In Focus
Good evening, 18:32.
Ukraine’s AI-guided drones have knocked two of Rosneft’s refineries offline, slicing roughly 5 % of Russia’s processing capacity; Moscow’s response is to divert the crude abroad, adding an extra 200,000 bpd via its western ports and nudging total August exports to 2 mbpd. (reuters.com, dw.com, apnews.com)
That switch flips the usual wartime logic: instead of shrinking supply, the strikes swell seaborne flows into an already OPEC-plus-glutted market. Brent slid below $70 today while Russian gasoline at home hit a record 77,000 rub/tonne, exposing a Kremlin dilemma—export dollars versus domestic pump rage. If India bows to U.S. pressure to trim Urals purchases, the added barrels may search for buyers at deeper discounts, amplifying price volatility across Asia. (reuters.com, discoveryalert.com.au)
What we’re witnessing is the weaponisation of spare capacity: Kyiv degrades refineries; Moscow weaponises tankers. In energy conflicts, flows matter more than fields. As analyst Amy Myers Jaffe reminds us, “Energy security is now less about barrels than about the bandwidth of conflict.”
— The Gist AI Editor
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The Global Overview
AI’s Double-Edged Sword
Altice Portugal is leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline operations, a move that will eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 16% of its workforce (Bloomberg). This exemplifies the dual nature of technological advancement: while boosting efficiency and potentially lowering costs for consumers, it also precipitates significant labor market disruption. Our perspective is that such transitions, while painful, are an inevitable part of a dynamic, innovation-driven economy. The focus should be on creating a flexible labor market and social safety nets that empower workers to adapt, rather than resisting technological progress through regulation.
Tech Titans and Market Shifts
E-commerce platform Shopify has surged to become Canada’s most valuable company, displacing the Royal Bank of Canada after what analysts called a “blowout” quarterly performance (Bloomberg). This shift underscores the relentless migration of economic value towards scalable, tech-driven enterprises. In a parallel development signaling investor appetite for deep-tech, OpenAI-backed startup Chai has raised $70 million to apply AI to drug discovery, a sector ripe for disruption (FT). These trends highlight how open capital markets fuel innovation, allowing groundbreaking companies to attract resources and challenge established industries.
The New Regulated Frontiers
From digital content to outer space, regulators are scrambling to keep pace with innovation. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority banned two Zara advertisements featuring models deemed “unhealthily thin,” citing them as “irresponsible” (Strait Times). While concerns about social responsibility are valid, such interventions raise questions about the appropriate scope of government oversight in subjective matters of taste and expression. Meanwhile, the growing commercialization of space exploration is creating a new “wild west,” prompting calls for a governance framework to manage this burgeoning industry (FT). The challenge lies in crafting rules that ensure safety and property rights without stifling the very entrepreneurship that is opening up this frontier.
Stay tuned for the next Gist—your edge in a shifting world.
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The European Perspective
Messina Bridge Greenlit
Italy’s inter-ministerial committee (Cipess) has given final approval to the Strait of Messina Bridge, a monumental engineering feat with a contentious history. The project carries a staggering price tag of €13.5 billion, with construction slated to begin this September for a potential 2032 opening (Ansa). While proponents herald a new era of connectivity, the project represents a massive state-directed investment. My view is that such megaprojects often suffer from cost overruns and misallocated capital, diverting resources that the private sector could deploy more efficiently. The key challenge remains insulating the massive expenditure from cronyism and ensuring genuine, market-driven economic benefits emerge beyond the construction phase.
Energy Markets & Sanction Ripple Effects
European natural gas prices are easing, a welcome development for consumers and industry. The benchmark Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) futures, a key European gas price indicator, fell 3.34% to €33.26 per megawatt-hour (Ansa). This decline stems from robust EU storage levels and, more interestingly, the secondary effects of US policy. Washington’s ratcheting up of sanctions pressure on India over its continued Russian oil purchases is creating ripples across global energy markets, indirectly contributing to Europe’s improved gas position (Dw, Ansa). It’s a stark reminder of how interconnected energy security and geopolitical maneuvering remain.
A Lithium Lining for Alzheimer’s
A significant breakthrough from Harvard researchers offers a new lens on Alzheimer’s disease, identifying lithium deficiency as a potential causal factor. In a pivotal study, scientists reversed dementia in mice by administering the simple metal, suggesting a hopeful, low-cost therapeutic avenue (El Pais). This finding could disrupt the complex and expensive pharmaceutical approaches that have so far yielded limited results. If borne out in human trials, it would be a powerful testament to how fundamental scientific inquiry, rather than centrally planned research programs, can unlock solutions to humanity’s most devastating ailments.
Catch the next Gist for the continent’s moving pieces.
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The Data Point
As artificial intelligence capabilities advance, Altice Portugal is cutting 1,000 jobs.
This represents 16% of its workforce, attributing the workforce reduction to functions made redundant by new technology.
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The Editor’s Listenings
The Allegorist – Andean Condor (2025)
A mystical and cinematic journey through ancient, reverberating soundscapes and otherworldly electronic beats.
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