Fortune (February 6)
“The amount companies are spending on AI infrastructure now rivals that of some of the largest economies in the world and is comparable to the annual GDP of countries like Sweden and Israel.” Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft combined are expected to allocate “more than a staggering $630 billion” to CAPEX in 2026 for “such big-ticket infrastructure items as data centers, servers, and power systems that fuel the AI build-out race.”
Tags: $630 billion, 2026, AI, Alphabet, Amazon, CAPEX, Data centers, GDP, Infrastructure, Israel, Meta, Microsoft, Servers, Staggering, Sweden
The Guardian (September 24)
“European leaders have been pulled to the right on migration, the climate crisis and Israel. Their weakness is undermining the democratic principles on which the EU was built.” If they “remain still and silent, hoping Trump will simply fade away, they risk giving up not just their dignity but their political agency. By doing so, they are allowing far-right forces to fill the void and tilt the balance permanently.”
Tags: Climate crisis, Democratic principles, Dignity, EU, Europe, Far right, Israel, Leaders, Migration, Political agency, Risk, Silent, Still, Trump, Undermining, Void, Weakness
Barron’s (June 19)
“The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has sent oil prices higher over the past few days. If history is anything to go by, the pressure it’s putting on global energy costs will fade before too long.” Immediate fears of a shortage “are usually exaggerated–the risk that geopolitical events create a shortage of crude almost never materialize, even though that’s always the first thing on traders’ minds.”
Tags: Conflict, Crude, Energy costs, Escalating, Exaggerated, Fears, Geopolitical events, History, Iran, Israel, Oil prices, Pressure, Risk, Shortage, Traders
Seeking Alpha (October 28)
“Benchmark crude oil futures fell Monday in their largest one-day decline in more than two years after Israel’s weekend strikes on Iran avoided energy facilities and ease worries of a wider war that could disrupt global supplies… Analysts said the lack of strikes on oil or nuclear facilities leaves the door open for both sides to de-escalate the conflict.”
Tags: Analysts, Benchmark, Crude oil, De-escalate, Decline, Disrupt, Energy facilities, Futures, Iran, Israel, Nuclear, Oil, Strikes, Wider war
New York Times (October 3)
“Markets are on edge about the risk of another oil shock. The price of crude has been relatively stable over the past year, apart from brief spikes.” Now, however, concern is focused on the potential “economic cost of a new war in the Middle East.” Estimates of the potential cost are wide-ranging and speculative, but “an escalation of fighting between Israel and Iran could cause oil prices to spike and send a chill through the global economy.”
Tags: Chill, Crude, Economic cost, Escalation, Fighting, Iran, Israel, Markets, Middle East, Oil prices, Oil shock, Risk, Speculative, Spikes, Stable, War
New York Times (November 1)
“After shocks from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s little cushion if the fighting between Hamas and Israel becomes a regional conflict.” An escalation would cloud “the global economy’s outlook, threatening to dampen growth and reignite a rise in energy and food prices.” An escalation would also mark the first time the world has dealt with two simultaneous energy shocks.
Tags: Energy, Escalation, Fighting, Food, Global economy, Hamas, Invasion, Israel, Outlook, Pandemic, Regional conflict, Russia, Shocks, Ukraine
New York Times (October 14)
“Israel finds itself at war because of the depravity of Hamas. Further bloodshed now appears unavoidable, but the way Israel fights will begin to determine what happens next: Defeating Hamas will make Israel safer; showing disregard for the killing of civilians will not.”
Tags: Bloodshed, Civilians, Defeating, Depravity, Hamas, Israel, Killing, Safer. Disregard, Unavoidable, War
Wall Street Journal (May 5)
“With China now an economic and military powerhouse, Taiwan’s lack of preparedness is increasingly dangerous. Taiwan’s economy is two-thirds larger than Israel’s, but Taiwan spends almost two-thirds less as a percentage of gross domestic product on defense.” Especially in light of Ukraine’s invasion, this has to change and just an extra percent of military spending could prove decisive. “Through the force-multiplying miracle of modern weapons, we can help make Taiwan a porcupine and deter aggression that could have profoundly negative consequences for Taiwan, China and the world.”
Tags: Aggression, China, Dangerous, Economic, GDP, Invasion, Israel, Military spending, Porcupine, Powerhouse, Preparedness, Taiwan, Ukraine, Weapons
Wall Street Journal (May 17)
“It’s déjà vu all over again in the Middle East as another round of Israeli-Palestinian combat follows a tragic and familiar path: another spasm of violence, another media firestorm over civilian casualties, another wave of demonstrations around the world, another diplomatic kerfuffle as would-be mediators jostle, and another donnybrook in American politics over how Washington should respond.”
Tags: Casualties, Combat, Déjà vu, Familiar, Firestorm, Israel, Media, Mediators, Middle East, Palestine, Spasm, Tragic, Violence
Star Tribune (March 31)
Chile “appears poised to be among the first in the world to reach herd immunity. But experts say the country’s speedy and efficient vaccination drive—only Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Seychelles have vaccinated a larger share of their populations—gave Chileans a false sense of security and contributed to a sharp spike in new infections and deaths that is overloading the health care system.”
Tags: Chile, Deaths, Efficient, Experts, Herd immunity, Infections, Israel, Security, Seychelles, Speedy, Spike, UAE, Vaccination drive
