This chart by @AsiaFinance illustrates China’s dramatic 225-year demographic collapse. Annual births peaked around 1963 (~29–32M) and again in 1987 (25.1M). Since 2016, however, births have plunged, falling to an estimated 7.92M in 2025—well below the 1800 level (~12.4M). Corruption accelerates this decline by inflating housing, education, and healthcare costs while deepening inequality and eroding public trust. These pressures increasingly push young adults to delay or forgo marriage and childbirth.

This Bloomberg chart illustrates the previous comment that higher government bond yields are a global phenomenon. What makes this cycle different from past ones includes: G7 Vulnerability: The debt cycle spotlight is as much on G7 economies (France, Japan, and the UK in particular) as on developing countries. Less Elastic Drivers: The primary catalysts driving yields higher—massive corporate and government supply and, to a lesser extent, oil prices—are less responsive to central bank monetary policy. Lagged Economic Responses: The repricing out of tech and government bond issuance will lag the damage that higher yields could inflict on traditionally rate-sensitive sectors, including housing, autos, and highly leveraged finance. #economy# #markets# #debt# #yields#

This only illustrates two points: first, Japan is in dire need of certain high-end rare earth materials imported from China; second, Japan is adept at espionage and is willing to smuggle these materials secretly. China has implemented export licensing management for certain medium and heavy rare earth elements since April 2025, and further tightened export controls on dual-use items to Japan in January 2026. While seemingly unconcerned, Sanae Takaichi has secretly instructed relevant departments and companies to use all means to secure the rare earth elements urgently needed by the military, semiconductor, and electronics sectors. Because their reserves are almost depleted, and their efforts to mitigate supply chain risks—whether through overseas diversification, recycling, or deep-sea mining—will not improve Japan's situation in the short term.

This perfectly illustrates retail hype versus value. Investors swarm $SPCX SpaceX at a massive 112x P/S, seemingly ignoring $NVDA NVIDIA's solid fundamentals and relative 19.8x bargain. The market remains irrational, prioritizing a visionary's story over proven profitability.

🔊 One family's story illustrates the cost of Israeli settler expansion, describing it as 'daily harassment that made it feel like they were no longer safe to be even on the outskirts of this village.’ @PMagid on the Reuters World News podcast

This Wall Street Journal chart illustrates the eye-popping volatility in South Korean stocks. Specifically, KOSPI realized vol spiked to around 100, sharply decoupling from the S&P 500's relatively contained levels. @wsj #economy# #markets# #stocks# #korea# #kospi# #volatility#

This Wall Street Journal chart illustrates that the sharp rise in yields is essentially a global phenomenon ... led mostly—though not exclusively—by the US, and interrupted for now by the US Treasury YCC circuit breaker (see prior posts for details). #economy# #markets# #yields# #bonds# @WSJ