Will AI Create a Permanent Underclass?

Silicon Valley Is Bracing for a Permanent Underclass
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/opinion/ai-labor-work-force-silicon-valley.html 

Does Trade Cause Peace?

Does trade cause peace? Ask an economist by Soumaya Keynes
https://www.ft.com/content/d141cf41-e47a-4657-9f6b-ed26e6c59ac6
Researchers have been trawling history to measure the pacifying effects of moving goods around. 

The IPO Underpricing Debate

Beyond The Hype: What Really Drives IPO Prices?

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/beyond-the-hype--what-really-drives-ipo-prices-86807.html

Stock Market Investing – Interesting Items

Will Emerging-Market Pioneer Mark Mobius Be Vindicated?
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/will-emerging-market-pioneer-mark-mobius-be-vindicated
Why emerging-market stocks are a good investment today. 

Emerging market stocks hit record high as Asian chipmakers surge
https://www.ft.com/content/5a003a35-a48b-4e46-a2d3-b99ae41d0e46
Rally for TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix powers EM stock index’s rebound from Iran war losses.

15 Stocks That Made Investors the Most Money Over the Past 10 Years
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/15-stocks-that-made-investors-most-money-over-past-10-years
These companies delivered the largest gains in total shareholder value.
 

Big Tech Strikes Gold With AI, but at a Steep Cost
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/big-tech-strikes-gold-with-ai-but-at-a-steep-cost-f6d82a22
While Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon ride artificial intelligence to strong earnings, some investors are still worried about spending.

Corporate America Is Minting Money—and Not Just in Tech and Finance
https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/corporate-america-is-minting-moneyand-not-just-in-tech-and-finance-0d833898
Profits grow for many companies in the face of war, rising oil prices and inflation; “it’s extremely polarized.” 

In retirement, volatility is the price of better returns
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/23/in-retirement-volatility-is-the-price-of-better-returns/
Tom Stevenson:
The issue of a market downturn in early retirement is called “sequencing risk”. It refers to the way in which the same set of annual investment returns can have a vastly different impact on your retirement, depending on the order in which they occur.
Two investors drawing an income from their pension pots can end up with two very different amounts of money if they experience the same annual returns but in a different sequence.
An investor who starts their retirement with a few bad years in the market will have a much worse outcome than one who starts with a few good ones, even if the performances are subsequently reversed. “Bad then good” is much more damaging than “good then bad” when you are simultaneously taking money out of your savings to live on. 

Is America Afraid of Competition?

For the average price of a car in the US, you could buy 5 new Chinese EVs
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/average-price-car-us-you-could-buy-5-new-chinese-evs-2026-04-28/

The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/chinese-cars-byd-geely-u-s-mexico-be0dea28
Mexican dealers are selling cutting-edge Chinese cars that U.S. consumers can’t buy. Americans are warming to the idea of them.

China's next automotive revolution on display
https://www.reuters.com/pictures/electric-vehicles-ai-chinas-next-automotive-revolution-display-beijing-2026-04-27/
The Beijing Auto Show showcases China's latest electric vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence systems, futuristic interiors and technology that's reshaping the industry.

 
The Rising Chinese Automaker Not Named BYD
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/business/geely-china-byd-export.html
Geely is challenging the giant BYD by adapting quickly to swings in demand and energy prices, seizing on interest in electric vehicles prompted by the war in Iran.

Related:

Why this Chinese EV terrifies Europe’s carmakers
https://youtu.be/vgCYYrhL-kE

UAE Quits OPEC

The U.A.E.’s OPEC Bombshell Signals a New Middle East Order
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-a-e-opec-new-middle-east-32ceda56
After bearing the brunt of Iran’s counterattack, the financial powerhouse is strengthening ties with Israel and challenging Saudi Arabia.

How the UAE’s decision to leave OPEC could recast the Middle East
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/28/how-uae-leave-opec-recast-middle-east-saudi-arabia-us
Defection is damaging to Saudi Arabia’s prestige – and could strengthen the US hand in the region.
 
UAE leaves OPEC in blow to global oil producers' group
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/uae-says-it-quits-opec-opec-statement-2026-04-28/
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it was quitting OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil producers' group ​as an unprecedented energy crisis caused by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. 

Europe's Economic and Strategic Conundrum

How Europe regulated itself into American vassalage
https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/04/22/how-europe-regulated-itself-into-american-vassalage
The road to economic serfdom.
 
How EU is pivoting away from ‘toxic’ Trump & closer to China | Fareed's Take
https://youtu.be/YWZACdqdFcc
 
Europe Still Needs China
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/europe-still-needs-china#