ametisto and future canvas

🍔 The hamburger that bares the world war of money

The Big Mac Index turns 40, showing that a simple burger can reveal deep economic imbalances. By comparing its price across countries, the indicator suggests that Asian currencies such as the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen, and the South Korean won are significantly undervalued against the US dollar. By contrast, the Swiss franc, the euro, and the British pound appear overvalued.

A Big Mac costs about US$9.04 in Switzerland, but just US$2.38 in Indonesia. These differences reflect wages, productivity, inflation, local costs, and exchange-rate policies. The index does not accurately predict the next market move, but it helps explain why trade tensions and accusations of currency manipulation continue to grow.

Sometimes, a hamburger explains the world economy better than hundreds of pages of statistics. 🍟🌍

#Economy #Currencies #BigMacIndex #Dollar #mercados

🍔Binance Bigmac

IN HONG KONG, EVEN SELLING BOOKS CAN BECOME A CRIME

Crackdowns against Hong Kong’s independent bookstores appear to know no end. In July, the national security police raided two establishments in the Mong Kok district and arrested five people, suspected of selling publications deemed “seditious.” (AP News)

Since the adoption of the new security laws, booksellers have had to navigate vague prohibitions and “red lines” that the government refuses to define clearly. Biographies of pro-democracy figures, books about Chinese history, or even simple critiques of power can now lead to raids, closures, and legal proceedings. (Reuters)

Once a refuge for editorial freedom in the Chinese world, Hong Kong is gradually losing its independent bookstores. Censorship is no longer limited to banning certain books: it creates enough fear for publishers, sellers, and readers to censor themselves.

#HongKong #Chine #LibertéDExpression #Censure #Livres #Démocratie

HOUTHI OPEN A NEW AND DANGEROUS FRONT IN THE WAR WITH IRAN

After months of relative distance from the conflict, Yemen’s Houthi rebels intensified attacks against Saudi Arabia, striking Aramco oil facilities and announcing a blockade of Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

The escalation threatens to turn the Bab al-Mandeb Strait into yet another critical point for global trade and energy supplies. With the Strait of Hormuz practically closed, Riyadh has become even more dependent on pipelines that carry oil to the Red Sea coast—precisely the region now threatened by the Houthis.

Although the attacks are still limited, experts warn that any miscalculation could reopen the devastating war between Saudis and Houthis and further expand the conflict involving Iran, the United States, and its allies. The risk is now not only military: oil, shipping, and global inflation are also under pressure again. (The Washington Post)

#SaudiArabia #Yemen #Houthis #Iran #RedSea #Oil #GeopoliticalUncertainty

Saudi Crown Prince Urges Trump to Step Back from the Brink

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce tensions in the Middle East and prioritize dialogue over military escalation. According to CNN, the Saudi leader expressed concern about possible strikes against Iran and stressed the need for diplomatic efforts capable of restoring calm. Trump later canceled the planned attacks, citing progress in negotiations. The episode highlights Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a key mediator in a region increasingly vulnerable to a wider and potentially devastating conflict.

Alpha Market Watch

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⭐ $STAR — At approximately $0.097 USD, STAR has gained nearly 30% without reaching the extreme moves seen in the session’s biggest winners. That leaves potential for another leg higher if buying pressure continues. Its combination of healthy liquidity and a more moderate rally makes it a candidate worth monitoring.

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Not US$ 125 million was enough. The educational experiment created by Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg's wife, came to an end after a decade.

The Primary School, founded in 2016 to provide free services to low-income children in East Palo Alto (California), combined education, medical and dental care, and support for families in a model considered revolutionary. Even so, the school closed its doors after the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative decided to stop funding.

Despite improvements in literacy and students' well-being, academic results fell below the state average, making it harder to expand the project. The closure reopens an important debate: to what extent can philanthropic initiatives transform education when they depend on a single funder?

CZI announced a US$ 50 million package to support the transition of students and the community, but the case shows that even billion-dollar projects can face limits when long-term sustainability and governance come into play.
$METAB

General U.S. alert: forces are running short to keep protecting Israel

The top U.S. commander in Europe privately warned the Pentagon that it does not have enough ships and resources to maintain Israel’s defense against Iranian ballistic missiles. Without sending another destroyer, General Alexus Grynkewich may have to prioritize protecting U.S. territory itself. (The Washington Post)

The situation reflects the wear and tear caused by months of war. Interceptor stockpiles are being consumed rapidly, while maintenance issues reduce the availability of American ships. At the same time, these forces must watch Russia, support the blockade of Iranian ports, and protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The alert exposes a worrying reality: even the world’s largest military power faces limits in sustaining multiple fronts at the same time. The longer the conflict drags on, the greater the risk of defense failures, new escalations, and unpredictable consequences for the entire Middle East.

Kyiv hit by a new wave of Russian ballistic missile attacks

Russia launched nearly 200 attack drones and 35 missiles at Ukraine, including 27 ballistic missiles mainly aimed at Kyiv. At least nine people were killed and more than 30 injured in this second major ballistic offensive in a week.

According to The Washington Post, Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has virtually no interceptors left capable of protecting its capital. Just one ballistic missile is said to have been shot down, illustrating the critical depletion of Ukraine’s air defenses. (The Washington Post)

Patriot systems remain one of the few effective protections against these weapons, but their ammunition has become dramatically scarce. Every night without new interceptors exposes more civilians and increases the risk that the war will spill beyond Ukraine’s borders.

🚨 The war in the Middle East threatens to enter an even more dangerous phase

Iran launched a drone offensive against Kuwait, directly striking a strategic ally of the United States in the Gulf. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kuwaiti authorities say they intercepted the devices, but the attack dramatically increases the risk that the conflict will go beyond its current borders. (The Wall Street Journal)

The assault comes after Donald Trump threatened to intensify attacks on Iranian territory. Each new offensive raises the possibility of retaliations in a chain reaction, involving American bases, maritime routes, oil facilities, and other countries in the region.

The situation is alarming: a single miscalculation could turn an already devastating war into a regional crisis of unpredictable proportions, with consequences for global security, oil supplies, and the world economy.

TESLA MAY SACRIFICE CHINA FOR MUSK’S ULTIMATE MEGA-MERGER

Tesla is reportedly considering spinning off, selling or even shutting down its Chinese operations to clear the path for a potential merger with SpaceX. According to Bloomberg Línea, separating the business could reduce national-security conflicts because SpaceX is a major U.S. defense contractor.

But the stakes are enormous: Tesla’s Shanghai factory produces more than 950,000 vehicles annually and is deeply integrated into China’s supply chain. Elon Musk has dismissed the report as “fake news,” leaving investors to decide whether this is strategic planning—or speculation about the creation of an unprecedented EV, AI and space empire.

#Tesla #SpaceX #ElonMusk #China #Business

Washington Makes a Historic Move to Rescue the Yen

The US Treasury has intervened in the yen market, buying the Japanese currency through the New York Fed in coordination with Tokyo. According to the Financial Times, euros were sold for yen through major Wall Street banks, marking the first American intervention to support Japan’s currency since 1998.

The operation came after the yen fell to its weakest level against the dollar in four decades. While the move may deter speculators in the short term, lasting recovery could still depend on higher Japanese interest rates and stronger confidence in the country’s finances. (ft.com)

🇦🇷 Milei wants to tie the hands of his successors

Javier Milei is trying to shield Argentina’s central bank against future political interference by limiting money issuance to finance the government and attempting to prevent the country from falling back into cycles of runaway inflation.

The strategy is reminiscent of Ulysses tying himself to the mast to resist the Sirens’ song: Milei is trying to create rules that neither he nor the next presidents can easily break. However, according to The Economist, the plan still has gaps that could reduce its effectiveness.

The big question is whether Argentina will finally build stronger institutions than its political crises.

#baby $BABY

While many crypto-asset projects issue new tokens to create liquidity, the key differentiator of @BabylonLabs_io is that it is trying to give Native BTC—the world’s largest crypto asset itself—a brand-new financial use case. At Babylon Trustless Bitcoin Vaults (TBV), you can keep BTC on Bitcoin and use it as collateral for DeFi without wrapping it, without moving it to another chain via a bridge, and without entrusting it to any centralized custodians. The public testnet with Aave v4 shows that a Bitcoin-collateralized market that balances self-custody and capital efficiency is moving closer to practical use. If TBV adoption grows, $BABY may become more than just a trading target—it could be linked to the growth of new financial infrastructure centered around Bitcoin.

OpenAI lost the crown of artificial intelligence—and is now racing to get it back

The company that sparked the explosion of generative AI was overtaken by Anthropic, which has grown faster in revenue and market valuation. While OpenAI bet on ChatGPT and spread resources across ambitious projects like videos, devices, and chips, its rival focused efforts on practical tools for businesses and developers.

The biggest symbol of this turnaround was Claude Code. The tool won over programmers who found Codex slow and not very functional, giving Anthropic a decisive advantage in the lucrative corporate market. At the same time, ChatGPT’s growth slowed, and investors began to question OpenAI’s high burn rate. (The Wall Street Journal)

Now, Sam Altman is trying to respond with new models aimed at programming, aggressive discounts, a broader integration between ChatGPT and Codex, and an offensive to win back major enterprise clients. The showdown shows that in the AI market, leading the technology for a few months doesn’t guarantee you’ll dominate the business.

#OpenAI #Anthropic #ArtificialIntelligence #ChatGPT #Technology

Ferrari’s Electric Gamble Silences the Critics

Ferrari’s first fully electric car, the €550,000 Luce, was mocked online, criticized by investors and blamed for an 8% share-price drop after its debut. Yet the controversial model reportedly achieved its entire 2026 sales target—nearly 500 units—in just two months.

Demand has been particularly strong in China and among wealthy US technology entrepreneurs. Designed by former Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive, the Luce is part of Ferrari’s strategy to attract a new generation of ultra-rich customers without abandoning exclusivity.

Ferrari now aims to sell around 2,500 units by 2030, proving that social-media outrage does not always reflect the intentions of actual buyers.

#Ferrari #ElectricVehicles #LuxuryCars #Business #Innovation

FIFA BACKS DOWN: The World Cup Is NOT for Sale

Gianni Infantino has abandoned FIFA’s controversial plan to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup after fierce opposition from across the football world. UEFA, CONCACAF, Asian football leaders, clubs, fans, and even senior FIFA figures argued that the tournament’s legacy should never become an investment vehicle. The backlash proved too strong to ignore, forcing FIFA to shelve the proposal.

The episode highlights a crucial point: football’s greatest competition is more than a financial asset—it is a global institution built on sporting tradition and public trust. For now, the World Cup remains outside the hands of private investors. ⚽🌍

🇦🇷 Milei rejects that the United States “saved” Argentina during the crisis

Javier Milei broke his silence about Washington’s role in the recent currency turmoil and denied that U.S. aid was decisive in preventing a financial collapse.

According to the Argentine president, his government faced a run equivalent to US$70 billion, while the backing from the United States reached just US$2.5 billion—less than 5% of the resources mobilized. For this reason, he called it “intellectually dishonest” to attribute the country’s stabilization mainly to U.S. intervention.

Milei argues that the internal measures of his administration were the true factors responsible for containing the crisis. His statements aim to reinforce the narrative of economic autonomy, though they also reopen the debate about how much Argentina depended on Washington’s political and financial support during one of its most delicate moments.

The U.S. and Israel can take an unprecedented step toward military integration.

A project approved by the House of Representatives expands cooperation between the two countries’ defense industries in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, quantum computing, autonomous systems, and directed-energy weapons.

Supporters say the measure will speed up the development of critical technologies and strengthen joint military superiority. Critics, however, warn of a possible side effect: Israel could gain greater influence over the use and export of military technologies developed in partnership, raising debates about U.S. sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

The issue now moves to the Senate and is expected to be one of the most controversial points in American defense policy in 2026. If approved, it could redefine military cooperation between the two allies and influence the global technological balance. (washingtonpost.com)

AI’s “genius” just reminded Wall Street of an old lesson: getting the trend right isn’t enough.

Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher and author of the influential essay Situational Awareness, saw his hedge fund drop by around 67% in just July after making a big bet — using leverage — on stocks tied to artificial intelligence. The fund, which at one point managed about US$ 45 billion, was forced to liquidate a large portion of its portfolio to meet margin calls. Still, it continues to build a strong gain for the year after extraordinary prior returns.

The main takeaway? Even a brilliant thesis can fail when risk is poorly sized. In financial markets, survival is often more important than being right. #AI #Investments #WallStreet

🤖 AI is making billions — but it may be building the biggest investment bubble in history

Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants are expected to increase investments in chips, data centers, and energy from US$ 450 billion in 2025 to about US$ 900 billion in 2026, potentially reaching US$ 1,4 trillion in 2027. The problem is that, to justify such a massive expansion, the industry would need to generate roughly US$ 2,5 trillion per year in revenues tied to artificial intelligence. Today, estimates are around US$ 150 billion to US$ 220 billion. (livemint.com)

Business adoption has advanced quickly, but is starting to lose momentum. Only a small portion of companies uses AI intensively; many rely on free tools, and the median spend per employee is still just US$ 10,66 per month. In addition, nine out of ten executives say they have not observed productivity gains driven by the technology over the past three years.

Revenue is growing at an extraordinary pace, but the consumption of computing capacity is growing even faster. This suggests that some of the billions invested are being used mainly to compete for users among rivals, without proportionally expanding the paying market. According to the analysis, about one-third of the investments may not deliver satisfactory returns. The AI revolution is still alive — but the bill is arriving before the profits.

#ArtificialIntelligence #BigTech #Investments #Technology #Markets