Japan’s snap election gamble paid off for PM Sanae Takaichi, who now have the biggest majority in the lower house since World War 2. The import of the victory notwithstanding, Takaichi’s government and Japan face tough policy choices. Today's Number Theory breaks them down.

Grab today's Hindustan Times to find an annotated version of the India-US joint statement putting specific key details in context. If you couldn't get your hands on a copy, we have also made an online interactive version of it that you can read from our app (link in replies).

Over the past decade, global finance has shifted beyond banks. “Shadow banking” has moved from the margins to the center of financial system. With buoyant markets and light oversight, old financial vulnerabilities may be building again. For HT, I did a deep dive in to this shift.

Details of the Indo-US trade deal have still not been revealed to us. But much of the political reactions in India have been regarding its potential impact on the agricultural sector. This makes it worthwhile to look at the Indo-US trade in agriculture before the deal happened.

If Budget 2026 was being presented in calmer times, India’s economic choices would look very different. Instead, the rules-based global order is being dismantled, even as AI-fuelled optimism pushes global markets into irrational territory. We looked at the external-sector challenges faced by India.

Holy shit, this thread is incredible.

Davos rose alongside a US-led era of globalisation and free markets. This year, the WEF meets in a far gloomier moment, as that order frays amid multiple global shocks, including from the US led by Trump. @roshankishore.bsky.social and I looked at how the world has changed since the last summit.

What many saw as a brazen abduction of Nicolas Maduro, Trump pitches as proof of revived US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, dubbing it the "Donroe Doctrine" in echo of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. But does the world still fit Monroe’s assumptions? Here’s what the numbers say #Maduro #Donroe #Trump

#Maharashtra municipal corporation polls reinforce what the 2024 assembly elections already showed: the #BJP is the state’s clear political pole, with room to pressure allies. INC, meanwhile, looks increasingly marginal in state politics. Today’s Number Theory unpacks the results #Mumbai #India #BMC

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “A.I.’s promise is real,” Sebastian Mallaby, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes. “The big question in 2026 is whether capital markets can adequately finance A.I.’s development.”

US Fed chief says he has been threatened with criminal action for not giving in to political pressure. With Trump pushing for lower rates, what set off this clash and what could it be implications for US monetary policy? @roshankishore.bsky.social and I delved in to this in today's HT Number Theory.

Zohran Mamdani, New York’s new mayor, wants to tax the super-rich to fund his policies. Similar debates on taxing the rich are playing out in cities across the world. Do some cities attract more of the ultra-rich than others? And are low taxes really the key? Today’s Number Theory explores this.

A bit opportunistic, but considering Trump's announcement that the US has captured Maduro, re-plugging this story of mine from last June looking at the history of US regime change operations and its aftermath for the countries involved.

The RBI’s latest Financial Stability Report shows bank balance sheets at their healthiest in a decades. But one red flag stands out: agriculture now accounts for the largest share of bad loans, far exceeding its share in overall bank credit. We looked at the numbers in detail.

Global equities closed 2025 strong, but the rally was narrow and uneven. Moreover, India was among the weakest major markets. As 2026 begins, can easing global headwinds and better earnings help Indian equities recover? Today’s Number Theory explores this. www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

‘Artificial Intelligence’ went mainstream in 2025, as GenAI spread across offices, classrooms and consumer products. Investor enthusiasm surged alongside, boosting valuations and markets worldwide. Is this a durable tech shift, or a bubble waiting to burst? Today’s HT Number Theory examines this.

Part 1 showed how energy demand is rising while also becoming more electric and renewable. In part 2, we show how that’s reshaping energy security. While fuel supply risks remain, the shift to clean power adds a new vulnerability: dependence on critical minerals whose refining is highly concentrated

Global energy demand keeps rising as more people are consuming more energy. For most of history, the main risk in this was securing fuel supply. But this 2-part series shows that the nature of this risk is changing. Part 1 out in today's HT shows how the world is diversifying its energy mix. (1/2)

While elections defy easy prediction, Kerala’s local body verdicts have often acted as a bellwether. Today’s Number Theory analyses the latest civic results to examine what they could imply for the 2026 Assembly elections. www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

Donald Trump now claims India is "dumping" rice in the US and hints at extra tariffs beyond the current 50%. But the facts show that his rant lacks a grain of truth and US farmers’ troubles may have more to do with his own policies than India. Today’s Number Theory breaks it down.

Part 1 of this 2-part series looked at the costs of the Russia-Ukraine war and and US pressure to end it, even at a disadvantage for Ukraine. Whatever the outcome, Europe now faces tough choices that go beyond the fate of the two countries. Part 2 explores this www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

After four years of the Russia-Ukraine war, and with Trump back in the WH, the West looks divided on how peace should look as the stakes change. Here's part 1 of a 2-part series that will look at the larger questions from this conflict, beyond what the war itself has done to Russia and Ukraine.

From tariffs to visa curbs, Trump’s US has been closing its doors to goods and people, all in the name of 'making America great again'. But a new NBER paper by @econgaurav.bsky.social shows US growth has long been powered by Asian immigrants. Today's Number Theory explores this.

Every Diwali, India’s stock markets open for an hour of Muhurat trading, a ritual marking a new Hindu calendar year (Samvat). It’s seen as a moment of prosperity and new beginnings. But do the markets live up to the optimism? Today's Number Theory takes a look.

Gold is amidst an extraordinary run, crossing $4,000 an ounce globally and doubling in India in just a few years. Today's Number Theory dives into this gold rush in detail. Read on HT app: www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

Bihar is among India’s poorest states yet it hasn’t seen protests or a change in govt in decades. The incumbent CM Nitish Kumar has ruled the state for nearly 20 years. We tried to explore the reason behind this apparent contradiction using unit level data from RBI CCS.

A decade after Bihar’s liquor ban, the picture is mixed. An analysis by @roshankishore.bsky.social, Abhishek Jha, and I found very little evidence of reduced spousal violence, and drinkers may simply have switched to other substances. But the revenue loss for the state is unmistakably clear.

Breaking news: France’s prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned after rightwing allies indicated they would withdraw from his government. on.ft.com/4gWxifm

India’s skies aren’t just for metros anymore. Non-metro towns are claiming a bigger share of the aviation map, proof that growth is spreading, even if flying is no longer the luxury it once was. The numbers speak for themselves. Read on HT app: www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

Art as investment is in a slump: Sotheby’s losses doubled to $248m in 2024, while Christie’s sales fell 8%. Auction house growth has stalled for years. Today's Number Theory looks at the global downturn in the art auction market.

Have we passed peak social media? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/a072...

China will no longer claim "developing country" perks at the WTO, a nod to its economic heft and a bid to be seen as a champion of the Global South and multilateral institutions. I looked at its rise as a exporting giant and how its trade dominance compares to its still modest income levels.

Experimental post: The Inevitable March of Time From the moment of this post, Super Mario Bros. is now closer to World War II than it is to the present day.

LINK ROT: 38% webpages that existed in 2013 were no longer available 10 years later. Even among pages that existed in 2021, 22% no longer accessible just two years later. This is often because individual page was deleted or removed on otherwise functional website. Many implications for knowledge 🧪

Consumer sentiment is a key economic gauge, but how objective is it? More and more data raises concern that partisanship may be increasingly colouring people's economic outlook. Today’s Number Theory digs into this further using data from UK, US and India.

The US debt has reached levels it was previously not expected to reach till the next decade. This raises questions such as who owns this debt? When will it mature? And how does US compare against other advanced economies? Today's Number Theory explores all this in detail.

Using art to narrate history. A recent study by economists Clément Gorin, Stephan Heblich & Yanos Zylberberg looks at more than 630,000 paintings over the last 625 years with the help of LLMs, to classify them into 8 emotions. Today's Number Theory looks at the results of their work.

India-China ties are thawing. As Asia’s giants call themselves "partners, not rivals," it is worth examining their trade matrix. How much does China trade with India and what share do they hold in each other's global trade? Today's Number Theory explores this in detail.

The 1st part of HT's 2-part series on evolution of India's foreign trade traced its trade in goods & services over time and against major economies. This 2nd part dives deeper into the disaggregated picture of India’s foreign trade. Read on HT app: www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

Rising trade tensions and growing protectionism in advanced economies have cast doubt on exports as a growth driver for India. In a 2-part series, HT explores the role of trade, exports, and imports in shaping India’s growth story. Here's the first part by Roshan Kishore and me.

UPI transactions hit ₹25 lakh crore in July 2025, up from just ₹38 lakh in its first month in 2016. Less than a decade old, UPI has transformed India’s payments space. What do Indians UPI on, who do they UPI to, and how does it compare to other payment modes?

Trump’s 25% tariffs on India were bad enough, but now he’s added another 25% over Russian oil buys. Both the Indian government and the people have not seen relations with the US and Russia as an either-or choice. Today's Number Theory explains why. www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...

Microsoft has just become the second company in the world to hit a $4 trillion market cap, fuelled by the AI boom.

Nvidia hit $4 trillion in the second week of July, the first company to do so. Which are the most valuable companies in the world? What sectors do they operate in? Where are they located? We looked at data on the world’s top 10 companies since 1980 to answer some of these questions.

Replugging this story I had done back in March on India's alcohol trade landscape as the UK's scotch whisky industry will be one of the major beneficiaries of the recently signed India-UK FTA.

Terms of Trade: Come and hear the boom boxes in the street www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/t...

From Gaza to Syria, Yemen to Lebanon, West Asia has been smouldering under multiple protracted conflicts. How did centuries of empire, oil and revolt forge today’s crisis? This special immersive feature from HT traces how the region has evolved through the ages www.hindustantimes.com/specials/san...

From Ukraine to Gaza, broken peace deals—Minsk, Oslo, JCPOA—show how fragile peace agreements can be. Others, like the Good Friday and Israel-Jordan treaties, still hold. What makes some peace agreements endure while others unravel? Today's Number Theory explores this in detail.

The Iran-Israel-US conflict saw those within the US and Israeli dispensation calling for the orchestration of a regime change in Iran. US has since wavered, but it has long engineered regime changes globally. Here's a look at 75 years of US-led regime changes and their aftermath.

How Iran will respond to US strikes on its nuclear facilities remains unclear. However, its economy was already reeling from decades of geopolitical strife even before the latest escalation. Today’s Number Theory explores this in detail. Read on HT app: www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...