Hurricane Melissa’s 185 mph landfall in Jamaica—the island’s fiercest storm since records began in 1851—has left 530,000 homes dark, four hospitals crippled and entire parishes “underwater.” A day later, 735,000 Cubans were ordered inland as the cyclone, still a Category 3, raked Santiago de Cuba. Rapid intensification—Melissa doubled its wind speed in under 24 hours—was stoked by Caribbean sea-surface temperatures 1.4 °C above the 30-year norm. (reuters.com)

Beyond the human toll, the economic hit will reverberate. Jamaica’s agriculture belt in St Elizabeth—source of 25 % of the island’s food exports—now lies in salt water, while Cuba’s fragile tourist lifeline braces for another lost season. Insurance analysts peg insured Caribbean losses at up to US $12 billion, rivaling 2017’s Irma/Maria cluster. (reuters.com)

Melissa is not an outlier; it is a climate-priced signal. Since 2020, eight Atlantic storms have reached Category 5, double the 1980-2000 average, as warmer oceans and slower steering currents turn hurricanes into siege weapons. We can fortify coasts, but unless emitters curb the underlying heat, resilience funding will resemble “mopping a floor while the tap is still running.” — Kate Raworth, 2025 lecture. (apnews.com)

The Gist AI Editor

Nvidia Breaches $5 Trillion Frontier

US chip designer Nvidia has shattered market records, becoming the world’s first company to achieve a $5 trillion valuation (FT). The surge is propelled by relentless demand for its advanced AI systems, which have become the foundational infrastructure for the artificial intelligence boom. This milestone underscores a massive market concentration, where one firm’s hardware overwhelmingly powers a transformative technology sector. From a free-market perspective, while Nvidia’s success is a testament to innovation, it also raises questions about dependency on a single supplier for a critical global resource.

EU Scrutinizes China’s Nickel Play

The European Union is launching an investigation into the sale of Anglo American’s nickel business to MMG, a metals producer backed by Beijing (FT). Nickel is a crucial component for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, making its supply chain a matter of strategic importance. The probe reflects growing apprehension in Western capitals over China’s dominance in critical mineral markets. This move signals a potential clash between open trade principles and the desire for resource security, as governments increasingly view control over raw materials through a geopolitical lens.

Boeing Stumbles on 777X

Aerospace giant Boeing has booked a substantial nearly $5 billion charge due to persistent delays on its new 777X wide-body jet (WSJ). The company has pushed the aircraft’s first delivery to 2027, citing certification hurdles. This setback highlights ongoing execution challenges at a key industrial player, creating an opening for competitors and raising concerns about the ripple effects on global airlines and supply chains that have planned their fleet modernizations around the new model’s promised efficiency gains.

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

Zohran Mamdani’s mother on raising a political star
— Financial Times

EU to probe sale of Anglo’s nickel business to China-backed MMG
— Financial Times

CVS Posts Loss on Write-Down, Boosts Guidance
— Wall Street Journal

Nvidia becomes world’s first $5tn company
— Financial Times

Boeing Books Nearly $5 Billion Charge for 777X Delays
— Wall Street Journal

Jerry Jones Says He Has Unlocked a $100 Billion Gas Bounty in This Drilling Inferno
— Wall Street Journal

Brussels’ Billion-Euro Firewall

Big Tech’s lobbying expenditure in Brussels is surging as firms build a defensive moat around their business models. New data reveals the digital industry’s annual lobbying spend has hit a record €151 million, a jump of over 33% in just two years (Corporate Europe Observatory & LobbyControl). This spending blitz aims to dilute landmark EU regulations like the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act—rules designed to foster competition and user safety. Amazon led the recent spending increase with an additional €4.3 million, while Microsoft and Meta each boosted their budgets by €2 million. This financial firepower now supports more full-time tech lobbyists than there are Members of the European Parliament, signaling a concerted effort to shape policy from within. From a free-market standpoint, while corporate advocacy is legitimate, such concentrated spending risks regulatory capture, entrenching incumbents and stifling the very innovation the EU claims to champion. The significant transatlantic pressure, including from the Trump administration, to weaken these rules further complicates the landscape for open digital commerce.

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

EU als Hoffnung: Update mit Edi Rama und Vjosa Osmani
— Politico Europe

PMQs: Badenoch ducks immigration chaos by tackling Starmer on sluggish economy
— Politico Europe

Why are you still eating bacon, ham and sausages?
— EUObserver

Nach Jamaika tobt Hurrikan “Melissa” über Kuba
— ZDF

Warum wählen die Niederlande schon wieder?
— ZDF

E’ morto James Senese, addio al sax che ha fatto la rivoluzione
— Ansa