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United States
Inflation pressures are being driven by three largely temporary supply shocks—tariffs, energy, and the AI buildout—with tariff pass-through already past its peak and the other pressures expected to ease in 2027, according to Alpine Macro.
United Kingdom
London housing starts have collapsed far below completions—the widest gap in over three decades—driven by higher building costs, tighter planning rules, and tax changes that have made large-scale development unviable.

China
China’s export structure increasingly resembles Europe’s, with export similarity rising to about 55% in 2023 from 46% a decade earlier as China moves further into high-value-added industries.
Emerging Markets
Passive investing has surged in emerging markets, rising from about 10% of EM equity assets under management in 2005 to more than 40% in 2025.

Equities
Profitability has diverged sharply by company size over the past 15 years, with the largest US companies’ return on capital rising to record highs even as profitability declined for the median company among the top 1,500 stocks.

Rates
About 90% of the increase in the 10-year Treasury yield since 2020 has occurred within three-day windows around Fed speeches and nonfarm payroll releases.

Commodities
After a decade of growth, Indonesia has become the world’s largest producer of processed nickel.

Global Developments
A 2024 paper by Davide Romelli shows the ECB ranks as the most independent central bank in the world.




