Mango frenzy in the US

Every spring, Carfax chief marketing officer Nakul Goyal eagerly awaits his favourite WhatsApp notification. It’s a mango alert. “The moment a new shipment gets announced, I literally stop whatever I’m doing,” said the self-described “mango fan”. Welcome to Indian mango season in America, when a devoted and slightly unhinged community descends into a collective frenzy over a delicacy that most of their neighbours have never tasted. Walk into any American grocery store, and the mango on offer is almost certainly from Mexico. At around $10 a box, it’s affordable and available year-round. But Indian mango devotees swear their mangos are richer and sweeter than their Mexican counterparts. It’s priced accordingly. A box, usually holding 10-12 mangoes, runs $50 to $60 this season. That’s up from $40 to $45 last year, a jump importers attribute largely to tariff uncertainty and rising airfreight costs due to the Iran war.

(Adapted from “Americans Will Do Anything To Get Indian Mangoes,” by Anvee Bhutani, published on May 4, 2026, by the Wall Street Journal)

American fiscal stress

Federal debt now tops 100pc of gross domestic product, a potent symbol of the gathering fiscal stresses on the US that have been building for decades. It’s on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II. As of March 31, the country’s publicly held debt was $31.27tr, while GDP over the preceding year was $31.2tr. That puts the ratio at 100.2pc, compared with 99.5pc when the last fiscal year ended September 30. That figure will likely climb for the foreseeable future because the federal government is running historically large annual deficits of nearly 6pc of GDP, which add to the debt. The government is spending $1.33 for every dollar it collects in revenue, and the budget deficit this year is projected at $1.9tr. That is little changed from 2025 as Republicans’ tax cuts kick in before their spending cuts take effect. The final tally will depend on Iran’s war spending, tariff refunds and the strength of the economy.

(Adapted from “US Debt Tops 100% of GDP,” Richard Rubin, published on April 30, 2026, by the Wall Street Journal)

Cutting federal food aid

The number of food-stamp recipients is dropping sharply across the US as states move to implement new Trump administration rules on who qualifies. Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has decreased by nearly 3.5m people since stricter eligibility requirements were enacted last July, federal data show. Under the new rules, able-bodied adults aged 18 to 64 without children under 14 must work, volunteer or participate in approved job-training programmes for at least 80 hours a month. The previous age limit for work requirements was 54, and allowed exemptions for adults with children under 18. The new rules also end eligibility for certain non-US citizens in the country with legal permission. Last fiscal year, about 42.1m people received monthly SNAP benefits at a total cost of $101.7bn.

(Adapted from “More Than Three Million People Have Lost Federal Food Aid,” by Dan Frosch, published on May 2, 2026, by the Wall Street Journal)

Cinemas for the rich

One of the best-selling points of a night out at the movies has long been how cheap it was for two hours-plus of entertainment. Not so much when it costs $50 a ticket. That is how much Regal Cinemas recently charged for opening night seats to see December’s “Dune: Part Three” projected in 70 millimetre IMAX film. Its inventory sold out in a matter of minutes. Eye-popping prices for the most in-demand movies on the best screens are becoming increasingly common as the cinema industry copies the audience-segmentation playbooks of airlines and hotels. Theatres are attracting people who love movies and have discretionary income, willing to pay substantially more. Some 17pc of film tickets sold last year were for premium-format theatres with bigger screens and better sound, compared with 13pc in 2021. Despite recent hits, the annual number of tickets sold is down more than one-third from before the pandemic.

(Adapted from “The $50 Movie Ticket Has Arrived,” by Ben Fritz, published on April 27, 2026, by the Wall Street Journal)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 11th, 2026