The Economy Markets

Alibaba launches ‘Quark’ AI smart glasses in China With the smart-glasses market surging, could mobile’s dominant form factor be about to change? The technology is also driving meaningful innovation in medical settings

Germany Drafts a 1,200-Page Secret Operational Plan to Prepare for a Possible Russian Attack Military Tensions Rise Across NATO’s Eastern Flank, Including Poland European Nations Begin Expanding Forces and Procuring Weapons as They Strengthen Defense Capabilities

Russia maintains a hard line on territorial issuesUkraine signals alignment with Washington’s direction

Michael Burry, the Real-Life Investor Behind The Big Short, Bets on Another Market Downturn He Shuts Down His Hedge Fund and Repositions Himself as a Market Analyst and Blogger Big AI Firms Reject the “Bubble” Narrative, Calling It a Natural Phase of Technological Revolution

TSMC Executive Luo Weiren Moves to Intel After 21 Years Faces Lawsuit for Alleged Breach of Non-Compete and Trade Secrets Law Industry Sees Rising Temptation to Poach Talent, Leading to Frequent Leaks of Proprietary Know-How

Big firms helped drive the 2021–2022 inflation surge Granular data links market power and inflation Policy and teaching must reflect this granular reality In late 2022, inflation in the euro area reached a peak of 10.6%.

Japan–China tensions are now a social problem; deterrence alone cannot steady the region Dedicate a sliver of rising defense spend to history education, exchanges, and crisis literacy Pair hard power with hard learning so classrooms absorb shocks instead of amplifying them

China’s rare earth strategy is shifting as Western supply chains rapidly diversify Beijing can trade short-term leverage for long-term alliances built on stable access Educators and policymakers should treat rare earths as a core case in managing interdependence

Anxiety grows over Washington’s lack of explicit supportRussia and North Korea criticize Japan and back China

Europe Boosts Defense Spending, Driven by Germany “European-Made First”: Region Moves to Cut Foreign Arms Imports Korean and U.S. Defense Exporters Face a Shrinking Foothold in Europe Europe is accelerating its rearmament drive.

Booming Incomes, Assets, and Spending Among High Earners Low-Income Households Squeezed by Rates, Prices, and Delinquencies Asset Inequality Poised to Widen Further with Technological Change The U.S.

A short-term push to catch up to 4-nanometer nodes gathers momentumTighter U.S. controls emerge as a new variable in the technology race

Global IT Firms Race Toward Super-App Transformation From “Conversation to Action,” Platforms Expand Their Ecosystems Fierce Competition to Advance Apps Through AI Photo=OpenAI

China Moves to Push Out U.S.-Made AI Chips Like Nvidia’s China’s AI Chip Industry Advances Quickly, but Supply Remains Unstable Trump Signals Tighter Export Controls — Nvidia Braces for a Major Market Loss China is accelerating its push for

Possibility of incorporating Taiwan’s science-park modelReasons behind TSMC’s losses in the United States

GDP 3.3% Allocation to Be Raised to 5% Defense Against China’s “2027 Armed Unification” Goal Additional Budget Planned, Massive Procurement of U.S.

Export restrictions shift rare earth profits and risks inside producing countries Indonesia and China gain leverage but concentrate benefits in big firms Stronger labour and environmental rules are needed so local communities share the gains

Euro stablecoins can limit digital dollar dominance MiCA rules let Europe steer stablecoins toward multilateral payments Education and public sectors can jump-start euro stablecoin use One number captures the new politics of digita

French fiscal stress is raising the risk of eurozone debt contagion Shocks in France or Italy would spill into Spain, Greece, and the Balkans through banks and bond markets A permanent ECB–ESM backstop is needed to protect public investment, especially education

BYD’s European sales surge 206% in one year Low-cost strength rooted in labor and production efficiency Doubts grow over Europe-based production plans China’s electric-vehicle manufacturers are increasingly turning to overseas markets as domestic