Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court inferno has now claimed 94 lives, injured 76 and left some 250 people unaccounted for, despite the deployment of nearly 800 firefighters and 128 engines over two days. 4,800 subsidised-housing residents were boxed in by bamboo scaffolding and plastic mesh that acted as a giant chimney, investigators say; three construction executives have been arrested for manslaughter. (reuters.com)

This is less a freak accident than a data point in a widening safety gap across Asia’s megacities. Fire-code reforms after London’s 2017 Grenfell disaster were costly; Hong Kong delayed similar cladding rules and kept faith in bamboo—cheaper, but combustible. With 54 percent of the world’s high-rise population now living in the region, under-regulated retrofit booms pose systemic risk, amplified by climate-driven wind extremes that accelerate flame spread.

As urbanist Rem Koolhaas warns, “Density without vigilance is a vertical trap.” The tragedy reminds us that infrastructure frugality can mutate into mass casualty—unless oversight rises as high as the skylines it governs.

The Gist AI Editor

Energy Markets Brace for Winter

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are surging to record highs just as winter demand kicks in across Asia and Europe (Bloomberg). November exports are on track to surpass 10 million metric tons, a first for any country, after a staggering 25% year-over-year increase in the first ten months of 2025. This export boom, driven by new capacity and strong international prices, is helping to moderate energy costs for consumers in allied nations while absorbing record U.S. gas production (Bloomberg). The increased flow underscores the strategic shift in global energy dynamics, enhancing supply stability for importers.

Oil Markets in Holding Pattern

The global oil market remains tentative ahead of a key OPEC+ meeting, with crude feeling “thin and directionless” (WSJ). The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are largely expected to maintain current production levels for the first quarter of 2026. This cautious stance reflects an effort to balance market stability amid geopolitical crosscurrents and uncertain demand signals. For consumers, this translates to a period of relative stability at the pump, barring any unforeseen supply disruptions.

Asian Currencies and AI Jitters

Asian currency markets have been largely stable, with traders eyeing the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next moves (WSJ). Meanwhile, concerns of a potential bubble in the Artificial Intelligence sector are growing, fueled by massive deals centered around chipmaker Nvidia (Bloomberg). This highlights the tension between groundbreaking innovation and market exuberance. In China, a significant push into R&D is transforming the nation from the world’s factory into a hub of innovation, a long-term structural shift with profound implications for global competition and supply chains (FT).

Geopolitical & Environmental Risks

Taiwanese officials appear comfortable with the United States’ long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding its defense, even amid President Trump’s recent silence on the issue after discussions with Beijing (WSJ). In Southeast Asia, severe flooding and landslides in Thailand and Indonesia have tragically claimed at least 153 lives, highlighting the real-world consequences of extreme weather events on vulnerable populations and infrastructure (Bloomberg).

Stay tuned for the next Gist—your edge in a shifting world.

Trump Is Silent on Taiwan After Talking to Xi—and That Is Fine With Taipei
— Wall Street Journal

Oil Rises; Markets Watch for Russia-Ukraine Developments
— Wall Street Journal

Is China winning the innovation race?
— Financial Times

Asian Currencies Mostly Stable; Fed Chair Role in Focus
— Wall Street Journal

FC Barcelona’s tie-up with Samoa-based crypto start-up sparks backlash
— Financial Times

US LNG Exports at Record High Just in Time for Winter Demand
— Bloomberg

Eurozone’s Latent Risk

A fault line is emerging in the Eurozone’s financial architecture, linking sovereign debt to the insurance sector. After years of low interest rates, insurers’ balance sheets have become more sensitive to market shocks (CEPR). These firms are major holders of government bonds—often with a strong bias towards their home country’s debt—and tend to sell these assets to pay claims after events like natural disasters. This creates a worrying feedback loop where a climate-related catastrophe could trigger a sell-off in sovereign bonds, destabilising a government’s finances when it can least afford it (ECB). Proponents of a deeper Capital Markets Union (CMU), which would integrate EU capital markets, argue it would foster diversification and reduce this systemic vulnerability.

Trump Signals Hard Immigration Stop

President Trump is telegraphing a seismic shift in US immigration policy, vowing to “sospendere definitivamente l’immigrazione proveniente da tutti i Paesi del Terzo Mondo” (permanently suspend immigration from all Third World Countries) (Ansa). His stated rationale is to allow the American system to “fully recover,” adding that “Solo la migrazione inversa… può porre rimedio a questa situazione” (Only reverse migration… can remedy this situation) (Ansa). Such a move would drastically reshape US labor markets, potentially stoking wage inflation and disrupting industries reliant on foreign talent. For European firms operating in the US, this signals a profoundly more nationalist economic policy, complicating workforce planning and investment. The declaration reinforces a trend toward de-globalization that will have lasting ripple effects on transatlantic commerce and competition for skilled labor.

Catch the next Gist for the continent’s moving pieces.

Haushalt 2026: Etat für Landwirtschaft, Ernährung und Heimat
— ZDF

The complex linkages between euro area insurers and sovereign bond markets
— CEPR

Gressel: “Diese Angriffe sind der große Hebel der Ukraine”
— ZDF

Europa League: VfB siegt klar in Deventer
— ZDF

Dmitri Muratov, periodista ruso represaliado: “Putin se ha reído de los políticos europeos”
— El Pais

Spento dopo quasi 48 ore il violento incendio di Hong Kong
— Ansa