Over 40% Of Spaniards Are Worried About Their Financial Future

It may come as no surprise that many people around the world are feeling concerned about their financial futures.

Years of global inflation, stagnant wages and mounting pressures on pensions systems are contributing to economic uncertainty.

These challenges are further compounded by the impacts of climate change and major geopolitical events, from trade tariffs to armed conflicts.

As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, data from a Statista Consumer Insights survey shows that four in ten respondents in Spain and South Africa voiced concerns on the topic between July 2024 and June 2025.

You will find more infographics at Statista

In the United States, 35 percent of respondents said the same, while in India and China the share of respondents worried about their financial futures was lower, at 27 and 13 percent, respectively.

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/19/2025 - 02:45

Refugees In Austria Accused Of Failing German Courses To Stay On Benefits And Out Of Work

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

A new report by Austria’s Public Employment Service (AMS) has sparked controversy after suggesting that some refugees are intentionally failing German language courses to avoid being placed in low-paying jobs.

The findings, published in the study “New Refugees from Syria on the Austrian Labor Market,” highlight a growing challenge for integration policy, with concerns that language training, once seen as the key to employment, is becoming a barrier instead.

In the report, one first-hand account from a Syrian woman who studied medicine in her home country and worked as a paediatrician in Turkey, criticized what she sees as a systemic problem: qualified Syrian women being pushed into cleaning jobs without any consideration of their professional skills. She claims that, in response, some refugees purposely fail their language exams to avoid being forced into such low-status work.

Central to her complaint is the issue of inadequate wages, which she says often do not even cover basic living expenses, making social benefits a more attractive option.

The case study appears to be supported by AMS data, which showed that two-thirds of those granted asylum or subsidiary protection require literacy training, and 44 percent are completely illiterate. As reported by Kosmo, the AMS notes that 30 percent of refugees still have no German-language knowledge even 18 months after registering in Austria. Many spent years in transit countries before arriving, and in some cases, they cannot even read in their native language.

In July 2025, the unemployment rate for Syrians in Austria stood at 45.4 percent. Vienna is the epicenter of the problem, with more than half of all unemployed migrants living in the capital. Meanwhile, in other federal states, tens of thousands of low-skilled jobs remain unfilled.

The AMS acknowledges that deliberately failing courses to avoid work may occur, but insists this is not a widespread practice. “There are probably isolated cases, but this does not exist as a perceptible phenomenon,” the agency says. However, it concedes that proving deliberate failure is “hardly feasible in practice.” Sanctions are only possible if it can be clearly demonstrated that a person intentionally sabotaged their course or exam.

The issue is also closely linked to Austria’s welfare system. Some migrants may calculate that low-skilled work pays less than the combined value of unemployment benefits and minimum income support. The AMS does not deny that the financial incentive to remain unemployed exists.

The Austrian federal government is attempting to reform the system to ensure that work pays more than benefits. Starting in 2026, asylum seekers who skip compulsory language courses or fail the final exam will face cuts to their social welfare payments.

In Lower and Upper Austria, such measures are already in place, with reductions of up to 50 percent for those who refuse to participate.

Earlier this week, the reality of mass immigration in Austria was laid bare after new figures from the Statistical Yearbook on Migration and Integration found that women from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq living in Austria have an average birth rate almost three times higher than that of Austrian-born women.

The new generation with a growing Muslim population is having a profound effect in Austria, particularly in education.

In October 2024, federal data revealed that more than three-quarters of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home, putting pressure on an education system designed for single-language learning.

A survey at the same time by the local teachers’ union at some of Vienna’s 100 compulsory schools revealed not only systematic issues like language barriers, but also extreme incidents, including assaults on teachers, situations where parents of schoolchildren asked a teacher to wear a burqa, and even the presence of mock executions.

It has led to teachers leaving their profession — 20 a day on average in 2024 — and other educators speaking out on the “rapid Islamization” of the Austrian capital.

“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” said longtime principal of a Vienna middle school, Christian Klar, in an interview with Christian magazine Corrigenda last year.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/19/2025 - 02:00

Texas Democrats End 2-Week Walkout, Setting Up Vote On Congressional Map Favoring Republicans

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Texas Democrats ended a dramatic two-week walkout over congressional redistricting, clearing the way for Republicans to pass a map redrawn in their favor as soon as Aug. 20.

Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows strikes the gavel as the House calls a Special Session with a quorum, in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 18, 2025. Eric Gay/AP Photo

The state Democrats announced that they would return after California Democrats moved forward with plans to redraw their congressional map to counter any GOP gains in Texas.

On Aug. 15, Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session as the first one ended.

“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.

“We will not back down from this fight. That’s why I am calling them back today to finish the job.”

When the Texas House convened on Aug. 18, Speaker Dustin Burrows announced a quorum and subsequently ordered the House chamber doors locked, an action permitted under House rules.

Burrows scheduled the House to reconvene on Aug. 20, when a vote on a redrawn congressional map could take place, potentially adding five Republican seats in the next election.

Democrats, who showed up on Aug. 18 but face arrest warrants that were issued for fleeing the state, were released from the chamber in the custody of Department of Public Safety officers responsible for their return.

“We have a quorum. Now is the time for action. We will move quickly,” Burrows said.

More than 50 Democrats left the Lone Star State for several blue states as a way of thwarting GOP-led congressional redistricting. The 150-member Texas House requires 100 legislators to be present to meet a quorum requirement and conduct business.

Republican leadership applied extraordinary pressure to force the Democrats to return.

Besides issuing civil arrest warrants for the absent Democrats, Burrows threatened each of them with a $500 daily fine under House rules.

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits to remove fleeing Democrats from office and target organizations funding their quorum break.

Abbott, too, filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court asking it to rule that Rep. Gene Wu, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, had vacated his seat by refusing to come to work.

President Donald Trump has expressed support for congressional redistricting in red states to give Republicans a better chance at maintaining control of the U.S. House.

On July 7, the U.S. Justice Department sent Abbott a letter raising concerns that four congressional districts in the Houston and Dallas areas were unconstitutional because of “racial gerrymandering.”

Current boundaries run afoul of the Voting Rights Act by relying on racial demographics to group minority voters into “coalition districts,” where no single racial group forms a majority, according to the Justice Department.

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/19/2025 - 00:05

Creative Chaos: Inside The CIA's Covert War To Topple The Syrian Government

Authored by Joseph Solis-Mullen via The Mises Institute,

For over a decade, the dominant Western narrative on the Syrian War has been simple: a peaceful uprising turned into a brutal civil war because of Bashar al-Assad’s ruthless crackdown on his own people.

But in Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government, the Libertarian Institute’s latest book, William Van Wagenen methodically dismantles this mainstream version of events, exposing it as a convenient fiction crafted to justify one of the most disastrous regime change wars of the modern era.

His central thesis is clear: the war in Syria was not an organic revolution but a deliberate effort by Washington, Israel, and their regional partners to weaken Iran by toppling Assad’s government. 

And when peaceful protests were hijacked by Islamist militants, instead of helping restore stability, the US and its allies deliberately prevented Assad from crushing the insurgency—even as it became dominated by al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated groups.

Now, years later, the result is a fractured Syria, ruled by jihadist warlords and occupied by foreign powers, with Israel consolidating its hold over strategic territory.

How and why did this disaster for Syria’s people come to pass? And why were the non-interventionists who called out Washington’s lies always right about the war and its likely outcome?

Regime Change: The Blueprint for Syria’s Destruction

Van Wagenen carefully documents how regime change in Syria had been a goal of US foreign policy long before the Arab Spring. The Bush administration set the groundwork, but the Obama administration accelerated the effort, seeing it as a way to strike a blow against Iran without a direct war.

His research confirms that the US and its allies—including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Türkiye—actively supported and armed the so-called “moderate opposition,” despite overwhelming evidence that jihadists controlled the rebellion almost from the start.

Instead of letting the Assad government restore order, Western intelligence agencies funneled billions in arms, logistics, and training to extremist groups, ensuring the war would drag on.

The leaked 2012 email from Jake Sullivan to Hillary Clinton (which Van Wagenen references) makes this reality undeniable: “AQ [Al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria.”

This stunning admission exposes the real nature of US policy in Syria: at the same time they fought them on the other side of the line in Iraq, Washington was directly supporting al-Qaeda-linked groups because they served its geopolitical interests.

Note: For those who haven’t read the Libertarian Institute Director Scott Horton’s book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terror, this was a reversion to form rather than a policy innovation: Washington had, as a rule, favored the fundamentalist and radical Sunni sects over secular alternatives in the region going back decades.

A War Hijacked by Jihadists

One of the book’s most important contributions is its wholesale demolition of the “moderate rebel” myth. While establishment media outlets painted the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as a legitimate opposition force, Van Wagenen presents overwhelming evidence that the so-called moderates:

• Were always outnumbered and outgunned by Islamist factions;

• Frequently collaborated with or defected to al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra (later HTS);

• Received direct support from the CIA despite ties to terror groups

By 2013, ISIS and al-Nusra dominated the battlefield, and yet the US still prevented Assad from crushing the insurgency. As Van Wagenen documents, Washington:

• Pressured Jordan to allow jihadists free movement across its border;

• Supplied weapons through covert programs like Operation Timber Sycamore;

• Worked with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia to keep a steady flow of foreign fighters into Syria

This policy—arming the terrorists who had just a decade previously attacked the United States, and who were attacking US forces in Iraq at the same time—wasn’t just reckless, it was criminal.

Israel’s Role: Engineering Chaos to Consolidate Power

Another key point in Van Wagenen’s book is that Israel was a major driver behind the push for Assad’s overthrow. While the establishment narrative claims Israel was just a passive observer, the book shows that Tel Aviv had a clear strategic interest in Syria’s disintegration.

• Israel viewed Assad as Iran’s key ally and wanted him removed;

• Israeli intelligence worked closely with Western planners to fuel the insurgency;

• Once jihadists took over much of the country, Israel used this as justification for expanding its own territorial ambitions

Fast forward to today, and Van Wagenen’s prediction has come true: Syria is permanently fractured, and Israel has occupied key territories under the pretense that there is “no legitimate partner for peace.”

As Israeli officials have repeatedly argued, Syria is too unstable to negotiate with because groups like HTS (formerly al-Qaeda’s affiliate) control large parts of it. But this outcome was engineered by Israel and its allies, who spent years ensuring jihadists gained the upper hand over Assad’s forces. In effect, the war has allowed Israel to tighten its grip on occupied Golan and extend its influence into Syrian territory.

The Role of Bureaucratic Interests: Why Regime Change Always Wins

One of the most compelling themes in Van Wagenen’s book is the way he implicitly ties the Syrian War to broader structural issues in US foreign policy—particularly Public Choice Theory and the Iron Law of Bureaucracy. Public Choice Theory teaches us that politicians and government agencies act in their own self-interest, not necessarily in the interest of the public. A subset of this is the so-called “Iron Law of Bureaucracy,” which states that bureaucracies eventually prioritize their own growth and survival over their original mission. The CIA, State Department, and Pentagon all had institutional incentives to prolong the war, expand their budgets, and justify continued intervention, as Van Wagenen’s book shows.

This explains why, despite overwhelming evidence that arming jihadists would lead to disaster, the policy continued for years. The bureaucratic and political interests pushing for intervention simply had too much to gain from prolonging the war.

The Devastating Human Cost

While Van Wagenen’s book is primarily focused on the geopolitical machinations behind the war, he never loses sight of the human cost of Washington’s policies:

• Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed;

• Syria’s minority populations—Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Shiites—were slaughtered or driven into exile;

• Millions became refugees, fueling instability across the region and in Europe

Rather than bringing “freedom” to Syria, US intervention ensured endless war, ethnic cleansing, and the rise of brutal jihadist warlords.

Final Verdict: A Devastating Indictment of US Foreign Policy

Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government is a deeply-researched, compelling, and devastating critique of Western intervention in Syria. Van Wagenen’s book should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand how Washington and its allies systematically engineered one of the most destructive conflicts of the 21st century. He methodically dismantles the legacy media’s lies, exposes the CIA’s reckless support for jihadists, and highlights Israel’s long-term strategic interest in Syria’s collapse.

For those who still believe that US intervention is a force for good in the world, this book is a wake-up call. Syria was not a “humanitarian” war. It was a calculated, brutal regime change operation that destroyed a nation for the sake of geopolitical gain. And, as Van Wagenen warns, despite the non-interventionists having always been right, it likely won’t be the last.

Washington must stop its meddling. This is a message particularly timely as Trump seems more and more inclined toward furthering US involvement in the region.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 23:25

US Defense Secretary Brings Military Discipline Back As Recruitment Surges

One of the enduring embarrassments for the US under Joe Biden was his administration's handling of the military, from the poorly planned exit from Afghanistan, to forced covid vaccination, to their bizarre recruitment and training policies.  Democrats sought to fundamentally change the fabric of every vital American institution and the Department of Defense was no different.  

Military recruitment imploded and public interest in the services plunged during the rampant degeneracy of progressive rule.  Woke infiltration of the Pentagon and the Department of Defense was rampant.  Top generals were spouting Critical Race Theory propaganda, the US Army was trying to integrate 90 pound women into the Rangers in the name of "equity" and transgender cross-dressers were making TikToks in uniform with the blessing of the Navy while getting sex-change surgeries on the taxpayer's dime. 

Military recruitment ads went full woke.  An utter humiliation on the world stage that promoted DEI activism over security readiness in the form of childish cartoons.  Noticeably absent from these ads was young white men, the one demographic that traditionally joins in the name of patriotism and is largely responsible for filling recruitment quotas every year.

Is it any wonder that average Americans were less than inspired to volunteer?  Who wants to go to war for a government that wants to destroy western civilization?

Another disturbing trend during Biden's reign was the general wimpification of troops during basic training due to bans on traditional discipline standards.  This included the removal of harsh drilling methods like the "bay toss" and the "shark attack".

But the restrictions were not limited to training regiments.  Profanity was also banned in multiple battalions, with threats of a "4 strike" response should anyone, including drill instructors, insult or offend another soldier.  One such ban was initiated at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri after Trump took office and word apparently reached Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has made it his personal mission to eliminate the weakness left behind by Biden.

The order was immediately reversed, and Hegseth is talking about bringing back original discipline methods.  

"It starts at basic training. It starts at our military academies," Hegseth said during an appearance on "The Will Cain Show."

"We are going back to basics. Drill sergeants will be drill sergeants with knife hands who ensure, who maintain good order and discipline and train up great recruits who will make great formations. Just like we need military officers with that same rigorous discipline and background. So, we're going back to the basics, and it's bearing fruit."

The explanation for getting rid of these standards was less than logical.  Taking a large group of 18-year-olds, most of them living a first-world life of ease, rarely dealing with any discipline during their childhoods under helicopter parents that protected them from every potential scrape and scratch, and then trying to get them ready for war in 10 weeks?  This is an impossible task without using some extreme training methods.

DoD shills like the Sergeant Major in the interview above seem to miss the entire purpose of building mental toughness.  Enduring combat conditions requires emotional control and the ability to shut off panic reactions at will.  Many young recruits have never in their lives dealt with struggle or crisis, mental or physical.  Recreating these conditions in a safe environment requires that instructors "act mean" so that those same trainees don't lose their composure and die easily in the field if they are ever deployed. 

Furthermore, most current serving personnel and veterans treat the "shark attacks" of basic training as a right of passage and few if any have anything negative to say about the experience.  The erasure of these long respected standards suggests that the Biden Admin and their lackeys were actively attempting to sabotage the training process. 

With Biden's exit, recruitment has surged.  The US Army met its quotas 4 months ahead of schedule.  The Navy met its active duty goal and the Air Force increased its quotas as volunteers flooded in.  The media tried to dismiss this trend back in April, claiming that it was Biden's funding incentives that led to the jump in volunteers and that Trump was trying to take credit. 

This is nonsense.  Biden's presidency sunk recruitment levels to dangerous lows.  Democrat DEI policies were a cancer; their covid mandates and hostility against conservatives didn't help.  It's not hard to figure out why Americans are suddenly lining up to join the military - The cancer is gone.          

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 23:00

Mona Dohle of Net Zero Investor reports UPP’s Barbara Zvan on the shift to inflation-proof and climate assets:

UPP is now fully funded just four years after launch, CEO Barbara Zvan discusses the fund’s shift to inflation-protected assets, its C$1.2bn commitment to climate solutions, and the challenge of decarbonising private markets.

UPP is a relative newcomer in the Canadian pension landscape. The C$12.8bn plan, which serves more than 40,000 members across five Ontario universities and 14 sector organisations, was launched in 2021 amid a challenging backdrop for single-sponsor DB plans in a low-interest-rate environment. Employee groups and university administrations, with backing from the provincial government, opted to merge their separate DB plans into one multi-university jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP), which recently celebrated its fourth anniversary.

Since then, conditions have improved considerably, with rising gilt yields boosting DB funding levels globally. As of 2024, UPP is fully funded and has reported an annual net return of 10.3%. While participation remains optional for universities in the region, interest from other academic institutions is growing.

Barbara Zvan has led UPP as president and CEO since inception, bringing nearly 25 years of experience from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. She also serves on the board of the Responsible Investment Association, is an advisory board member of the Institute for Sustainable Finance, and was the inaugural chair of Climate Engagement Canada. Tackling global warming is firmly on UPP’s agenda, and the fund ranks comparatively high on Shift's Annual Scorecard, measuring climate commitments of Canadian pension funds. 

We spoke with Zvan on the sidelines of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit in July to learn more about how the fund’s portfolio is evolving.

Focus on income and inflation protection

“When UPP launched in July 2021, we received the assets from the three founding university pension plans. We didn’t inherit people or technology – just the combined portfolio, which was highly illiquid, with very low inflation-sensitive exposure, and a patchwork of private assets from different managers,” Zvan explains.

The fund is moving towards a more streamlined portfolio, dividing assets into three categories: return-enhancing (equities and private markets), inflation-sensitive (infrastructure and real estate), and interest rate-sensitive (fixed income).

Over the past four years, UPP has reduced the number of managers it works with while increasing its interest rate sensitivity to reflect the higher-rate environment. At the same time, the plan is prioritising assets that offer inflation protection.

“Initially, there was very little inflation protection built into the portfolio, so shifting into infrastructure and inflation-linked assets has been key. We’ve also adjusted our bond allocation to better align the portfolio’s interest rate sensitivity with our pension liabilities and other growth assets. This shift strengthens the plan’s long-term resilience by improving balance and risk management across changing rate environments,” she says.

As UPP’s funding ratio improves, income generation will become more central: “We have to manage risk responsibly, which means ensuring the right asset mix. Bonds help stabilise returns and reduce volatility, which is essential for meeting pension obligations. Infrastructure offers steady, long-term cashflows while also providing inflation protection.”

Embedding climate risk

Climate considerations have been integrated from the start. “As a relatively new plan, every major investment decision is filtered through a climate risk lens. We didn’t want to redesign the portfolio without embedding climate risk considerations from day one,” Zvan says.

UPP has halved its portfolio’s GHG emissions intensity since 2021. Most of this progress has been in listed equities, which are easier to decarbonise, but Zvan acknowledges that private markets, fixed income, and infrastructure present greater challenges. “That’s where real-world emissions reductions and stewardship take centre stage,” she notes.

With UPP investing largely through external managers, careful selection is crucial. “We rely heavily on managers for data, insights, and execution. Climate is a core criterion in our selection process. While hedge funds tend to lag, we’ve seen encouraging progress across other asset classes. Despite public pushback in some quarters, our managers remain largely committed to climate goals.”

In public markets, UPP invests with managers such as Impactive Capital, Whitebox, Ashmere and Episteme Capital Partners. In private markets, the plan has recently allocated private credit to Arrow Global Group and private equity to Kohlberg & Company. UPP has also made co-investments in infrastructure with Arjun Infrastructure Partners – backing UK rail infrastructure – and with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in development-stage renewable energy assets.

Overall, UPP has pledged C$1.2bn for climate solutions by 2030, with more than half already committed. “So far, we’ve invested about C$658m. The market isn’t always easy – ticket sizes can be smaller, and defining what counts as a ‘climate solution’ means looking beyond just renewables. We use a full transition alignment framework,” Zvan says.

Global outlook

It is tempting to invite her to comment on the escalating trade tensions between the US and Canada. With temperatures heating up between Mark Carney and Donald Trump, could it be safer to shift more investments towards the UK and Europe?

Zvan remains diplomatic. “We work with managers who have the expertise to navigate regional dynamics, whether that’s the US, Europe or elsewhere. Our priority is diversification and finding opportunities aligned with our long-term goals and investment horizon.”

Having said that, she appears to enjoy her time in UK, which on a sunny July day in Oxford presents itself from one of its more flattering sides. The opportunity to exchange views with asset owner peers in the UK has been invaluable, she adds.

Looking ahead, Zvan expresses “cautious optimism” about Canada’s climate stance following Mark Carney’s election. “Canada, like the UK, is moving gradually, but seeing so many countries adopt mandatory climate disclosure standards is encouraging. Transitioning is a slow process, but it’s moving in the right direction, albeit with some headwinds.” 

Great interview with Barb Zvan, UPP's CEO, worthy of sharing with my readers.

Since launching in 2021, UPP has grown nicely to a C$12.8bn plan, which serves more than 40,000 members across five Ontario universities and 14 sector organizations.

It has ramped up nicely because Barb and her team build the foundations right from the get-go, hiring the right teams, investing in technology and more (their Board supported them all the way).

At the end of May, I had a conversation with UPP's CIO Aaron Bennett going over their 2024 results and more. 

UPP relies heavily on its strategic partners across public and private markets to deliver strong results and on the private side, they're focusing on infrastructure and real estate (inflation sensitive assets) to meet their long dated liabilities.

As Barb notes above:

“Initially, there was very little inflation protection built into the portfolio, so shifting into infrastructure and inflation-linked assets has been key. We’ve also adjusted our bond allocation to better align the portfolio’s interest rate sensitivity with our pension liabilities and other growth assets. This shift strengthens the plan’s long-term resilience by improving balance and risk management across changing rate environments.” 

There is increasing concern among the big pension funds I cover that another inflation episode lies straight ahead.

If inflation does occur, nominal bonds and stocks will get hit as will some illiquid assets classes and UPP and others need to be prepared for all rate environments.

Anyway, great interview with Barb Zvan and it's evident to me she and her team are doing a great job at UPP. 

She also continues to spearhead sustainable finance initiatives in Canada and elsewhere and is internationally respected on the subject.

Below, a panel discussion form the Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit on investors expectations in a changing world featuring Barbara Zvan, CEO of University Pension Plan Ontario and Richard Manley, Chief Sustainability Officer, CPP Investments.

This is actually a fantastic panel, I just finished watching it as I just discovered it late today. Take the time to watch and listen to the insights here.

Mona Dohle of Net Zero Investor reports UPP’s Barbara Zvan on the shift to inflation-proof and climate assets:

UPP is now fully funded just four years after launch, CEO Barbara Zvan discusses the fund’s shift to inflation-protected assets, its C$1.2bn commitment to climate solutions, and the challenge of decarbonising private markets.

UPP is a relative newcomer in the Canadian pension landscape. The C$12.8bn plan, which serves more than 40,000 members across five Ontario universities and 14 sector organisations, was launched in 2021 amid a challenging backdrop for single-sponsor DB plans in a low-interest-rate environment. Employee groups and university administrations, with backing from the provincial government, opted to merge their separate DB plans into one multi-university jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP), which recently celebrated its fourth anniversary.

Since then, conditions have improved considerably, with rising gilt yields boosting DB funding levels globally. As of 2024, UPP is fully funded and has reported an annual net return of 10.3%. While participation remains optional for universities in the region, interest from other academic institutions is growing.

Barbara Zvan has led UPP as president and CEO since inception, bringing nearly 25 years of experience from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. She also serves on the board of the Responsible Investment Association, is an advisory board member of the Institute for Sustainable Finance, and was the inaugural chair of Climate Engagement Canada. Tackling global warming is firmly on UPP’s agenda, and the fund ranks comparatively high on Shift's Annual Scorecard, measuring climate commitments of Canadian pension funds. 

We spoke with Zvan on the sidelines of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit in July to learn more about how the fund’s portfolio is evolving.

Focus on income and inflation protection

“When UPP launched in July 2021, we received the assets from the three founding university pension plans. We didn’t inherit people or technology – just the combined portfolio, which was highly illiquid, with very low inflation-sensitive exposure, and a patchwork of private assets from different managers,” Zvan explains.

The fund is moving towards a more streamlined portfolio, dividing assets into three categories: return-enhancing (equities and private markets), inflation-sensitive (infrastructure and real estate), and interest rate-sensitive (fixed income).

Over the past four years, UPP has reduced the number of managers it works with while increasing its interest rate sensitivity to reflect the higher-rate environment. At the same time, the plan is prioritising assets that offer inflation protection.

“Initially, there was very little inflation protection built into the portfolio, so shifting into infrastructure and inflation-linked assets has been key. We’ve also adjusted our bond allocation to better align the portfolio’s interest rate sensitivity with our pension liabilities and other growth assets. This shift strengthens the plan’s long-term resilience by improving balance and risk management across changing rate environments,” she says.

As UPP’s funding ratio improves, income generation will become more central: “We have to manage risk responsibly, which means ensuring the right asset mix. Bonds help stabilise returns and reduce volatility, which is essential for meeting pension obligations. Infrastructure offers steady, long-term cashflows while also providing inflation protection.”

Embedding climate risk

Climate considerations have been integrated from the start. “As a relatively new plan, every major investment decision is filtered through a climate risk lens. We didn’t want to redesign the portfolio without embedding climate risk considerations from day one,” Zvan says.

UPP has halved its portfolio’s GHG emissions intensity since 2021. Most of this progress has been in listed equities, which are easier to decarbonise, but Zvan acknowledges that private markets, fixed income, and infrastructure present greater challenges. “That’s where real-world emissions reductions and stewardship take centre stage,” she notes.

With UPP investing largely through external managers, careful selection is crucial. “We rely heavily on managers for data, insights, and execution. Climate is a core criterion in our selection process. While hedge funds tend to lag, we’ve seen encouraging progress across other asset classes. Despite public pushback in some quarters, our managers remain largely committed to climate goals.”

In public markets, UPP invests with managers such as Impactive Capital, Whitebox, Ashmere and Episteme Capital Partners. In private markets, the plan has recently allocated private credit to Arrow Global Group and private equity to Kohlberg & Company. UPP has also made co-investments in infrastructure with Arjun Infrastructure Partners – backing UK rail infrastructure – and with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in development-stage renewable energy assets.

Overall, UPP has pledged C$1.2bn for climate solutions by 2030, with more than half already committed. “So far, we’ve invested about C$658m. The market isn’t always easy – ticket sizes can be smaller, and defining what counts as a ‘climate solution’ means looking beyond just renewables. We use a full transition alignment framework,” Zvan says.

Global outlook

It is tempting to invite her to comment on the escalating trade tensions between the US and Canada. With temperatures heating up between Mark Carney and Donald Trump, could it be safer to shift more investments towards the UK and Europe?

Zvan remains diplomatic. “We work with managers who have the expertise to navigate regional dynamics, whether that’s the US, Europe or elsewhere. Our priority is diversification and finding opportunities aligned with our long-term goals and investment horizon.”

Having said that, she appears to enjoy her time in UK, which on a sunny July day in Oxford presents itself from one of its more flattering sides. The opportunity to exchange views with asset owner peers in the UK has been invaluable, she adds.

Looking ahead, Zvan expresses “cautious optimism” about Canada’s climate stance following Mark Carney’s election. “Canada, like the UK, is moving gradually, but seeing so many countries adopt mandatory climate disclosure standards is encouraging. Transitioning is a slow process, but it’s moving in the right direction, albeit with some headwinds.” 

Great interview with Barb Zvan, UPP's CEO, worthy of sharing with my readers.

Since launching in 2021, UPP has grown nicely to a C$12.8bn plan, which serves more than 40,000 members across five Ontario universities and 14 sector organizations.

It has ramped up nicely because Barb and her team build the foundations right from the get-go, hiring the right teams, investing in technology and more (their Board supported them all the way).

At the end of May, I had a conversation with UPP's CIO Aaron Bennett going over their 2024 results and more. 

UPP relies heavily on its strategic partners across public and private markets to deliver strong results and on the private side, they're focusing on infrastructure and real estate (inflation sensitive assets) to meet their long dated liabilities.

As Barb notes above:

“Initially, there was very little inflation protection built into the portfolio, so shifting into infrastructure and inflation-linked assets has been key. We’ve also adjusted our bond allocation to better align the portfolio’s interest rate sensitivity with our pension liabilities and other growth assets. This shift strengthens the plan’s long-term resilience by improving balance and risk management across changing rate environments.” 

There is increasing concern among the big pension funds I cover that another inflation episode lies straight ahead.

If inflation does occur, nominal bonds and stocks will get hit as will some illiquid assets classes and UPP and others need to be prepared for all rate environments.

Anyway, great interview with Barb Zvan and it's evident to me she and her team are doing a great job at UPP. 

She also continues to spearhead sustainable finance initiatives in Canada and elsewhere and is internationally respected on the subject.

Below, a panel discussion form the Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit on investors expectations in a changing world featuring Barbara Zvan, CEO of University Pension Plan Ontario and Richard Manley, Chief Sustainability Officer, CPP Investments.

This is actually a fantastic panel, I just finished watching it as I just discovered it late today. Take the time to watch and listen to the insights here.

How Much Energy Does ChatGPT's Newest Model Consume?

Authored by Haley Zaremba via OilPrice.com,

• The energy consumption of the newest version of ChatGPT is significantly higher than previous models, with estimates suggesting it could be up to 20 times more energy-intensive than the first version.

• There is a severe lack of transparency regarding the energy use and environmental impact of AI models, as there are no mandates forcing AI companies to disclose this information.

• The increasing energy demands of AI are contributing to rising electricity costs for consumers and raising concerns about the broader environmental impact of the tech industry.

How much energy does the newest version of ChatGPT consume? No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain – it’s a whole lot. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, hasn’t released any official figures for the large language model’s energy footprints, but academics are working to quantify the energy use for query – and it’s considerably higher than for previous models. 

There are no mandates forcing AI companies to disclose their energy use or environmental impact, so most do not offer up those kinds of statistics publicly. As of May of this year, 84 percent of all large language model traffic was conducted on AI models with zero environmental disclosures. 

“It blows my mind that you can buy a car and know how many miles per gallon it consumes, yet we use all these AI tools every day and we have absolutely no efficiency metrics, emissions factors, nothing,” says Sasha Luccioni, climate lead at an AI company called Hugging Face.

“It’s not mandated, it’s not regulatory. Given where we are with the climate crisis, it should be top of the agenda for regulators everywhere,” she continued.

Sam Altman, the Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, has thrown out some figures into the public sphere – saying that ChatGPT consumes 0.34 watt-hours of energy and 0.000085 gallons of water per query – but has left out key details like what model these numbers refer to, and has offered no backup or corroboration for his statements. 

Experts from outside the OpenAI fold have estimated that ChatGPT-5 may use as much as 20 times more energy as the first version of ChatGPT, and at the very least uses several times more.

“A more complex model like GPT-5 consumes more power both during training and during inference. It’s also targeted at long thinking … I can safely say that it’s going to consume a lot more power than GPT-4,” Rakesh Kumar, a professor at the University of Illinois, recently told The Guardian. Kumar’s current work focuses on AI’s energy consumption. 

While a query to ChatGPT in 2023 would have consumed about 2 watt-hours, researchers at the University of Rhode Island’s AI lab found that ChatGPT-5 can use up to 40 watt-hours of electricity to configure a medium-length response (around 1,000 tokens).

On average, they estimate that the model uses slightly over 18 watt-hours for such a response.

This places ChatGPT-5 at a higher energy consumption rate than any other of the AI models they track save for two: OpenAI’s o3 reasoning model and Deepseek’s R1.

Calculating these estimated energy consumption rates was no easy feat, considering the severe lack of transparency in the sector, in spite of increasing scrutiny.

“It’s more critical than ever to address AI’s true environmental cost,” University of Rhode Island professor Marwan Abdelatti told The Guardian.

“We call on OpenAI and other developers to use this moment to commit to full transparency by publicly disclosing GPT-5’s environmental impact.”

While tech companies consume more and more energy each year to power their AI ambitions, common consumers are suffering the consequences. It’s consumers who are footing the bill for skyrocketing energy usage. The New York Times warns that “electricity rates for individuals and small businesses could rise sharply as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other technology companies build data centers and expand into the energy business.”

"We are witnessing a massive transfer of wealth from residential utility customers to large corporations—data centers and large utilities and their corporate parents, which profit from building additional energy infrastructure," Maryland People's Counsel David Lapp recently told Business Insider.

"Utility regulation is failing to protect residential customers, contributing to an energy affordability crisis.”

Moreover, Silicon Valley's backtracking on climate pledges will directly impact global communities, whether or not they ever use AI.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 20:55

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Rates Trickle to Another Higher Low

Mortgage rates are as high as they've been on almost any other day this month. You'd have to go back to August 1st to see anything higher. On the other hand, rates are still noticeably lower than almost any other day of the past 10 months. It's really only the past 2 weeks that have been any better and the gap between recent highs and lows is very small. [30 year fixed 6.59%]
emphasis added

Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts for July. The consensus is for 1.300 million SAAR, down from 1.321 million SAAR in June.

• At 10:00 AM, State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) for July 2025

Restoring Law & Order In Crime-Ridden Cities May Be Key To Resolving Affordability Crisis

President Trump ordered "emergency price relief" for Americans on housing costs in an executive order earlier this year to address the housing affordability crisis. 

"Many Americans are unable to purchase homes due to historically high prices, in part due to regulatory requirements that alone account for 25 percent of the cost of constructing a new home, according to recent analysis," an executive action signed by President Trump in January read. 

But what if the administration had another option?

One far quicker than reducing regulatory requirements to expand housing stock, which could take months if not years... What if the fastest solution wasn't simply deporting millions of criminal illegal aliens, but restoring law and order in major cities run by far-left politicians who push disastrous woke policies that only backfired and resulted in continued violent crime waves over the last decade?   

"The fastest way to lower average housing prices in American cities is to enforce the law/reduce criminal activity.  Huge chunks of high-density housing are trapped in Bad Neighborhoods, no-go zones depressed well below nearby prices.  Nobody with options even considers them," Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey wrote on X. 

The fastest way to lower average housing prices in American cities is enforcing the law/reducing criminal activity. Huge chunks of high-density housing are trapped in Bad Neighborhoods, no-go zones depressed well below nearby prices. Nobody with options even considers them.

— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) August 18, 2025

Take Baltimore City, Maryland, as a prime example: the metro area just north of Washington, D.C., has more than 14,000 vacant homes, many of them located in neighborhoods plagued by violent crime and controlled by far-left radicals of the Democratic Party for over 50 years.

All the vacant run down property in Rep Cummings district highlighted below. Baltimore is a shithole. Fact. pic.twitter.com/abRBJeotqj

— Mike (@ChitownMike312) July 27, 2019

In 2010 there were 16,800 vacant row houses in Baltimore City. As of 2018 there are 16,500 vacant homes in Baltimore City. Millions of dollars sent to Baltimore to cure this problem.

Where's the money? @RepCummings @mayorbcyoung @MayorSRB @MayorPugh50 https://t.co/UGGmFT5S4r pic.twitter.com/n27SXSniXK

— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) September 20, 2019

Baltimore is selling off dilapidated buildings for $1.

Yeah, ONE DOLLAR.

There were about 15,000 abandoned homes in the city as of 2022, and this initiative is to encourage investors to come in, deploy capital, and transform the market.

What do you think of this? pic.twitter.com/kqZCpIyjkt

— Tyler | Kenji Capital (@KenjiCapital) April 15, 2024

These areas resemble war zones, left in ruins by toxic progressive policies and decades of de-industrialization

Let's assume Palmer is correct. If the crime-ridden neighborhoods of Baltimore, the same ones made infamous by HBO's The Wire, could finally see law and order restored, families and communities would naturally begin to rebuild. Until then, decades of failed Democratic policies have allowed inner cities to rot into war zones, disenfranchising working-class residents most of all. Restoring law and order in America's metro areas will be key to unlocking vacant homes and expanding the housing stock.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 20:30

ADU Fever: Inside The Backyard Housing Boom In California

Authored by Beige Luciano-Adams via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

For Sam Andreano, rental income from a detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in his backyard initially helped offset mortgage payments, and later provided a place for his son to land.

“[I] started out as just a regular homeowner,” said Andreano, a resident of Dana Point, Orange County, who began converting his detached garage into an ADU in 2019.

Researching and permitting took a few months, and total build-time was around eight months. He financed it with cash and a refinance. The entire investment, including all labor, materials, city and associated fees, came out to $165,000, and he rented the one-bedroom unit for $2,500 a month.

Now he’s working on a two-story ADU project that he intends to sell as a four-plex.

Amid soaring home prices and a housing crisis—which California leads, by some estimates, with a deficit of more than a million homes—accessory dwelling units (ADUs) now represent a significant and steadily increasing supply of overall housing construction in the Golden State.

A descendant of the post-War “granny flats” or “dowager cottages” intended to house aging relatives, at least half of contemporary ADUs are predestined for the rental market. Most are modest studios or one-bedrooms that can be built at a fraction of the cost of a traditional home, but still command market rate rents.

California issued 30,231 permits for ADUs in 2024, representing 26 percent of all new housing construction, according to statistics provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

While the rate of increase has fluctuated, data over the past decade show a steady year-over-year climb. After plateauing in 2019 and 2020 at under 13,000 units, the number jumped to more than 20,000 in 2021, a more than 60 percent increase.

This is largely due to a series of liberalizing state laws that have, over the past eight years, made it much easier for property owners to get projects approved in residential areas originally zoned for single-family homes.

To proponents, the boom is a bulwark against a worsening affordable housing crisis, even a corrective measure to decades of exclusionary zoning.

To critics, it overburdens infrastructure, threatens property values, degrades aesthetics, and represents an unprecedented loss of community control over residents’ quality of life.

ADUs Versus Traditional Housing

Far cheaper and easier to build than traditional housing, ADU construction has grown consistently because it is not tied to state subsidies the way larger developments are, explains Celeste Goyer, vice president of research and operations for the nonprofit Casita Coalition, which advocates for affordable housing in California.

“Even in times when the state budget is tight and the subsidies may be reduced, ADU production keeps ticking on. They kept growing during the pandemic, even when construction costs were high and interest rates were high, because ADUs use the existing land—they allow you to work with what you’ve got,” she said.

Advocates of ADU liberalization say the dwellings are part of a broader strategy to confront the state’s affordable housing crisis, which is exacerbated by high construction costs, regulatory barriers, and zoning restrictions.

“ADUs are not intended to replace traditional subsidized affordable housing for renting,” Goyer said. “There’s still a lot of multifamily housing properties being built, and that’s where deed-restricted affordable housing for rentals is being produced.”

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Nov. 30, 2023. ADU construction has steadily increased in California in recent years to help meet the demand for affordable housing. In 2024, ADUs accounted for 26 percent of all new housing construction in California, according to official statistics. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

She points to studies showing that ADUs are more affordable to low-and moderate-income tenants, typically renting for “much less—often half as much—as a standard single home.”

“Sixteen percent are rented to someone you know at low or no cost—that’s incredibly important housing,” Goyer said, calling ADUs a grassroots approach to housing family members and elders priced out of assisted living.

According to a 2021 study from the University of California, Berkeley, 51 percent of California’s new ADUs are income-generating rental units, while “very few”—15 percent—house senior citizens. Around 11 percent of new ADUs provide housing for school-aged children.

‘A Neat Little House’

At a fraction of the cost of a traditional home, unburdened by land costs, and relatively easy to approve, ADUs are attractive for both homeowners and emerging, small-scale developers.

Dennis Robinson, a resident of Anaheim, Orange County, built his first ADU in 2020, on a personal rental property.

“Then a neighbor saw what was going on,” he said. “They saw that it was just a neat little house in the backyard.”

They asked him to build one for them, which led to requests from friends and family. Within eight months, he was building full-time. So far, he’s done 60.

“Getting two ADUs, or even three, is fairly simple now across most Single Family Zoned houses,” he said.

This is thanks to SB9, enacted in 2021, which allows up to four dwellings on almost any lot zoned for a single-family residence. In 2024, SB1211 increased the number of detached ADUs allowed on lots with multi-family structures to eight.

Typically, it takes Robinson 30 to 60 days to submit a project for approval, and construction is completed within a year.

“Homeowners generally do not need to live there,” Robinson said.

Construction workers work on the roof of a house in Alhambra, Calif., on Sept. 23, 2024. In recent years, state laws have made it easier for property owners to get accessory dwelling units approved in residential areas originally zoned for single-family homes. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

But in the state’s patchwork of local ordinances, homeowners can run into other obstacles.

When Wesley Yu, a resident of East Palo Alto, sought to build a new home and a detached ADU to house extended family, the city approved splitting the lot under SB9. However, because he was building two new structures, it refused to approve the permit unless he made one an “affordable” rental, or paid a one-time fee of more than $50,000.

Yu recently sued the city in federal court, drawing on a previous Supreme Court ruling. How that case is decided, and if the issue is taken up by the highest court, could have broader impacts for the state’s many jurisdictions—more than 170, according to some counts—with inclusionary zoning ordinances.

Zoning and Density

After years of debate over zoning and density, California’s recent ADU legalizations have effectively mandated reform by overriding existing local laws, requiring cities and counties to approve projects ministerially, without a discretionary review process.

According to a 2024 California Zoning Atlas Report from U.C. Berkeley, 95.8 percent of all residential land is zoned as single-family-only, “severely constraining the spatial possibilities for denser and more affordable housing.” The average is lower when unincorporated areas are removed, around 82 percent.

The study concludes impacts are racially exclusive: Areas with more restrictive zoning have fewer non-white residents.

Areas with restrictive zoning also typically have higher land and property values, higher production costs, and lower development rates. A 2025 study from the George W. Bush Institute notes the impact on affordability: “Highly restrictive policies have outsized effects on supply and prices in the lower-tier segment of the market. This is partly because the direct effects of cost-increasing rules are larger in percentage terms when homes are relatively small and inexpensive. It’s also because overly restrictive rules undermine or reverse the filtering-down process that accounts for most housing affordable to lower-income families.”

The same study ranks the top 100 largest metro areas in the United States from the “most pro-growth” down to the “most restrictive.” Nine California cities—including San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego—feature in the bottom 15.

Along with other states including Oregon, California has in recent years doubled down on corrective policies meant to increase affordability, in large part by increasing density.

But eliminating single-family zoning citywide in places including Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, and California cities, the study notes, has not produced substantial positive results.

For example, Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning, but added only 23 “plexes” or small multi-family units in the first two years, and other trends suggested “reform allowing multifamily development in commercial areas has been far more effective than permitting complexes in formerly single-family neighborhoods.”

Portland fully eliminated single-family zoning and legalized ADUs everywhere in the city. That, plus other reforms, added only around 0.6 percent to housing stock between 2021 and 2024, according to the study.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 20:05

Are You Drowning Too?: Vegetables Are Up 38.9%, Coffee Up 25%, And Electricity Prices Are Rising Twice As Fast As Inflation

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Do you feel knots in your stomach due to financial stress? If so, you certainly have lots of company. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about the cost of living and prices are rising by double-digit percentages all around us. There are so many people out there right now that feel like they are “drowning” because no matter how hard they try there simply isn’t enough money for everything. Unfortunately, we are being warned to brace ourselves for even more inflation in the months ahead.

When I heard that the cost of vegetables in the United States had gone up by 40 percent in one month, I thought that there was no way that it could be true.

So I looked it up, and I discovered that the cost of vegetables in the United States didn’t go up by 40 percent in one month.

The real figure was 38.9 percent…

A 38.9% increase in prices for fresh and dry vegetables from June to July was the major driver of a higher index for “final demand goods” (things that are done and ready to be sold to a consumer, as opposed to things that go into a later production process).

That is nuts!

How can the cost of vegetables go up by 38.9 percent in a single month?

Apparently this was the largest spike that we have ever witnessed in a summer month “in figures that go back to 1947”…

Per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it’s also the largest monthly increase ever recorded in a summer month (June-August), in figures that go back to 1947.

The other day, I wrote about how beef has become so expensive that it is now considered to be a “luxury”.

Well, now vegetables are a “luxury” too.

And let’s not forget coffee.

The price of coffee went up by 25 percent in just three months, and that was before coffee exports from Brazil were hit with a 50 percent tariff…

Coffee prices were already up before a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, the top coffee importer to the U.S., went into effect last week.
Coffee prices sharply rose 25 percent over the past three months, according to inflation data released Tuesday. Reuters reported Tuesday that Brazilian coffee exports have started seeing postponements to their U.S. shipments.

About two-thirds of all U.S. adults drink coffee.

This is one of the most basic things that Americans buy.

But now a lot of people are either going to have to cut back or stop drinking it entirely because it has become so ridiculously expensive.

Air conditioning is rapidly becoming a “luxury” as well.

Electricity prices have been rising twice as fast as the overall rate of inflation, and some seniors must now choose between paying the electricity bill and paying for medication…

Across the country, electricity prices have jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living in the last year. That’s especially painful during the dog days of summer, when air conditioners are working overtime.

In Pembroke Pines, Fla., Al Salvi’s power bill can reach $500 a month.

“There’s a lot of seniors down here that are living check to check. They can barely afford prescriptions such as myself,” says Salvi, who’s 63 and uses a wheelchair. “Now we got to decide whether we’re going to pay the electric bill or are we going to buy medication. And it’s not fair to us. You’re squeezing us between a rock and a hard place.”

As our leaders were borrowing trillions upon trillions of dollars that we did not have, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.

And as the Federal Reserve was pumping trillions upon trillions of dollars that they created out of thin air into the financial system, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.

At first it seemed like our leaders were totally getting away with it.

But now look at what has happened.

There are countless videos on TikTok right now of people breaking down emotionally over the rising cost of living.

In one video, a woman that feels like she is “drowning” explains that no matter how hard she works “she can’t afford to live anymore”…

The video made by “diannaallen5” for TikTok was shared on X by @WallStreetApes to their 1 million X followers, writing, “Americans are breaking down, a grown woman crying because she can’t afford to live anymore.”

The woman in the video, who said she is from Illinois, was distraught and in tears as she spoke, saying that “gas prices and the electric bills and the prices of food is just so overwhelming.”

“I’m wondering if anybody else is feeling like they’re drowning and they can’t get out,” she said. “I work overtime, and I cannot get above water. I mean, I literally have no gas for next week.”

“I’m just wondering if anybody else feels like they’re drowning,” she said is despair.

Can you identify with her?

I think that a lot of us can.

At this stage, 83 percent of all Americans are experiencing “stressflation”…

A LifeStance Health survey released today reveals “stressflation” is affecting most Americans, with 83% reporting financial stress driven by inflation, mass layoffs, the rising cost of living and recession fears. Millennials and Gen Z report the most significant mental health impacts.

The number of respondents who have been deterred from seeking mental health care due to financial constraints remains consistently high (60%), increasing two percentage points from 2024. Those experiencing high financial stress levels are more than twice as likely to forgo mental health treatment due to cost, highlighting a mental health gap where financial strain exacerbates mental health challenges while limiting access to care.

We should have seen this coming way in advance, because we were specifically warned that this was coming.

And if we stay on the same road that we have been traveling, conditions will get a whole lot worse.

A lot of people out there don’t seem to understand that consequences do not always show up immediately.

What we are experiencing now is the result of decades of bad decisions.

It took time for the consequences of those bad decisions to materialize, but now they have officially started to arrive.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 18:25

Are You Drowning Too?: Vegetables Are Up 38.9%, Coffee Up 25%, And Electricity Prices Are Rising Twice As Fast As Inflation

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Do you feel knots in your stomach due to financial stress? If so, you certainly have lots of company. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about the cost of living and prices are rising by double-digit percentages all around us. There are so many people out there right now that feel like they are “drowning” because no matter how hard they try there simply isn’t enough money for everything. Unfortunately, we are being warned to brace ourselves for even more inflation in the months ahead.

When I heard that the cost of vegetables in the United States had gone up by 40 percent in one month, I thought that there was no way that it could be true.

So I looked it up, and I discovered that the cost of vegetables in the United States didn’t go up by 40 percent in one month.

The real figure was 38.9 percent…

A 38.9% increase in prices for fresh and dry vegetables from June to July was the major driver of a higher index for “final demand goods” (things that are done and ready to be sold to a consumer, as opposed to things that go into a later production process).

That is nuts!

How can the cost of vegetables go up by 38.9 percent in a single month?

Apparently this was the largest spike that we have ever witnessed in a summer month “in figures that go back to 1947”…

Per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it’s also the largest monthly increase ever recorded in a summer month (June-August), in figures that go back to 1947.

The other day, I wrote about how beef has become so expensive that it is now considered to be a “luxury”.

Well, now vegetables are a “luxury” too.

And let’s not forget coffee.

The price of coffee went up by 25 percent in just three months, and that was before coffee exports from Brazil were hit with a 50 percent tariff…

Coffee prices were already up before a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, the top coffee importer to the U.S., went into effect last week.
Coffee prices sharply rose 25 percent over the past three months, according to inflation data released Tuesday. Reuters reported Tuesday that Brazilian coffee exports have started seeing postponements to their U.S. shipments.

About two-thirds of all U.S. adults drink coffee.

This is one of the most basic things that Americans buy.

But now a lot of people are either going to have to cut back or stop drinking it entirely because it has become so ridiculously expensive.

Air conditioning is rapidly becoming a “luxury” as well.

Electricity prices have been rising twice as fast as the overall rate of inflation, and some seniors must now choose between paying the electricity bill and paying for medication…

Across the country, electricity prices have jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living in the last year. That’s especially painful during the dog days of summer, when air conditioners are working overtime.

In Pembroke Pines, Fla., Al Salvi’s power bill can reach $500 a month.

“There’s a lot of seniors down here that are living check to check. They can barely afford prescriptions such as myself,” says Salvi, who’s 63 and uses a wheelchair. “Now we got to decide whether we’re going to pay the electric bill or are we going to buy medication. And it’s not fair to us. You’re squeezing us between a rock and a hard place.”

As our leaders were borrowing trillions upon trillions of dollars that we did not have, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.

And as the Federal Reserve was pumping trillions upon trillions of dollars that they created out of thin air into the financial system, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.

At first it seemed like our leaders were totally getting away with it.

But now look at what has happened.

There are countless videos on TikTok right now of people breaking down emotionally over the rising cost of living.

In one video, a woman that feels like she is “drowning” explains that no matter how hard she works “she can’t afford to live anymore”…

The video made by “diannaallen5” for TikTok was shared on X by @WallStreetApes to their 1 million X followers, writing, “Americans are breaking down, a grown woman crying because she can’t afford to live anymore.”

The woman in the video, who said she is from Illinois, was distraught and in tears as she spoke, saying that “gas prices and the electric bills and the prices of food is just so overwhelming.”

“I’m wondering if anybody else is feeling like they’re drowning and they can’t get out,” she said. “I work overtime, and I cannot get above water. I mean, I literally have no gas for next week.”

“I’m just wondering if anybody else feels like they’re drowning,” she said is despair.

Can you identify with her?

I think that a lot of us can.

At this stage, 83 percent of all Americans are experiencing “stressflation”…

A LifeStance Health survey released today reveals “stressflation” is affecting most Americans, with 83% reporting financial stress driven by inflation, mass layoffs, the rising cost of living and recession fears. Millennials and Gen Z report the most significant mental health impacts.

The number of respondents who have been deterred from seeking mental health care due to financial constraints remains consistently high (60%), increasing two percentage points from 2024. Those experiencing high financial stress levels are more than twice as likely to forgo mental health treatment due to cost, highlighting a mental health gap where financial strain exacerbates mental health challenges while limiting access to care.

We should have seen this coming way in advance, because we were specifically warned that this was coming.

And if we stay on the same road that we have been traveling, conditions will get a whole lot worse.

A lot of people out there don’t seem to understand that consequences do not always show up immediately.

What we are experiencing now is the result of decades of bad decisions.

It took time for the consequences of those bad decisions to materialize, but now they have officially started to arrive.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 18:25

Senior Israeli Official Arrested In Vegas Pedophile Sting Is Released - And Flies Home

It looks like America's "special relationship" with Israel may have paid off big for an alleged pedophile: A senior official in Israel's cybersecurity agency was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly attempting to use the internet to lure a child into sexual abuse, only to be released on bond and somehow allowed to go back to Israel. There's no indication he was covered by diplomatic immunity. 

Tom Alexandrovich, who helps guide his country's cybersecurity policy, was representing Israel at Black Hat USA, a professional conference in Las Vegas, when he was one of seven people swept up in a major, multi-agency sting operation earlier this month that targeted people seeking sex acts with minors. According to court records, on Aug 6, the 38-year-old Alexandrovich allegedly committed the felony offense of using computer technology in an attempt to lure a child into sexual abuse. That particular crime encompasses children under 16. The next day, he posted a $10,000 bond at the Henderson Detention Center. 

Tom Alexandrovich allegedly sought to sexually abuse a Nevada child while he was in Las Vegas for a cybersecurity conference

As the news broke, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflexively denied Alexandrovich had done anything wrong, claiming that “the employee, who does not hold a diplomatic visa, was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled." Subsequently confronted with court records, Israel's Cyber Directorate said the earlier false statement “was accurate based on the information provided to us," and that Alexandrovich is now on leave "by mutual decision." 

It's not clear why or how he was allowed to return to Israel, which has a reputation as a haven for pedophiles who prey on American children. Citing a Jewish watchdog group, a 2020 CBS News report found that, in just the previous six years, more than 60 Jewish Americans who'd been accused of pedophilia had fled to Israel, taking advantage of Israel's "Right of Return" law that lets any Jew in the world enjoy instant citizenship. Though these individuals -- who include both suspects and convicts -- are technically subject to extradition to the United States, Israeli police have been accused of assigning low priority to these cases and -- perhaps because of that -- US agencies are accused of failing to aggressively pursue extradition.

The Jerusalem Post describes Alexandrovich (center) as a "senior official"

Speaking of US disinterest, while major Israeli media outlets have covered the Alexandrovich story, the arrest of a senior Israeli government official on a child-sex-crime charge and his subsequent flight to Israel has received no coverage whatsoever from major US media at the time this story is being written -- which is well more than day after the story broke. 

Alexandrovich's duties involved the development of Israel's “Cyber Dome” program, which aims to protect civilians from harm inflicted via computers. In a similarly ironic vein, one of the other men caught in the sting was Neal Harrison Creecy, a 46-year-old Vegas church pastor at Las Vegas Redemption Church, who promptly resigned after posting bail. He has reportedly confessed his sins to earthly authorities.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 18:00

Senior Israeli Official Arrested In Vegas Pedophile Sting Is Released - And Flies Home

It looks like America's "special relationship" with Israel may have paid off big for an alleged pedophile: A senior official in Israel's cybersecurity agency was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly attempting to use the internet to lure a child into sexual abuse, only to be released on bond and somehow allowed to go back to Israel. There's no indication he was covered by diplomatic immunity. 

Tom Alexandrovich, who helps guide his country's cybersecurity policy, was representing Israel at Black Hat USA, a professional conference in Las Vegas, when he was one of seven people swept up in a major, multi-agency sting operation earlier this month that targeted people seeking sex acts with minors. According to court records, on Aug 6, the 38-year-old Alexandrovich allegedly committed the felony offense of using computer technology in an attempt to lure a child into sexual abuse. That particular crime encompasses children under 16. The next day, he posted a $10,000 bond at the Henderson Detention Center. 

Tom Alexandrovich allegedly sought to sexually abuse a Nevada child while he was in Las Vegas for a cybersecurity conference

As the news broke, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflexively denied Alexandrovich had done anything wrong, claiming that “the employee, who does not hold a diplomatic visa, was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled." Subsequently confronted with court records, Israel's Cyber Directorate said the earlier false statement “was accurate based on the information provided to us," and that Alexandrovich is now on leave "by mutual decision." 

It's not clear why or how he was allowed to return to Israel, which has a reputation as a haven for pedophiles who prey on American children. Citing a Jewish watchdog group, a 2020 CBS News report found that, in just the previous six years, more than 60 Jewish Americans who'd been accused of pedophilia had fled to Israel, taking advantage of Israel's "Right of Return" law that lets any Jew in the world enjoy instant citizenship. Though these individuals -- who include both suspects and convicts -- are technically subject to extradition to the United States, Israeli police have been accused of assigning low priority to these cases and -- perhaps because of that -- US agencies are accused of failing to aggressively pursue extradition.

The Jerusalem Post describes Alexandrovich (center) as a "senior official"

Speaking of US disinterest, while major Israeli media outlets have covered the Alexandrovich story, the arrest of a senior Israeli government official on a child-sex-crime charge and his subsequent flight to Israel has received no coverage whatsoever from major US media at the time this story is being written -- which is well more than day after the story broke. 

Alexandrovich's duties involved the development of Israel's “Cyber Dome” program, which aims to protect civilians from harm inflicted via computers. In a similarly ironic vein, one of the other men caught in the sting was Neal Harrison Creecy, a 46-year-old Vegas church pastor at Las Vegas Redemption Church, who promptly resigned after posting bail. He has reportedly confessed his sins to earthly authorities.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 18:00

Are You Ready For A Humanoid Robot To Assist In Household Chores?

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Color me quite unimpressed with the current capabilities. Let’s investigate.

The Coming Robot Home Invasion

In what appears to me to be far more hype than reality, the Wall Street Journal discusses The Coming Robot Home Invasion.

Robots are hot. Humanoid ones were literally running amok at this month’s World Robot Conference in Beijing. Think of robots as artificial intelligence in motion. Maybe you’ve seen Elon Musk’s new Tesla humanoid robot Optimus bust a move in a YouTube dance video. A tad creepy. All I really want is for robots to fold my laundry like Rosey the Robot from “The Jetsons.” Or to watch my kids, shouting “Danger, Will Robinson!” when they’re lost in space.

It’s starting. I recently met with Weave Robotics’ founders, Evan Wineland and Kaan Dogrusoz, friends from Carnegie Mellon and Apple. They showed me live demonstrations of Isaac, their home robot likely priced at more than $10,000, to ship by year’s end. I watched it autonomously fold T-shirts and pick up cups and toys. It’s mesmerizing. Isaac triggered visions of future homes, much as “labor-saving devices” like dishwashers and washing machines changed 1950s home life.

The Cost Reality

“Isaac” is a home robot developed by Weave Robotics, a startup founded by former Apple engineers. While originally hinted to be priced at over $10,000, it’s now available for a refundable $1,000 reservation fee. The full purchase price is $59,000, or a payment plan of $1,385 per month for 48 months. Isaac is slated to begin shipping to its first 30 US customers in the fall of 2025

The Performance Reality

Seriously, “what a joke” is my reaction.

The above video is an infomercial and not a good one. It shows no clips of folding clothes or other household chores the bot can allegedly do. It repeats images of the bot picking up toys on the floor, a roughly 1-minute task.

Watch how clumsy the ironing is in this alternate robot.

Advanced Humanoid Robots

Also consider advanced humanoid robots at 2025 World Robot Conference in Beijing.

https://youtu.be/51VI8DZGGag

China’s Startups Race to Dominate the Coming AI Robot Boom

Bloomberg reports China’s Startups Race to Dominate the Coming AI Robot Boom

That’s a free link.

The country’s startups have caught the attention of Elon Musk, whose Tesla Inc. has set its sights on the humanoid market. On an April conference call, the billionaire said he thinks his Optimus robots lead the industry in performance, but China may end up dominating the field. “I’m a little concerned that on the leaderboard, ranks 2 through 10 will be Chinese companies,” he said.

Leadership in this field matters because humanoids appear poised to move beyond the realms of sci-fi and curiosity. Citigroup Inc. recently projected the market for the machines and related services will surge to $7 trillion by 2050 when the world could be populated by 648 million human-like bots.

Some scholars warn that Beijing’s approach may give China the edge in developing strategically important, capital-intensive sectors, like it has already done with electric vehicles and solar panels.

While it’s still possible the humanoid market never takes off, China is making an audacious bet that it will. The country is on track to produce more than 10,000 humanoid robots this year, or more than half of the machines globally, according to an April study from the China think tank Leaderobot and other institutions.

“China is winning the humanoids war, I have no doubt,” said Henrik I. Christensen, director of the Contextual Robotics Institute at the University of California San Diego.

Still, even the most elegant humanoids won’t have a future unless they provide value. People-like machines captured the popular imagination at least as far back as Isaac Asimov’s writings in the 1950s, yet they’ve remained largely a novelty. Boston Dynamics has impressed tech geeks since its founding in 1992, but it’s never built much of a business. Google and SoftBank Group Corp. each bought the startup and then sold it again without commercial success; it’s now owned by Hyundai Motor Co.

China’s robot was far more impressive than “Isaac” or anything from Tesla. Click on the link to see.

Musk eluded he will be number one. I would be shocked if that happened.

Anyone laying out $58,000 for “Isaac” is someone interested in the latest gadgets at any price.

I suppose this robot home invasion is coming, eventually. But price needs to drop by 90 percent and capabilities rise by 500 percent before there’s a hint of prime time for household tasks.

Industrial robots trained for one specific task are another matter. They are already here.

I side with Romain Moulin, CEO of the French startup Exotec, which makes box-like robots for warehouses that he thinks are more utilitarian.

Humanoids “just don’t make economic sense for most people and companies for the foreseeable future,” said Moulin.

But they do capture the imagination (and dreams of no more household chores) including the futurists at the Wall Street Journal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 17:40

Are You Ready For A Humanoid Robot To Assist In Household Chores?

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Color me quite unimpressed with the current capabilities. Let’s investigate.

The Coming Robot Home Invasion

In what appears to me to be far more hype than reality, the Wall Street Journal discusses The Coming Robot Home Invasion.

Robots are hot. Humanoid ones were literally running amok at this month’s World Robot Conference in Beijing. Think of robots as artificial intelligence in motion. Maybe you’ve seen Elon Musk’s new Tesla humanoid robot Optimus bust a move in a YouTube dance video. A tad creepy. All I really want is for robots to fold my laundry like Rosey the Robot from “The Jetsons.” Or to watch my kids, shouting “Danger, Will Robinson!” when they’re lost in space.

It’s starting. I recently met with Weave Robotics’ founders, Evan Wineland and Kaan Dogrusoz, friends from Carnegie Mellon and Apple. They showed me live demonstrations of Isaac, their home robot likely priced at more than $10,000, to ship by year’s end. I watched it autonomously fold T-shirts and pick up cups and toys. It’s mesmerizing. Isaac triggered visions of future homes, much as “labor-saving devices” like dishwashers and washing machines changed 1950s home life.

The Cost Reality

“Isaac” is a home robot developed by Weave Robotics, a startup founded by former Apple engineers. While originally hinted to be priced at over $10,000, it’s now available for a refundable $1,000 reservation fee. The full purchase price is $59,000, or a payment plan of $1,385 per month for 48 months. Isaac is slated to begin shipping to its first 30 US customers in the fall of 2025

The Performance Reality

Seriously, “what a joke” is my reaction.

The above video is an infomercial and not a good one. It shows no clips of folding clothes or other household chores the bot can allegedly do. It repeats images of the bot picking up toys on the floor, a roughly 1-minute task.

Watch how clumsy the ironing is in this alternate robot.

Advanced Humanoid Robots

Also consider advanced humanoid robots at 2025 World Robot Conference in Beijing.

https://youtu.be/51VI8DZGGag

China’s Startups Race to Dominate the Coming AI Robot Boom

Bloomberg reports China’s Startups Race to Dominate the Coming AI Robot Boom

That’s a free link.

The country’s startups have caught the attention of Elon Musk, whose Tesla Inc. has set its sights on the humanoid market. On an April conference call, the billionaire said he thinks his Optimus robots lead the industry in performance, but China may end up dominating the field. “I’m a little concerned that on the leaderboard, ranks 2 through 10 will be Chinese companies,” he said.

Leadership in this field matters because humanoids appear poised to move beyond the realms of sci-fi and curiosity. Citigroup Inc. recently projected the market for the machines and related services will surge to $7 trillion by 2050 when the world could be populated by 648 million human-like bots.

Some scholars warn that Beijing’s approach may give China the edge in developing strategically important, capital-intensive sectors, like it has already done with electric vehicles and solar panels.

While it’s still possible the humanoid market never takes off, China is making an audacious bet that it will. The country is on track to produce more than 10,000 humanoid robots this year, or more than half of the machines globally, according to an April study from the China think tank Leaderobot and other institutions.

“China is winning the humanoids war, I have no doubt,” said Henrik I. Christensen, director of the Contextual Robotics Institute at the University of California San Diego.

Still, even the most elegant humanoids won’t have a future unless they provide value. People-like machines captured the popular imagination at least as far back as Isaac Asimov’s writings in the 1950s, yet they’ve remained largely a novelty. Boston Dynamics has impressed tech geeks since its founding in 1992, but it’s never built much of a business. Google and SoftBank Group Corp. each bought the startup and then sold it again without commercial success; it’s now owned by Hyundai Motor Co.

China’s robot was far more impressive than “Isaac” or anything from Tesla. Click on the link to see.

Musk eluded he will be number one. I would be shocked if that happened.

Anyone laying out $58,000 for “Isaac” is someone interested in the latest gadgets at any price.

I suppose this robot home invasion is coming, eventually. But price needs to drop by 90 percent and capabilities rise by 500 percent before there’s a hint of prime time for household tasks.

Industrial robots trained for one specific task are another matter. They are already here.

I side with Romain Moulin, CEO of the French startup Exotec, which makes box-like robots for warehouses that he thinks are more utilitarian.

Humanoids “just don’t make economic sense for most people and companies for the foreseeable future,” said Moulin.

But they do capture the imagination (and dreams of no more household chores) including the futurists at the Wall Street Journal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 17:40

US Pressure Might Inadvertently Bring India & China Back Together

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The pretext upon which Trump recently doubled tariffs on India to 50% was its continued trade with Russia, which India has refused to curtail for the five reasons explained here, yet it turns out that the US-Russian trade increased by 20% since he returned to office. This was confirmed by Putin himself during his remarks to the press after he met Trump for three-hour-long talks in Anchorage late last week. Leading Indian media NDTV and others then drew attention to this blatant double standard.

No doubt should therefore remain about how hellbent Trump is on derailing India’s rise as a Great Power. The real reason why he doubled tariffs on India wasn’t due to its continued trade with Russia, but to coerce it into opening up its agricultural and dairy markets to American imports. He might also have expected that displaced workers, and some of the 46% of the population employed in these industries would indeed lose their livelihoods, could then become low-cost factory labor for US companies.

Even if Trump is only driven by economic motives in this regard, his permanent policymaking bureaucracy (“deep state”) likely has more sinister ones such as weaponizing the large-scale socio-political unrest that would inevitably follow massive unemployment among Indian farmers. No self-respecting leader could accept these consequences and that’s why Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged during his speech on India’s Independence Day to support his country’s agricultural industry.

It was little wonder then that NDTV cited sources to report shortly thereafter that a US trade team’s visit to India in late August has been called off and will likely be rescheduled for an as-yet unknown date. Several days prior, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called on the EU to emulate his country’s “secondary sanctions, or secondary tariffs, on India because of their consumption of Russian oil”. The EU still purchases Russian energy, however, so any such sanctions/tariffs would be as hypocritical as the US’.

Nevertheless, seeing as how the EU just subordinated itself as the US’ largest-ever vassal state via their lopsided trade deal, it can’t be ruled out that it’ll follow its patron’s lead. The combined effect of major US and EU tariffs on India could decelerate its growth, which is the fastest in the world, but the socio-political consequences would still be more manageable than if it opened its agricultural and dairy markets to their exports. India might thus soon recalibrate its multi-alignment policy accordingly.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in India for the first time in three years to discuss their unresolved border dispute that’s toxified bilateral ties since their lethal clashes in summer 2020. Modi will then visit Tianjin at the end of the month for the SCO leaders’ summit. India’s worsening ties with the West, first the US and perhaps soon also the EU, might thus serve as the catalyst for taking its incipient rapprochement with China even further through the resumption of border trade as reported.

Any meaningful improvement of Sino-Indo ties, especially in the economic dimension (which might first require making progress on resolving their border dispute), could prompt Trump to either walk back his hardline policy on India to court it away from China or punitively double down on this approach. The first could help repair their ties even though India’s trust in the US might remain shattered while the second could turbocharge multipolar processes. Observers should therefore keep a very close eye on all of this.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 17:00

US Pressure Might Inadvertently Bring India & China Back Together

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The pretext upon which Trump recently doubled tariffs on India to 50% was its continued trade with Russia, which India has refused to curtail for the five reasons explained here, yet it turns out that the US-Russian trade increased by 20% since he returned to office. This was confirmed by Putin himself during his remarks to the press after he met Trump for three-hour-long talks in Anchorage late last week. Leading Indian media NDTV and others then drew attention to this blatant double standard.

No doubt should therefore remain about how hellbent Trump is on derailing India’s rise as a Great Power. The real reason why he doubled tariffs on India wasn’t due to its continued trade with Russia, but to coerce it into opening up its agricultural and dairy markets to American imports. He might also have expected that displaced workers, and some of the 46% of the population employed in these industries would indeed lose their livelihoods, could then become low-cost factory labor for US companies.

Even if Trump is only driven by economic motives in this regard, his permanent policymaking bureaucracy (“deep state”) likely has more sinister ones such as weaponizing the large-scale socio-political unrest that would inevitably follow massive unemployment among Indian farmers. No self-respecting leader could accept these consequences and that’s why Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged during his speech on India’s Independence Day to support his country’s agricultural industry.

It was little wonder then that NDTV cited sources to report shortly thereafter that a US trade team’s visit to India in late August has been called off and will likely be rescheduled for an as-yet unknown date. Several days prior, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called on the EU to emulate his country’s “secondary sanctions, or secondary tariffs, on India because of their consumption of Russian oil”. The EU still purchases Russian energy, however, so any such sanctions/tariffs would be as hypocritical as the US’.

Nevertheless, seeing as how the EU just subordinated itself as the US’ largest-ever vassal state via their lopsided trade deal, it can’t be ruled out that it’ll follow its patron’s lead. The combined effect of major US and EU tariffs on India could decelerate its growth, which is the fastest in the world, but the socio-political consequences would still be more manageable than if it opened its agricultural and dairy markets to their exports. India might thus soon recalibrate its multi-alignment policy accordingly.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in India for the first time in three years to discuss their unresolved border dispute that’s toxified bilateral ties since their lethal clashes in summer 2020. Modi will then visit Tianjin at the end of the month for the SCO leaders’ summit. India’s worsening ties with the West, first the US and perhaps soon also the EU, might thus serve as the catalyst for taking its incipient rapprochement with China even further through the resumption of border trade as reported.

Any meaningful improvement of Sino-Indo ties, especially in the economic dimension (which might first require making progress on resolving their border dispute), could prompt Trump to either walk back his hardline policy on India to court it away from China or punitively double down on this approach. The first could help repair their ties even though India’s trust in the US might remain shattered while the second could turbocharge multipolar processes. Observers should therefore keep a very close eye on all of this.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 17:00

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 11, 2025