Read a selection of past newsletters!
Subscribe to get the independent data journalism digests delivered to your mailbox.
2026-03-20 • Pentagon’s $200B Iran war funding exposes hidden costs, distorting energy prices. Trump criticizes NATO; true resilience needs market-driven solutions.
Evening Analysis – The Gist The Pentagon’s request for $200 billion to fund the Iran war exposes the hidden tax of geopolitical policing. With the Strait of Hormuz choked and Brent crude surpassing $107, Washington is socializing the costs of global trade. Trump branding NATO allies "cowards"…
Read More2026-03-20 • Markets punish “surgical” strikes. Following conflict, oil spiked to $118. Central banks can’t shield economies from intervention fallout—decentralization is key.
Morning Intelligence – The Gist The "surgical" strike is a myth markets ruthlessly punish. Following Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Tehran’s subsequent Gulf retaliation, oil violently spiked to $118 a barrel. This exposes a glaring economic reality: state-managed, concentrated…
Read More2026-03-19 • U.S. debt hits $39T; ECB holds rates amid inflation fears. AI exports rise, sustaining trade as markets endure political missteps.
Evening Analysis – The Gist The U.S. national debt just breached a staggering $39 trillion, adding its latest trillion in a mere 21 weeks. Concurrently, the ECB held rates steady today, paralyzed by inflation fears. This is the terminal velocity of fiscal irresponsibility. States are crowding out…
Read More2026-03-19 • US-Iran tensions close the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring. Global markets panic due to protectionist policies and fragile supply chains.
Morning Intelligence – The Gist With the US-Israel-Iran conflict escalating into decapitation strikes against Tehran’s leadership, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. Brent crude has surged past $111 a barrel, and retaliatory threats to Gulf energy infrastructure have sent global markets…
Read More2026-03-18 • The US Treasury’s 30-day sanctions waiver on Russian oil highlights the limits of intervention as Middle East conflicts spike oil prices above $100.
Evening Analysis – The Gist The US Treasury’s issuance of General License 134—a 30-day sanctions waiver for Russian oil—is a masterclass in the limits of state intervention. With the US-Israeli war choking the Strait of Hormuz and trapping 15 million barrels per day, Brent crude has predictably…
Read More2026-03-18 • Iran’s security chief’s assassination disrupts the Strait of Hormuz, spikes oil prices, and reveals supply chain fragility, challenging economic stability.
Morning Intelligence – The Gist The assassination of Iran's security chief has paralysed the Strait of Hormuz, launching oil toward $100 a barrel. This conflict is a brutal supply-side shock, exposing the fragility of global supply chains to geopolitical friction. This energy squeeze humiliates…
Read More2026-03-17 • Cuba’s power grid collapse highlights the failure of central planning and U.S. sanctions, showing the impact of state-controlled economies.
Evening Analysis – The Gist If a metaphor exists for central planning's terminal velocity, it is the collapse of Cuba’s national power grid. Monday’s failure plunged 11 million residents into darkness. The socialist experiment simply cannot keep the lights on without private capital. Yet,…
Read More2026-03-17 • Europe’s fractured response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights market realities. Energy shocks reveal central banks can’t manage supply issues.
Morning Intelligence – The Gist As Washington demands allies police the paralyzed Strait of Hormuz, Europe’s disjointed response exposes a fracturing alliance. With Brent crude near $100 a barrel, the illusion that foreign policy is insulated from market realities has evaporated. The monetary…
Read More2026-03-16 • IEA releases 400M barrels as Middle East war disrupts LNG. Critics say it’s political misdirection, delaying needed energy investments.
Evening Analysis – The Gist The IEA just authorized its largest intervention since 1974: a 400-million-barrel oil release [INDEX_1.15]. With the Middle East war entering day sixteen and severing 1.5 million tonnes of weekly LNG shipments [INDEX_1.10], global markets are convulsing. This coordinated.…
Read More2026-03-16 • The U.S.-Iran conflict exposes maritime security flaws. Trump urges NATO to self-defend, challenging reliance on U.S. protection and highlighting global trade vulnerabilities.
Morning Intelligence – The Gist The U.S.-Iran conflict has bottlenecked the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the free-rider problem of maritime security. President Trump issued an ultimatum to NATO: deploy your own naval escorts or face a "very bad future". The muted international response highlights a…
Read More