The average US worker will churn out $171,000 of goods and services this year, compared to $120,000 for a European employee and $96,000 for one in Japan.
• Americans’ hourly productivity has risen 70% since 1990, compared to just 29% in Europe and 25% in Japan, according to Conference Board data analyzed by The Economist.

The US owes its economic powerhouse status to a robust business environment, in which workers switch jobs often and new companies pop up, according to The Economist. These conditions give rise to its dominant tech sector and other lucrative industries that create economic value.

But…productivity growth is declining worldwide, including in the US, which is bad news for global economic growth. AI might reverse this trend. Some economists are optimistic that it will boost productivity and turbocharge economies, but the IMF cites experts who say that governments need to do more to promote a competitive environment and support smaller businesses.—SK

E. Coli outbreak is linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. The CDC said it has received reports of 49 cases across 10 states between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, with most located in Colorado and Nebraska. The outbreak has led to 10 hospitalizations and one death. In a statement yesterday, McDonald’s suggested the issue may stem from “slivered onions,” which it has removed from restaurants and has stopped distributing in the impacted area. The message also said Quarter Pounders will be temporarily removed from menus in Wyoming, Kansas, Utah, and Colorado, as well as some parts of Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The company said it is “committed to providing timely updates as we restore our full menu.”

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO arrested for sex trafficking. Mike Jeffries was arrested yesterday in West Palm Beach, Florida, as part of a federal investigation. Jeffries, his partner, and a third man are accused of building and running an international sex trafficking ring and prostitution business between 2008 and 2015 that relied heavily on their vast financial resources and Jeffries’s clout as the CEO of A&F. Each of the accused faces 15 counts of interstate prostitution connected to 15 alleged victims, who were all young men at the time, and one count of sex trafficking.

Kamala Harris is said to have the tacit support of Jamie Dimon, Bill Gates. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon wants Vice President Harris to win the election and would even consider joining her administration, according to the New York Times—but he will allegedly keep his preference private since he fears retaliation if former President Trump returns to office. In response, a JPMorgan spokesperson told the NYT that Dimon “has never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate.” Later in the day, the Times reported that Bill Gates, who also has not publicly endorsed a candidate, privately told people he donated $50 million to a nonprofit supporting Harris’s run. Gates responded to the Times with a statement that did not address the specific claim but said in part, “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different.”—HVL

People are talking about Arkansas, and it has nothing to do with the “America, explain” vine. A new study estimates that the state has enough lithium to meet projected global demand for the metal, a crucial component of electric vehicle batteries, in a potential boon for the US amid government efforts to encourage EV adoption.

The study, completed by the US Geological Survey (USGS) using predictive modeling and AI, found between 5 million and 19 million tons of lithium in the limestone Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas—enough to supply nine times the amount of lithium needed to meet the 2030 expected world demand for EV batteries.

Domestic production, here we gooo: Finding this source in the US is good for “employment, manufacturing, and supply-chain resilience,” according to the USGS, as most lithium comes from Australia or South America and is processed in China. The Arkansas discovery changes that equation. Five companies have already set up shop, including Exxon Mobil, which aims to start lithium extraction in 2027.

Look out for new technology, too. ExxonMobil is one of many companies exploring DLE, or direct lithium extraction, a method that is faster, safer, and less energy intensive than existing alternatives.—CC

Horrible news for any 1960s businessman hoping to call a flight attendant “toots,” but a new rule went into effect yesterday allowing “No Smoking” signs on airplanes to stay on permanently. The change comes after nearly 30 years of smoke-free flights.

An outdated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule required aircraft to have No Smoking signs that could be turned on and off by flight crew. The rule stayed on the books for decades, occasionally causing problems for airlines. In February, United was forced to temporarily ground five Airbus A321neo planes because their software automatically kept the signs on.

Big picture: The statute was one of the last remaining relics of the tobacco industry’s grasp on the airline industry. Cigarette-makers globbed onto the rise of air travel in the 1950s, making deals with airlines to hand out products on board. It was a group of flight attendants who filed what is believed to be the first official class action suit against tobacco giants in 1991, according to the New York Times.—MM

A CNN special investigation found that some of the largest grassroots political donors in the country may not even be aware of their status. Reporters at the outlet analyzed complaints filed with consumer advocacy groups and campaign finance data and reached out to the most frequent elderly contributors and their family members. CNN said many seniors, including some with cognitive impairment, unknowingly donated away their retirement savings, sometimes $5 and $10 at a time:

• The contributions of 50 “unwitting elderly donors” amounted to $6 million over the last five years.
• An 80-year-old in Texas, who believed he was “communicating with key Republican leaders” based on fundraising text messages written to sound like they were coming from candidates and allies, made over 15,000 donations in a year, totaling $440,000.

As of June 2024, the man’s son was able to help him reclaim $151,006 of that money in refunds from WinRed, the fundraising platform used by the RNC. Between January 2022 and June 2024, the Federal Trade Commission received 803 complaints against WinRed and 120 against the DNC’s equivalent, ActBlue.—HVL