China’s US-bound shipments of rare-earth magnets so far this year are 20% below average levels seen between 2022 and 2024, customs data showed, despite the countries’ trade truce. As part of last year’s agreement with Washington, Beijing committed to a one-year pause in implementing sweeping export restrictions over the critical ...
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Burnham faces Britain’s overseas business woesBurnham faces Britain’s overseas business woes
The UK’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, wants to make British business great again. But businesses want to be where their customers and investors are, and with the UK’s wan economic growth and thinner capital markets, that’s increasingly elsewhere. Many of Britain’s corporate crown jewels make more of their money ...
Banks pay backhanded compliments to private creditBanks pay backhanded compliments to private credit
Liz’s view The narrative about private credit is familiar by now — it’s a garbage heap of bad loans, waiting to ignite. A tiny corrective comes from a strange place: the industry’s biggest competitors. Big banks have been busy refinancing loans made by private-credit firms. By putting their own balance ...
Geopolitics shape Dems’ energy platformGeopolitics shape Dems’ energy platform
Tim’s view The two biggest themes in global geopolitics — the rollout of AI and the fallout from the Iran war — look set to benefit Democrats, and potentially reshape the US political landscape in a matter of months. Between the steady march of average US gasoline prices back above ...
Renewed US-Iran strikes stoke global inflation fearsRenewed US-Iran strikes stoke global inflation fears
Surging tensions across the Middle East strangled shipping traffic, driving energy prices higher and raising the specter of accelerating inflation worldwide. A 10th day of aerial attacks between the US and Iran meant just 53 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the week to July 20, a 66% drop ...
Bahrain considers nuclear power optionBahrain considers nuclear power option
Bahrain is studying whether to build a small modular nuclear power plant, the Middle East Economic Digest reported, with the state-owned Bapco Energies leading the effort through its venture capital arm. If it goes ahead, it would be the first nuclear plant in the kingdom, which holds the Gulf’s smallest ...
AI is driving geopolitical instability, officials warnAI is driving geopolitical instability, officials warn
AI is fast becoming a driver of geopolitical instability and competition, analysts, executives, and officials worldwide warned. The recent announcement of a relatively powerful, open-source Chinese AI model has crystallized US worries over Beijing’s growing capabilities: The bosses of Anthropic and OpenAI have asked Washington to better restrict the use ...
Saudi men are drowning in debtSaudi men are drowning in debt
Wael’s view In 2025, Saudi courts received 1.6 million requests to collect on more than 165 billion riyals ($44 billion) in unpaid financial obligations. Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani said the figure was evidence of a modern, responsive judicial process, but read differently, it is the mark of a society creaking ...
First private Indian craft reaches orbitFirst private Indian craft reaches orbit
An Indian company broke the US-China duopoly on commercial spaceflight. India has a decades-old state space sector, which has even landed a rover on the moon. But Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket that launched Saturday is the first private Indian craft to reach orbit. The Indian space industry has grown quickly. New ...
Darline Graham starts locking in support from Senate Republican leadersDarline Graham starts locking in support from Senate Republican leaders
The News South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham is making major headway with the Republican establishment in the primary race to succeed her late brother Lindsey Graham. Within hours of announcing her bid to pursue a full six-year Senate term, Graham locked in the support of three party leaders: Majority Whip ...