Wall Street Journal (August 20)
Donald Trump’s “attitude of constant haggling over everything that isn’t nailed down, and some things that were supposed to be, isn’t helpful. Mr. Trump has put into doubt the future of his own U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Someone should tell him the biggest beneficiaries of free North American trade are Republican states, especially Texas.”
Tags: Agreement, Attitude, Beneficiaries, Canada, Doubt, Free trade, Future, Haggling, Mexico, North America, Republican states, Texas, Trump, U.S.
Barron’s (August 20)
“Japan has leapfrogged France and Germany to become the No. 3 destination for cross-border real estate investment after the U.S. and United Kingdom…. The flows are a vote of confidence in a new Japan where prices are rising and wages are rising faster.”
Tags: Confidence, Cross-border, Destination, Flows, France, Germany, Investment, Japan, Leapfrogged, No. 3, Prices, Real estate, Rising, U.S., UK
Market Watch (August 19)
“Gen Z used to embrace AI. Now most young adults fear it will steal their jobs.” A recent Pew Research Center poll “found 55% of U.S. adults under 30 are more concerned than excited about AI, up from 39% in 2024.” Nearly three quarters of Gen Z respondents “believe AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next two decades.” They also cited concerns about the threats AI poses to creativity, connection and society itself.
Tags: AI, Concerned, Connection, Creativity, Embrace, Excited, Fear, Gen Z, Jobs, Pew Research, Poll, Respondents, Threats, Young adults
The Economist (August 19)
“Bond markets are unnerving rich-world politicians. As stocks rise ever higher, yields have been climbing ominously.” Deutsche Bank analysts believe the U.S. Treasury’s latest move indicates “increasing administration unease” as the Treasury has announced plans to “increase its own purchases of longer-dated debt” from next month. “Bond markets are unsettled, and so, in turn, is America’s government.”
Tags: Analysts, Bond markets, Deutsche Bank, Government, Longer-dated debt, Ominously, Rich-world politicians, Stocks, Treasury, U.S., Unease, Unnerving, Unsettled, Yields
New York Times (August 17)
America “is making it easier” as “China hunts for scientific talent…. Young researchers have long come to the U.S. for academic training, but a combination of Chinese money and U.S. restrictions is shifting the balance.” China can “match the funding and infrastructure that attract prominent scientists,” but still struggles to reproduce “the freedom, trust and institutional stability that allow young talent to flourish. Those remain among America’s strongest advantages, and the very advantages its current policies are putting at risk.”
Tags: Academic training, China, Flourish, Funding, Infrastructure, Institutional stability, Money, Researchers, Restrictions, Risk, Scientific talent, Scientists Freedom, Trust, U.S.
Fortune (August 15)
“The first U.S.-Japan joint intervention in three decades aimed at boosting the yen has come and gone without doing much to ease anxiety in currency markets.” In fact, it may have heightened concern. A recent note from Yardeni Research captured this sentiment. “The financial system right now looks like a giant Jenga tower with the yen as a load-bearing piece.”
Tags: Anxiety, Boosting, Concern, Currency markets, Financial system, Japan, Jenga tower, Joint intervention, Sentiment, U.S., Yardeni Research, Yen
CNN (August 14)
“Nuclear power plants idled. Crops harvested at 3 a.m. Iconic tourist attractions shuttered early. Soaring temperatures are forcing drastic measures in Europe, where successive heatwaves are straining an economy already under pressure from US tariffs, Chinese competition and higher energy prices because of the Iran war.”
Tags: Chinese competition, Crops, Economy, Energy, Europe, Heatwaves, Idled, Nuclear, Plants, Shuttered, Straining, Temperatures, Tourist attractions, U.S. tariffs
Bloomberg (August 14)
“China’s economy likely kicked off the second half of 2026 in much the same way it saw out the first, with a booming technology sector failing to make up for an historic investment slump and sluggish consumption.
Tags: Sluggish consumption
euronews (August 12)
OPEC and the IEA, “two of the most influential voices in energy markets” released “opposing readings” for 2026, but more harmonious forecasts for 2027. “The IEA now expects the world to burn less oil in 2026 than it did in 2025,” predicting global oil demand will “fall by 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2026.” In contrast, “OPEC still expects demand to grow” by 580,000 b/d. Both are, however, bullish on 2027 demand. “OPEC now expects demand to grow by 2.2 mb/d in 2027… while the IEA goes further still at 2.4 mb/d.” Interestingly, “the gloomier forecaster for this year delivers a more bullish read for the next.”
Tags: 2026, 2027, Bullish, Demand, Energy markets, Fall, Forecasts, Grow, Harmonious, IEA, Influential, Oil, OPEC
Wall Street Journal (August 11)
“It was obvious when Tokyo and Washington intervened recently to stabilize the value of the yen that the intervention wouldn’t stick, and sure enough. The Japanese currency has commenced a new downward march, so perhaps it’s time for a new plan…. Absent fundamental policy changes in Japan, no intervention from anyone will prop up the yen indefinitely.”
Tags: Currency, Downward march, Fundamental, Intervention, Japan, New plan, Obvious, Policy changes, Prop up, Stabilize, Tokyo, Value, Washington, Yen
