Despite US pressure on New Delhi, Russia remains India's largest supplier of crude oil • In recent months Indian refineries have halved imports of Russian oil, but at 1m b/d these remain huge • Any reduction of the Indian market would further add to Moscow’s fiscal woes www.ft.com/content/aaa9...

US dollar has lost about 10% of its value since early 2025 • Dollar slide highlights impact of Trump's erratic economic policies & doubts around Fed's independence • Lower dollar will reduce weight of US assets in global indices, forcing some investors to sell them www.economist.com/finance-and-...

As France starts its G7 presidency, collaboration with the US G20 presidency won't be smooth sailing - yet not hope is lost and as I argue for @ecfr.eu the French may yet find a willing partner in the US in three areas: economic security, development aid and critical minerals ecfr.eu/article/call...

The world is rebalancing away from the dollar www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"Rather than reducing prices, China simply found other buyers for their goods. Consequently, these data imply that US consumers and individuals are likely bearing most, if not all, of the tariff on Chinese goods." 😲 www.econlib.org/econlog/the-...

Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft could spend US$650bn in capital expenditures in 2026 • Amount is broadly equivalent to Israel's (US$611bn in 2025) or Sweden's (US$662bn) GDP • Data highlight race to dominate AI market and build data centres around the world www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

As France starts its G7 presidency, collaboration with the US G20 presidency won't be smooth sailing - yet not hope is lost and as I argue for @ecfr.eu the French may yet find a willing partner in the US in three areas: economic security, development aid and critical minerals ecfr.eu/article/call...

KAL's cartoon in The Economist this week

France’s G7 presidency coincides with an American-led G20. Paris will not find it easy to collaborate with the Trump administration, but it can still find meaningful areas for G7-G20 cooperation, writes @agathedemarais.com. Read the full commentary here: bit.ly/3OnL7cx

Russia's energy revenues are at five-year low amid drop in global prices and tighter sanctions • In January oil and gas revenue was down by 50% compared to one year earlier • Discounts on Russian oil spiked after US imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft in October www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Trump administration has a lot of awful policies but I’m not sure anything is more idiotic in every possible way than punishing businesses, starving people of power, and shrinking GDP just because you’re obsessed with harming the climate faster to own the libs www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/c...

The global chaos Trump unleashed has further exposed the limits of Russian power. And US-European tensions have not yet produced material advantages for Russia. As a result, Putin will only try harder to subjugate Ukraine. My latest essay with Michael Kimmage www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/limit...

Canadians are rallying around Carney's call for middle powers to act against great power rivalry • Post-Davos polls show net favourability of Carney rose while that of opponent decreased • Despite soaring popularity, Carney's government is one seat short of majority www.economist.com/the-americas...

Russian oil and gas revenue was just 2.0% of GDP in January. If I'm not mistaken, that is a record low for the whole Putin era (since 2000). Here is the data since 2011.

Surging electricity bills are fast becoming hot topic in the US • In January-November 2025 electricity costs for US residential customers increased by 11.5% • AI rollout, ageing infrastructure (in need of repairs) and attacks against renewables all fuel price rises www.ft.com/content/5794...

AI rollout could drastically change employment prospects for back-office workers • Over the past three years ranks of US secretaries and admin assistants have shrunk by 20% • Back-office jobs count among those that could most easily be replaced by AI www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Rise in gold prices over past four years have helped Russia replenish its international reserves • Value of Bank of Russia’s gold holdings has grown by $216bn since Feb 2022 • Rise in gold holdings also highlights Moscow's decision to prioritise safe reserve assets www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Global supply of stablecoins remains small, but it is growing fast • US banks are pushing back against stablecoins, arguing these pose risks to financial stability • Crux of debate has to do with ability of issuers of stablecoins to pay interest on customers' deposits www.ft.com/content/0fe2...

Volume of Russian and Iranian oil loitering at sea is hitting records • Indian and Chinese buyers/ports are increasingly fearful of falling foul of sanctions • Tankers become 70% less productive (in tonne-miles) in six months after being placed under US sanctions www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Latin Americans mostly approve of the US capture of Maduro • Predominant view in Latin America is that there should be more US involvement in Venezuela • Data show broad shift towards right across Latin America amid high crime/violence levels www.ft.com/content/18bd...

My Trade Secrets today. The EU's India trade deal is a lot about geopolitics, but not in an impressive way. Brussels got it done by compromising principles and signing a weak deal. So sure, it's sending a geopolitical signal, but not expending enough political capital to make it really credible.

Cash-strapped Kremlin is increasingly resorting to old nationalisation trick • Russia confiscated record US$41bn worth of property in 2025, four times the 2024 amount • High borrowing costs curb Moscow's ability to sell seized assets while also depressing prices www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The populist free lunch is a mirage. As @martinsandbu.ft.com argues in the @financialtimes.com, today’s fault line is not left vs right but centre vs periphery. Uneven #geography breeds anger, anger➡️risk—& risk drains #growth. www.ft.com/content/91de... publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...

Cost of ferrying Russian crude to India or China is surging, weighing on Kremlin's revenues • Discount on Urals has reached US$27 against Brent, the widest level since 2023 • Energy revenues now make up only 24% of Russian revenues, down from 50% before Ukraine war www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Share of Russian oil shipments to undisclosed buyers is rising sharply • Many tankers are idling in India or Chinese waters in search of buyer among refineries • Data highlight growing impact of tighter US sanctions on Russian crude exports - and thus Russian oil income www.ft.com/content/ebf1...

A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.

Valuations of AI/AI-related firms are soaring across the world • OpenAI's (ChatGPT) valuation has risen 19-fold since 2023, while that of Anthropic (Claude) has risen 37-fold • Interlinkages across investments raises risk of losses if AI falls short of expectations www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

The commission actually proposed this for signature at the same time as the Mercosur agreement in September but decided to prioritise Mercosur because, well, it’s controversial. The Mexico deal is not controversial so should be signed and sealed without any issues

KAL's cartoon in The Economist this week

It could be easier said than done for Canada to diversify trade ties away from US • Ottawa is doubling down on inking trade deals to reduce reliance on US export market • Yet US absorbs 65-70% of Canada's exports, meaning de-risking efforts will take time www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Population ageing places pressure on public finances, squeezing out funding for long-term endeavours • Spending on seniors' health and pensions is rising across developed economies • In turn, low productivity growth and decaying infrastructure fuel popular dissatisfaction www.ft.com/content/b4d2...

Legislation to stop me being unpopular with my child ‘As things stand, parents who resist social media are cast as unreasonable and in danger of isolating their children.’ as.ft.com/r/81967fe0-c... Protecting children from social media is not moral panic

NEW: The Epstein-Barr virus lies dormant in the bodies of billions of people - but for some it is linked to serious chronic and even deadly conditions, including cancers. Now scientists have identified 22 genes that could help identify those most at risk. www.ft.com/content/815d...

Most Americans are not convinced that US should buy Greenland • Only 29% of Americans approve of buying Greenland, with share dropping to 9% for military annexion • This far weaker backing than Mr Trump enjoyed ahead of interventions in Iran and Venezuela www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

European imports of Russian uranium grew after full-blown invasion of Ukraine • Russia supplies around one quarter of EU imports of nuclear fuel (at attractively low prices) • US also continues to import Russian uranium ahead of full ban planned for 2028 www.ft.com/content/951d...

1/With $ in free fall, re-upping @himself.bsky.social and my piece on the Other Thucydides Trap. When Athens turned its economic power into a system of tributes, allies turned into subordinates and left Athens in the lurch. US is committing the same mistake. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

India will proceed with massive tariff cuts as part of free-trade agreement with EU • EU Commission (boldly) reckons EU exports to India could double over next six years • India is trying to shake protectionist reputation and offset US tariffs of up to 50% www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump's trade wars are pushing China and India closer - at least in the economic field • In December India's exports to China were nearly 70% higher than one year earlier • New Delhi is mulling allowing Chinese companies to invest in India again www.economist.com/finance-and-...

The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for 12% of country's trade flows • New free-trade agreement could help to deepen EU-India trade ties, notably for machinery and chemicals • Deal highlights how global response to US tariffs is increasingly taking shape www.ft.com/content/b03b...

Good news re #CBAM in the EU-India trade deal: It's intact, and, even better, the EU committed not to give other countries a break. They also committed to support decarbonization in India to the tune of 500 million euros. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

EU-India free-trade agreement will reduce or slash tariffs on 96.6% of EU exports to India • Indian tariffs of up to 44% on machinery, 22% on chemicals and 11% on pharmaceuticals will be lifted • 30+% tariffs on many EU food products will also be reduced or removed www.ft.com/content/b03b...

African trade may have been vastly underestimated • Officially, just 15% of continent’s trade is internal, notably for lack of transport infrastructure • Yet official estimates could omit large volume of continent’s internal trade, particularly in food www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Trump Family’s US$7.2bn wealth is increasingly linked to cryptocurrencies • Digital assets added US$1.4bn to the Trump family's wealth since Trump's return to the White House • Meanwhile, shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp are down 66% over past 12 months www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Meanwhile in the 9th largest economy of the world... "region without power for the fourth consecutive day" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Odds of a mining bonanza in Greenland are abysmally low • Getting mine running in Arctic can cost 2-3 times as much as equivalent project at lower latitudes • Island’s two big rare-earth projects have been plagued by difficulties and have yet to start operations www.economist.com/briefing/202...

Ce n'est pas du pinaillage de chercheur qui est vexé qu'on fasse des erreurs à l'écran. C'est un appel à la responsabilité des médias et des artistes: on ne peut plus être naïfs et refuser de voir les implications politiques de nos récits / discours sur la Russie. www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/...

Exclusive: India to slash tariffs on cars to 40% in trade deal with EU - www.reuters.com/world/india/...

Odds of a mining bonanza in Greenland are abysmally low • Getting mine running in Arctic can cost 2-3 times as much as equivalent project at lower latitudes • Island’s two big rare-earth projects have been plagued by difficulties and have yet to start operations www.economist.com/briefing/202...

AI boom is driving rise in private sector's share of top 100 listed Chinese companies • Private sector owns 40% of aggregate market capitalisation of China's top 100 listed firms • Even so, private sector's share remains far below its mid-2021 peak of 55.4% www.piie.com/research/pii...