Europe’s increasingly severe summer heat is becoming an economic variable that financial markets can no longer treat as a temporary weather disturbance. Record temperatures, drought and wildfires are disrupting river transport, agricultural production and parts of the energy system, creating… Read More ›
Strategy
July Weak Hiring Complicates the US Fed’s Inflation Fight Despite Rate Hike Calls
The sharp deterioration in the United States jobs market has complicated the Federal Reserve’s emerging case for higher interest rates, forcing investors to reconsider expectations for a September increase even as inflation remains well above the central bank’s target. The… Read More ›
Washington Uses Silicon Supply Chain to Rebuild Strategic Manufacturing
The Trump administration’s latest trade action on polysilicon marks a significant expansion of its strategy to challenge China’s industrial dominance. By combining a 15 percent tariff with minimum import prices on polysilicon and several downstream products, Washington is attempting to… Read More ›
Space Junk Problem Opens New Commercial Frontier for Satellite Servicing
Space is becoming crowded enough to create a new commercial problem: what happens when the satellites and rockets that support the global economy stop working? The answer is increasingly clear. They do not simply disappear. Defunct satellites, spent rocket stages… Read More ›
Iran-US War Boosts Major Oil Companies as Prices and Cash Flows Rise
The Iran-US war is producing a striking divide across the global economy. Consumers, airlines, manufacturers and transport companies are facing higher energy costs, while major oil and gas companies are benefiting from the same disruption through higher crude prices, stronger… Read More ›
Import Restrictions by Trump Expand Pressure on China’s Supply Chains
The United States has broadened its use of import restrictions against Chinese companies by adding dozens of additional firms to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, extending scrutiny across industries ranging from electronics and pharmaceuticals to food processing,… Read More ›
Trump’s Disarmament Plan Tests Gaza Peace Prospects
U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that mediators had reached a phased agreement to disarm Hamas has shifted attention from ceasefire diplomacy to what may prove the most difficult stage of any lasting settlement: implementing security arrangements that both Israel and… Read More ›
US AI Becomes Shortcut for China’s Military Research
Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining arenas of strategic competition between the United States and China, with the contest extending far beyond computing power and semiconductor supply chains. Increasingly, attention is shifting towards how advanced AI capabilities are… Read More ›
Japan-South Korea Intervention Strengthens Currency Defence Against Speculation
Sharp intervention by Japan and South Korea in foreign exchange markets has highlighted a significant shift in how governments are responding to prolonged currency weakness. Rather than relying solely on domestic measures, the two countries appeared to act in close… Read More ›
Expectations of More Oil Supply are Keeping Prices Down Despite the Escalating U.S.–Iran War
Oil markets have traditionally responded swiftly to military confrontations in the Middle East, where even the possibility of disrupted exports has often triggered sharp price spikes. Yet recent trading has revealed a more complex reality. Despite escalating military exchanges between… Read More ›