Global Currency Agreements

A new Plaza Accord for global currencies wouldn’t work
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/06/30/a-new-plaza-accord-for-global-currencies-wouldnt-work
The conditions and will for a deal are not what they were in 1985.  

Role of Stablecoins

Are stablecoins money?
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/02/are-stablecoins-money
Policymakers’ job is to make them safe as well as useful. 

Stablecoins Are Private Money. That’s Why They’re a Risk to the Economy.
https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/stablecoins-are-private-money-thats-why-theyre-a-risk-to-the-economy-d3498171
Financial innovations often lead to upheaval and instability. Despite new regulations, those risks persist with stablecoins. 

Is the Stablecoin Economy Structurally Sound?
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stablecoins-tokenization-blockchain-safety-reliability-cant-be-assumed-by-neha-narula-2026-03
If stablecoins and tokenized assets become systemically important, blockchains will become a form of systemically important infrastructure. But this shift will bring new risks, because not all blockchains are created equal, and they have largely avoided the degree of scrutiny the public expects of critical infrastructure.

EM Trends and Developments

Brazilians are going gaga for Chinese brands
https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/07/02/brazilians-are-going-gaga-for-chinese-brands
They think China has better tech than America.
 
Africa’s new middle class is putting down roots in the suburbs
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/07/02/africas-new-middle-class-is-putting-down-roots-in-the-suburbs
For a glimpse of the continent’s future, visit the edges of its burgeoning cities. 

A Witty Take on Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, I saw the coming Chinese century
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2026/07/in-hong-kong-i-saw-the-coming-chinese-century
Is authoritarianism the price we will pay for social order? 

Related:

Hong Kong, once a great place to raise and spend money, is halfway back
https://www.economist.com/china/2026/06/29/hong-kong-once-a-great-place-to-raise-and-spend-money-is-halfway-back
Tighter ties with the mainland have not always helped.

History Lesson: The True Nature of American Capitalism

250 Years of American State Capitalism
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/american-state-capitalism-started-under-george-washington-never-ceased-by-shang-jin-wei-2026-07
While the prevailing economic narrative in the United States has often extolled free markets, policymaking itself has always been more pragmatic. From its very founding, the US has had a hybrid model in which the state directs, subsidizes, and occasionally bails out private enterprise in the service of national priorities.
 
America's been arguing over trade for more than 250 years
https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/americas-been-arguing-over-trade-more-250-years 

Ramaswamy on Wealth Inequality

How Government Spending Enriches the Wealthy
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-government-spending-enriches-the-wealthy-4ad7375e
Covid relief programs and easy Fed policy inflated the value of assets such as stocks and real estate.
 
Vivek Ramaswamy notes:
American wealth is concentrated at the top. On this narrow point, the socialists are correct. The top 1% now holds roughly 30% of the nation’s net worth, and the bottom half holds about 2.5%. But the greatest driver of inequality over the past five years was exactly what the socialists now demand more of: large-scale government spending.
When Washington floods the economy with borrowed and freshly printed dollars, the money flows first into assets owned by the wealthiest Americans—stocks, bonds, real estate. Six relief laws pushed roughly $4.6 trillion out the door in the bipartisan response to the pandemic. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero and more than doubled its balance sheet, from about $4 trillion to nearly $9 trillion. 

US Business Cycle Expansion

Wall Street's aging bull meets an 'everlasting' US expansion
https://www.reuters.com/commentary/reuters-open-interest/wall-streets-aging-bull-meets-an-everlasting-us-expansion-2026-07-02/