Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said plans to build more than 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank will “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.
The so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition internationally. Building there would effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem.
Smotrich said it would thwart the idea of a Palestinian state “because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise”.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law and form one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
About 700,000 settlers live in approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. It is land Palestinians seek for a future independent state.
“After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem,” Smotrich said.
“This is Zionism at its best – building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”
It follows declarations in recent days by a growing number of countries of their intention to recognise a Palestinian state in coming months, which Israel has denounced.
Announcing the plan at a news conference with settler organisation Yesha Council Chairman Israel Ganz and Maale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach, Smotrich said the land had been given to the Jews by God.
When asked by the BBC what message the plans sent to the likes of the UK and France, which plan to recognise a State of Palestine later this year, he said: “It’s not going to happen. There will be no state to recognise.”
In response to the move, the US State Department said “a stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region.”
But the UN and the EU urged Israel not to progress the plan.
The “EU rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between involved parties,” a spokesman said.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said the proposal must be stopped.
“The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law,” he said.
Israeli NGO Peace Now said: “The Netanyahu government is exploiting every minute to deepen the annexation of the West Bank and prevent the possibility of a two-state solution.
“It is clear to everyone today that the only solution to the conflict, and the only way to defeat Hamas, is through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“The Government of Israel is condemning us to continued bloodshed, instead of working to end it.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the new settlement plan “an extension of crimes of genocide, displacement and annexation”.
Smotrich, together with national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was sanctioned by the UK in June over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities” in the occupied West Bank.
The construction of 3,401 housing units in the E1 area has been frozen for 20 years. Developing the area has long been seen as effectively blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state, because of its strategic position separating areas south of Jerusalem from those to its north, preventing a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel’s pressure on West Bank Palestinians has increased sharply, justified as legitimate security measures.
The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law – a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton on Wednesday said President Trump’s tariffs may push India further away from the U.S. and into deeper alliances with Russia and China.
The president previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing oil from the Kremlin absent of similar punishments for China, who purchases more fuel from Russia.
“I can tell you the reaction in India to that, particularly with no tariffs slapped on China, which bought an awful lot more oil and gas from Russia, is the Indians are incandescent about this and there‘s talk of Putin coming to India later this year,” Bolton said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN’s “AC360.”
“There‘s talk of Prime Minister Modi of India going to China for the first time since 2018. Obviously, both Moscow and Beijing are going to try to bring India closer to them,” he added.
China and the U.S. engaged in a high stakes trade war earlier this year, where tariff rates soared to triple digits, resulting in market scares and consumer anxiety about skyrocketing prices.
Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to lower rates to a moderate 10 percent for American exports and 30 percent for products imported from China.
The president has shied away from engaging in another war with leaders in Beijing with tariffs over their dealings with the Kremlin.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was notably close to Trump during his first term. The two held rallies together in both India and Texas to celebrate bilateral relations.
At the time, Trump said India was “America’s greatest, most devoted, and most loyal friends.”
But his tone has become more pointed over the country’s tariff rates.
“What people don’t like to say about India — they’re the highest tariff nation. They have the highest tariff of anybody. We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high,” Trump said last week.
”So we settled on 25 percent, but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil. They’re fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be very happy,” he added.
Modi reaffirmed his country’s relationship with Russia in a social media post last week.
Former Rutgers teammates Ace Bailey and Harper will face off in December when the Utah Jazz play the Spurs. Meanwhile, James will embark on his record-breaking 23rd season in the league.
These are just some of the storylines we can’t wait to watch. ESPN’s NBA insiders break down the most anticipated games of the upcoming season, including opening night, every big revenge matchup, the five-game Christmas Day slate and key superstar showdowns.
When is the Emirates NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament?
The third edition of the tournament begins Oct. 31 when group play tips off. Group play ends on Nov. 28, with the knockout rounds running through Dec. 9-10. The semifinals will be on Dec. 13 and the championship will be held on Dec. 16.
What is the Christmas schedule?
There will be five games Dec. 25:
When and where is the All-Star Game?
The NBA All-Star Game will take place Feb. 15, 2026, at Intuit Dome, home of the LA Clippers.
Will Thunder fans’ angst over Kevin Durant’s decision to leave Oklahoma City in free agency in 2016 finally dissipate now that the NBA’s next dynasty could be blossoming in Bricktown? His presence at the Paycom Center as the franchise’s first championship banner is raised to the rafters will provide a good litmus test. Houston’s trade for Durant — a deal fittingly agreed to on the morning of the Thunder’s title-clinching Game 7 win — might make the Rockets the defending champions’ toughest challenger in the Western Conference. Mix in the history between the Rockets’ new centerpiece and the Thunder, and this is a marquee matchup worthy of tipping off a season. — Tim MacMahon
One of the simplest ways to ensure an older star is rested and revved up for a particular matchup is to make it the first of 82 games. Barring a preseason injury, both LeBron James, 40, and Stephen Curry, 37, should be out there for their 56th career head-to-head matchup. James has the slight regular-season upper hand: a 14-13 record. Curry has the playoff crown: 17-11 record, 3 series to 2. There’s no telling how many more matchups the basketball world will see between them. This one will generate plenty of spotlight and should be competitive, considering both teams are projected to finish similarly in the conference. — Anthony Slater
Reunions tend to work out favorably for Kevin Durant but not so much for the opposing team. The two-time NBA Finals MVP has won whenever he has returned for the first time to play on the road against a former team. Durant dropped 34 in his return to OKC as a Warrior, 20 in a 134-117 rout of Golden State in his first game back in the Bay and 33 when Phoenix blasted the Nets in Brooklyn. Now, he’s leading a contender against a retooled roster in Phoenix. — Michael C. Wright
The most shocking move of the summer came when the Bucks, with no cap space, signed center Myles Turner out of nowhere by waiving Damian Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million owed in the final two years of his contract over the rest of this decade. With Turner now on the team that was knocked out of the playoffs by the Pacers the past two seasons, more fuel has been added to what has quietly become one of the NBA’s more intense rivalries. — Tim Bontemps
In 24 hours in June, the Celtics moved on from two key cogs of their championship-winning team from a year ago, sending Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks. The Porzingis move was one of several Atlanta made this summer that could push the Hawks back into contention for a top-four seed in the East, and it should add spice to the Latvian’s return to Boston, where he became a fan favorite in his two seasons in Celtic green. — Bontemps
This isn’t just a matchup between the two defending No. 1 seeds but also a clash of styles, as the Cavaliers led the league in offensive rating last season and the Thunder were tops in defensive rating. The clichéd unstoppable force versus immovable object produced one of the best games of the 2024-25 regular season, a 129-122 Cavaliers win at home, before Oklahoma City got revenge with a 20-point victory a week later. This matchup should be just as compelling a year later, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams battling Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland for perimeter scoring, plus two elite double-big pairings going head-to-head in the frontcourt. — Zach Kram
The Grizzlies and Hawks had the NBA’s fastest offenses last season, each taking an average of 10.6 seconds per possession to shoot, per Inpredictable tracking. The teams’ second meeting last season showed just how fun a matchup between fast-paced teams can be: Atlanta won 132-130 in March when Dyson Daniels stripped Desmond Bane in the final seconds and threw the ball ahead to Caris LeVert for a buzzer-beating layup. — Kram
The Finals rematch loses a lot of luster due to the torn Achilles tendon Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered early in Game 7, an injury that will sideline him all season. But the friendly, fierce competition between MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his childhood buddy Andrew Nembhard, who will be the Pacers’ primary ballhandler in Haliburton’s absence, is always worth the price of admission. — MacMahon
Is this really a rivalry after a gentlemen’s sweep in the conference finals? The Timberwolves, who lost a key contributor with Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s free agency departure, must prove that they’re a serious challenger to a young Oklahoma City squad that returns its entire rotation. After advancing to the conference finals the past two years, Minnesota’s best bet to break through is for 24-year-old All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards to make another leap. There is no tougher test than the Thunder’s stifling defense headed by stopper Luguentz Dort. — MacMahon
Just a few months ago, these teams squared off in a playoff series that began with no one giving New York much of a chance after the Knicks were swept in the season series by the defending NBA champions. But then, after the Knicks mounted back-to-back stunning comebacks to begin the series, Jayson Tatum tore an Achilles on the Madison Square Garden floor in Game 5, changing the direction of not only the Celtics but the entire league. Now, it’s New York that is seen as one of the favorites to make the NBA Finals, while Boston finds itself in a rebuilding year. — Bontemps
The denizens of MSG love themselves a villain. Reggie Miller assumed that role with aplomb for prior generations of fans, and now Trae Young has taken to it for this group, with his name coming up even when the Hawks aren’t in attendance. But after Young ribbed the Knicks and their fans by pretending to roll dice on the court upon beating New York last season and with Atlanta looking like a factor in the East for the first time since making the conference finals in 2021 — a playoff run that sent the Knicks home in five games — expect venom to head the star point guard’s way when he appears in Gotham. — Bontemps
The two favorites to make the East finals will kick off the Christmas slate, a matchup that also highlights the lack of star power around the conference as the other eight teams in action hail from West of the Mississippi. There’s plenty of juice in this showdown, though, with Donovan Mitchell going up against Jalen Brunson and Evan Mobley squaring off with Karl-Anthony Towns. We’ll get an early look at which of these teams has the edge in what could be a seasonlong staring contest. — Bontemps
San Antonio paid close attention to Oklahoma City’s meticulous rebuild as it embarked on its own, making this matchup something of a litmus test for where the Spurs are headed. San Antonio hadn’t played on Christmas since 2016 before last season, when Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 42 points — the most by a visitor on Christmas at Madison Square Garden — with 18 rebounds and four blocks in a 117-114 loss to the Knicks. Led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the defending champion Thunder return to the Christmas Day slate for the first time since 2018. — Michael C. Wright
The arena workers won’t be lined up from the loading dock to the locker room to greet Klay Thompson. The crowd won’t be given sailor hats to tip toward him in lineup introductions. Nothing will match the pageantry and emotion of his first return to San Francisco. But Thompson against the Warriors will always have a strange and amplified look to it, especially in Chase Center. So the league planted it on a showcase stage and will get a Cooper Flagg debut Christmas game out of it as well. — Slater
LeBron James’ first Christmas Day game as a Laker came against Kevin Durant in 2018, and now the two all-time greats will face off again to anchor the festivities. A lot has changed since that last matchup, with Durant going from the Warriors to the Nets to the Suns to the Rockets. James has stayed in L.A., but his coach has gone from Luke Walton to Frank Vogel to Darvin Ham to JJ Redick. And Durant’s old coach in Brooklyn, Steve Nash, is James’ podcast co-host on “Mind the Game.” What has remained the same is both players’ elite production. Durant, 36, averaged 26.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4.2 assists last season. James, 40, averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in his 22nd campaign. — Dave McMenamin
A visit from Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves isn’t much of a Christmas gift for Nikola Jokic‘s Nuggets. The Timberwolves have won the past five games between the rivals, a streak that dates to Minnesota’s historic road comeback in Game 7 of the 2024 Western Conference semifinals. Jokic had a 61-point triple-double in Denver’s last meeting with Minnesota, but that wasn’t enough for the Nuggets to pull out a win in a double-overtime classic. — MacMahon
The most recent two MVPs — winners of four of the past five awards combined — have developed a rivalry of sorts despite playing different positions. Their teams met back-to-back in Oklahoma City in March, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivering 40 points in a blowout win the first night and Nikola Jokic answering with a 35-point, 18-rebound performance the next. Gilgeous-Alexander took not only his first MVP but also the seven-game playoff series between the two teams en route to the title. After Jokic’s Nuggets added reinforcements this summer, it could be a fairer fight this time around. — Kevin Pelton
Every Lakers-Mavs game figures to pack plenty of intrigue for years to come, but there are a couple of firsts to tune in for this season. All eyes will be on the matchup when Cooper Flagg, Dallas’ No. 1 pick, shares the court with Luka Doncic, the franchise’s former star, for the first time. It’s not hard to imagine the buzz that will permeate the arena when Doncic has Flagg defending him on a switch and starts dribbling the ball between his legs to set up a step-back 3. And the Mavs’ game in Los Angeles will be Anthony Davis‘ first time playing there since last season’s trade, as he sat out Dallas’ game at Crypto.com Arena in February with an adductor strain. — McMenamin
Circle Oct. 22 for one of the most plot-heavy opening-week matchups. Of course, top picks Flagg and Dylan Harper will make their NBA debuts against each other in what the league surely hopes will mark the start of a reenergized Mavs-Spurs rivalry. This should also be Victor Wembanyama’s first regular-season game as he returns from the blood-clot scare that ended his 2024-25 season. With Dallas and San Antonio hoping to mount playoff pushes, this game should have a lot going for it. — Jeremy Woo
The budding stars have faced off four times in their careers, with Holmgren owning three victories, including last year’s matchup when the Thunder big man played a significant role in limiting Wembanyama to career lows in points (6) and field goals (1). Expect the play on the floor between these ultracompetitive slim towers to belie the effort they’ll expend in downplaying this matchup. Wembanyama bested Holmgren for Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, but the latter took home championship hardware first. Wembanyama’s last win against OKC (Feb. 29, 2024) snapped a five-game skid against the Thunder. — Wright
Former college teammates Bailey and Harper will square off as opponents for the first time on Dec. 27 after hearing their names called in the top five on draft night. Though it’s hard to promise that this will be a pretty game — the Jazz will likely be spinning the lottery wheel again after this season — Bailey’s shotmaking prowess and Harper’s playmaking skills give them star potential in the long run. For those interested in the future of the league, this should be a must-watch (and not to mention, there’s Wemby). — Woo
LeBron James has had his way as a visiting player in Cleveland, going 9-3 with the Heat and Lakers while posting averages of 31.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. Last season was one of those rare defeats, as the Cavs blew out L.A.,134-110 on the way to a 64-win season — the only time the franchise topped the 60-win plateau without James on the roster. He and the Lakers will come to Cleveland in late January in a game that both teams hope features two contenders, but more so, could be one of the last times James plays a game in his home in Northeast Ohio. — McMenamin
The NBA’s best defensive player hasn’t been able to slow the best offensive player in their meetings thus far: Nikola Jokic has averaged a whopping 36.8 points in six matchups against Victor Wembanyama, including 41 and 46 on back-to-back nights in their most recent games in January (albeit on more shots than Jokic usually attempts). Can Wembanyama do a better job containing Jokic in his third season? Or will Jokic remain well ahead of the budding star nine years his junior? — Kram
Police were called to Sheepridge Road in Huddersfield just after 23:30 BST on Monday
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder and rape following the death of a 13-year-old girl in Huddersfield.
Police were called by the ambulance service to a flat on Sheepridge Road just after 23:30 BST on Monday to reports the girl was unresponsive. She was taken to hospital where she died in the early hours of Tuesday.
The arrested boy, from Huddersfield, remains in custody, West Yorkshire Police said.
He was also arrested on suspicion of rape relating to a 16-year-old girl from a separate incident elsewhere in Kirklees.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Wednesday found the girl’s death was unexplained pending further investigation.
Det Ch Insp Stacey Atkinson of the Homicide and Major Inquiry Team said: “A post mortem was not able to determine how she died, and we continue to treat her death as unexplained at this time, pending more inquiries.
“Those inquiries are complex and are likely to be lengthy as we work to fully understand the circumstances of the girl’s death.
“Specially trained officers are supporting her family at this time.”
After a long period of uncertainty for many Afghan allies of the U.S., it is encouraging to see a glimmer of hope.
Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a new bill that would offer legal pathways for Afghans who risked their lives supporting U.S. forces. The legislation is a hopeful spark for both Afghan allies living in the U.S. and the American community members who now call these individuals neighbors and friends.
Four years have passed since the fall of Kabul, and yet uncertainty continues to overshadow the lives of our Afghan allies, both here in the United States and abroad. Recent policy changes have increased confusion around the future of many allies. Just in July, nearly 11,000 Afghans lost their Temporary Protected Status, including many who worked alongside U.S. troops for nearly two decades of military engagement in Afghanistan.
The fourth anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan should be not only a reminder of our allies’ plight but also a call for urgent action — encouraging compassion and decisive legislative measures to honor our commitments.
Recently, President Trump commented on the plight of Afghan refugees in the United States, saying, “We’re going to take care of those people, the ones that did a job [for us], the ones that were told certain things.” Such comments combined with the legislative developments signal a promising beginning to the long-overdue solutions our allies deserve.
Thousands of Afghan men and women helped and fought alongside our troops during the United States’ time in Afghanistan. They fought with us and for their own country’s future, hoping that democracy and freedom would prevail. They stood beside us as interpreters, pilots, soldiers and medical professionals — ensuring our mission’s success.
By the end of 2023 the UN Refugee Agency estimated that there were 6.4 million Afghan refugees globally. The United States is home to nearly 200,000 of these displaced people who arrived under the Biden administration during the fall of Kabul. In January of this year, family reunification flights were cancelled as the U.S. refugee program was temporarily shut down.
Last year around this time I wrote on my own disappointment at the lack of action we’ve seen from lawmakers to support our displaced Afghan allies. Now we are four years out from the fall of Kabul — and while it has seemed as if there would be no change, this new bipartisan effort gives me hope that the U.S. government will still fulfill the promises made to our Afghan allies.
It is not only about promises made and kept — it is undeniable that the U.S. prospers when refugees join our communities. A 2024 study by the Department of Health and Human Services found that refugees and asylees contributed $123.8 billion to the U.S. economy over a 15-year period. They join and create businesses, and they revitalize American communities.
For four years this population has been in a limbo, building lives and making American communities stronger with no guarantee for tomorrow. They have become a part of our schools, our businesses and our churches. They have become more than simply allies; they have become neighbors.
It is beyond time for us to seek bipartisan solutions that allow them a safe and productive future in the country they helped protect and serve. Most of Americans want to see Congress and the administration protecting Afghans by providing them permanent status — a commitment that is long overdue.
Jennie Murray is the president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt hits an unbeaten 51 to help Trent Rockets secure their first win of this year’s Hundred as they beat London Spirit by 33 runs, ending the defending champions’ perfect start.
The significance of the meeting between Russia President Vladimir Putin and President Trump in Alaska is clear not only because of the high stakes of the talks — peace in Ukraine — but also because of its symbolic date: Aug. 15.
Tomorrow marks the 105th anniversary of the historic Battle of Warsaw, when Poles halted the advance of Russian communism to the West.
Trump once said that the Russians are a valiant nation, having defeated both Napoleon and Hitler. That much is true. However, the Russians have also suffered many defeats, especially in offensive wars. Moreover, between defeating Napoleon and Hitler, they lost a war with Poland at enormous cost. The Battle of Warsaw on Aug. 15, 1920 was another day of defeat for Russia that ended Bolshevik dreams of expansion westward.
Vladimir Lenin wanted to spread the communist revolution to Western Europe. In the aftermath of World War I, the German, Austrian, French and British proletariat were all ripe for revolt; they just needed a little help. Thus General Mikhail Tukhachevsky’s Red Army, whose political commissar was none other than Joseph Stalin, marched westward.
Few believed the Polish Army could stop the Bolshevik forces, which were three times larger. But what happened was the “Miracle on the Vistula.” Poland’s head of state, Józef Piłsudski, repelled the Bolsheviks on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw, and Polish forces launched a devastating counteroffensive. The victory of the Polish army five weeks later in the Battle of the Niemen River in northeastern Poland put an end to the Bolsheviks’ plans for expansion to the West.
The U.S. also contributed to the victory over Russia, having granted Poland a wartime loan of $176 million. This had enabled the purchase of 200 tanks and 300 aircraft. Additionally, 30,000 volunteers from the American Polish community had trained in military camps on the Canadian border. Poland also received considerable humanitarian aid, thanks to a program led by Herbert Hoover.
American volunteer pilots also took part in the war against Bolshevism by serving in the 7th Fighter Squadron, which was named after the hero of both nations, Tadeusz Kościuszko. The Squadron was the first line of defense against the might of Semyon Budyonny’s 1st Cavalry Army.
Three American airmen lost their lives in combat. Several were wounded, and Captain Merian Cooper was taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks, from whom he escaped and then trekked nearly 400 miles to safety. Recalling the day when Józef Piłsudski bestowed him and other U.S. pilots with Poland’s highest order, the Virtuti Militari, Cooper recalled: “We blushed with pride, feeling that we had not failed, but had served Poland, if only a little.” After returning to the United States, Cooper co-directed the film “King Kong,” in which he himself played the pilot of the plane attacking the giant ape. In 1952 he received an Oscar for lifetime achievement.
American aviators who fought against the Bolsheviks in 1920 were also commemorated by a monument erected at the military cemetery in Lviv. However, it was destroyed during the communist era, as the defeat of the Soviet Union by Poland was to be forever erased from memory. It was only after Ukraine regained its independence in 1991 that the monument was restored.
The significance of the Battle of Warsaw was hailed by then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who took part in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the battle on August 15, 2020. In Warsaw on that symbolic day, the two countries signed the Poland-United States Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which, as Pompeo emphasized, was signed on the anniversary of the event when Poland stopped the wave of communism spreading across Europe. The agreement created a legal framework for the U.S. military presence in Poland and the US V Corps Command.
This Friday, therefore, Poland will celebrate the 105th anniversary of her victory over the Bolshevik army. Without, however, the participation of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will no doubt accompany President Trump during talks with Putin at the U.S. military base near Anchorage.
History will thus come full circle: The former adversary of the U.S. will become a partner in talks on peace in Ukraine, and Aug. 15 will fade away as a symbol of the Russian defeat in 1920, instead becoming a symbol of Russian victory — the end of the Kremlin’s international isolation and Putin’s return to the diplomatic center stage.
Jacek Czaputowicz served as Poland’s foreign minister from 2018 to 2020 and is a professor at the University of Warsaw.
If there’s one simple investment maxim that will improve your odds of success in any market climate, it’s this: Keep your costs down.
This can be especially important with mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, as researcher Morningstar affirmed in a newly released study. The company found that funds of either type that buy and hold preselected baskets of stocks or bonds, as grouped in indexes, usually beat those managed by professionals trying to pick winners. The main reason: Index funds are cheaper to run, with cost savings passed on to investors.
Index funds are those that hold groupings of stocks such as the 500 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. There are many other indexes, including those focused on bonds, foreign stocks and real estate companies.
This isn’t a new finding: Research by Morningstar and others has supported the idea that passive index funds are a good way to invest. Morningstar describes these funds as “passive” because there’s no ongoing efforts to tweak or alter their portfolios, as opposed to “active” funds run by managers who try to pick future outperformers or make other adjustments. The study analyzed the performance of more than 9,000 funds.
How are tariffs and your 401(k) retirement savings intertwined?
You might think active managers could better react to economic and other developments, but that doesn’t seem to improve their results.
“Elections, executive orders, tariffs and geopolitical risks made for a roller-coaster ride during the 12 months through June 2025,” wrote Bryan Armour, a Morningstar director who co-authored the study. “Conventional wisdom says active managers should better manage those complexities, but performance says otherwise.”
The study offers insights on how you should invest your money. For example, if you participate in an employer-sponsored 401(k) program, you probably have a choice of at least a dozen funds in which to invest, and possibly other options like shares of individual stocks. Placing index funds at the center of your portfolio can be wise, especially if you’re investing for the long haul.
Morningstar found that just 33% of actively run mutual funds and exchange-traded funds beat similar types of passive index funds over the 12 months through June 2025 and survived through that period. That’s down from 47% over the prior year and marks one of the largest drops since Morningstar has been conducting this research. Some funds fold from time to time, which is why Morningstar tracked only the ones that survived over the full 12 months.
Exchange-traded funds are similar to mutual funds, except that investors can buy and sell them at different prices throughout the day. Mutual funds, by contrast, typically are priced just at the close of the market’s daily trading session.
Yes. Morningstar found that the difference was even more pronounced on the bond side, with only 31% of actively managed fixed-income funds beating their passive-index rivals over the 12 months through June.
In part, even professionals can make blunders when trying to pick stocks or bonds, such as by purchasing at inflated prices, selling too low or investing in bad companies. But even more than this, costs matter. Performance results for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are reported after expenses have been deducted. As noted, passive index portfolios typically are cheaper to run than those on the active side. Only 15% of the most-costly active funds outperformed their passive-index rivals, Morningstar reported.
Morningstar tallied average investor-borne expenses for active funds at 0.59% a year, equivalent to $59 for a $10,000 investment, compared with 0.11% or $11 for passive index funds. That doesn’t sound like much, but it explains much if not most of the performance gap.
Yes. They often are even more pronounced over longer periods. For example, just 21% of active funds beat their passive-index peers over the 10 years through June 2025.
Active managers of funds that buy international stocks did better over the 12 months ending in June, with 52% beating their passive index rivals, up from 44% over the prior year. Bond and real estate funds also typically are competitve with indexing, Armour added.
One suggestion: It can be wise to incorporate passive index funds, and lower-cost investments generally, into your portfolio. Also, the study should make you skeptical of active funds or stockpickers touting exceptional short-term performance. Anyone can get a hot hand; the question is whether the momentum will last.
Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab and iShares are among the many groups that offer index funds, including these favorites from Morningstar.
