Economy & Markets
The World Is Spending $8 Trillion on Weapons and AI Is at the Center of It
The global investment boom is no longer being driven by artificial intelligence alone. Governments are preparing to pour trillions of dollars into defence, creating...
Russia’s Sanctions Resilience Has a Ceiling: The Structural Limits Behind Moscow’s Adaptation
Sanctions are designed to impose economic costs that eventually generate political pressure for behavioral change. Yet Russia has absorbed years of unprecedented economic restrictions...
Can the Euro Survive Europe’s New Energy Shock?
The euro’s strong run against the dollar is facing a new test as higher energy prices, political uncertainty and renewed pressure on European bond...
America Now Pays 5% to Borrow: Where Japanese, Norwegian and Gulf Money Is Going Instead
TODAY'S NUMBERS
5.17% (US 10-year yield, highest since 2007) · 54.3% (indirect bid at Wednesday's five-year auction; average 65.2%) · $1.10trn (Japan's Treasury holdings, down...
Europe Trades Two Oligarchs for a Three-Year Freeze as Washington Aims at Russia’s Oil Buyers: Who Wins, Who Pays?
TODAY'S NUMBERS
36 months (the EU's new Russia asset-freeze renewal cycle, up from six) · 100% (top US tariff on Russia's five biggest buyers) ·...
Why a Rate Hike Can Still Weaken a Currency
Japan did what economic intuition says should strengthen a currency. On September 18, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its policy rate by 25...
Treasuries Break 5% as the Fed Turns Hawkish: What Happens to the Dollar, Gold and America’s Borrowing Power?
TODAY'S NUMBERS
5.06% (US 10-year Treasury yield, highest since 2007) · 100.9 (Dollar index, seven-week high) · 1,000+ tonnes (China's gold imports, January–August)
The world is...
Trump’s Diesel Export Dilemma: Can a Ban Lower Prices Without Deepening the Fuel Crunch?
The surge in US diesel prices is putting growing pressure on President Donald Trump to intervene in fuel markets, with Republican lawmakers calling for...
Beijing’s Two-Track Money Play: A Stronger Yuan for Washington, a Harder Line on Belt and Road Debt
Today's Numbers
$126.4bn (China's record H1 2026 Belt and Road engagement) · 8 (straight sessions of a stronger PBOC yuan fix, the longest streak since...
Indonesia Mobilizes 1,800 Tons of Household Gold to Strengthen the Rupiah
Global money is fracturing. As central banks hoard physical gold at record rates, weaponised sanctions, politicised payment networks, and persistent global inflation have exposed...