The hottest Trade Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Finance Topics

Da Wei: China does not want Americaā€™s job

Pekingnology ā€¢ 52 implied HN points ā€¢ 27 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. China does not want or intend to replace the United States as the global leader and prefers to work within and improve existing multilateral institutions rather than fill any "vacuum" alone.
  2. Direct meetings between national leaders are especially important now and can open chances to stabilise the Chinaā€“U.S. relationship, but lasting stability also requires institutional arrangements and Chinaā€™s sustained economic and technological strength.
  3. The world is becoming more fragmented and multipolar, so China should expand its "circle of friends", pursue multilateralism, rebalance bilateral ties, and take greater responsibility in global governance without seeking hegemony.

āš” Electric America, Electric West

Faster, Please! ā€¢ 1188 implied HN points ā€¢ 19 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. A single energy chokepoint like the Strait of Hormuz can quickly shock the global economy, driving up fuel, food, and industrial costs.
  2. The damage from such shocks depends on how much the world still relies on that chokepoint, and that reliance can be reduced over time by changing energy systems.
  3. Democracies should treat energy policy as a core strategic priority, accelerating electrification and domestic clean energy to boost resilience and reduce vulnerability.

Niall Ferguson: This Is How the Iran War Goes Global

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 899 implied HN points ā€¢ 16 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. This conflict highlights heavy use of drones and AI for targeting, showing that modern wars are increasingly fought with autonomous and precision technologies.
  2. A relatively weaker Iran can still choke tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting oil and gas supplies, pushing energy prices up, and threatening the global economy; outside powers have moved naval and Marine forces to try to reopen the route.
  3. Maritime choke points like Hormuz, the Black Sea straits, Malacca, and the Suez and Panama canals are perennial strategic vulnerabilities, and threats to them can create wide-ranging unintended consequences and strategic openings for rivals like China and Russia.

Chartbook 436 Unseasonal war. How the US-Israeli war on Iran threatens the global agricultural cycle.

Chartbook ā€¢ 3404 implied HN points ā€¢ 04 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. The war is interrupting LNG and fertilizer flows from the Gulf, causing urea and ammonia shortages and forcing some plants to cut output.
  2. The timing is critical because shipments are needed now for the spring planting season, so delays could force farmers to switch crops or accept lower yields.
  3. Large fertilizer producers are likely to profit, while poor, smallholder farming countriesā€”especially in Africaā€”plus fiscally stretched governments like India, will bear the worst food-security and budgetary costs.

Top Links 1039 Oil profit spikes and who benefits. China needs a better welfare state. The origin of the Cumberland sausage and the second life of drop tanks.

Chartbook ā€¢ 643 implied HN points ā€¢ 12 Mar 26
šŸŒ International Trade
  1. Oil prices and profits have jumped, and the gains are flowing unequally to companies and owners rather than to workers or consumers.
  2. China needs a stronger welfare state to give people better social protection and to help reduce inequality.
  3. Small histories reveal surprising stories ā€” from the origin of the Cumberland sausage to how military drop tanks were reused, everyday objects can have unexpected second lives.
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Roundup #77: The Fix-Everything Button

Noahpinion ā€¢ 16294 implied HN points ā€¢ 11 Feb 26
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Targeted fixes like fare gates can quickly and cheaply restore order in public spaces, cutting crime and cleanup costs so transit becomes usable again for most riders.
  2. The claim that AI is already displacing young college graduates is unclear; differences between unemployment and employment measures and sensitivity to broader economic swings make the evidence ambiguous right now.
  3. Trade and policy changes are reshaping supply chains: tariffs have reduced bilateral dependence on China without reviving U.S. manufacturing, and tighter skilled-visa rules are pushing companies to hire and expand operations abroad.

Zero-sum economics keeps failing

Noahpinion ā€¢ 37530 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Jan 26
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Trade
  1. The economy isnā€™t a fixed lump of resources to be simply divided; growing the pie matters more than slicing it.
  2. Policies based on zero-sum thinkingā€”like mass deportations, protectionist tariffs, or seizing resourcesā€”often fail to deliver the promised jobs or wealth and can hurt domestic workers and industries.
  3. Sustained prosperity comes from production, innovation, and turning resources into useful goods and services, while redistribution or seizure without creating value can make places poorer.

Reading list 02/14/26

Construction Physics ā€¢ 9186 implied HN points ā€¢ 14 Feb 26
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Housing policy and the homebuilding market are in flux, with new laws and zoning talks aiming to boost supply while regulators eye possible price coordination by builders.
  2. Coastal erosion and sea-level effects are increasing building collapses in parts of the southern Mediterranean, raising urgent structural and safety concerns for port cities.
  3. Manufacturing is shifting: AI demand is driving a boom in fiber-optic production, even as cheaper foreign-made goods and changing tariff policies are squeezing some domestic producers.

How the War With Iran Will Trigger a Global Financial Crisis (w/ Yanis Varoufakis) | The Chris Hedges Report

The Chris Hedges Report ā€¢ 275 implied HN points ā€¢ 17 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. The war has choked key oil and gas routes, sending fuel, power and fertilizer prices sharply higher and causing shortages that will ripple through global supply chains for months even if the fighting ends.
  2. Those energy shocks, falling investment and likely central-bank tightening make high inflation plus rising unemployment more likely, meaning working people will suffer the most while elites and oligarchies can be insulated.
  3. The economic collapse will deepen political instability and authoritarian tendencies, weaken existing global and regional power structures, and increase the need for organized political resistance to defend democracy and social protections.

Chartbook 437 Unseasonal war (2): Europe, gas & yet another February war. Aka, "oops ... we did it again!"

Chartbook ā€¢ 1859 implied HN points ā€¢ 05 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Energy use is strongly seasonal ā€” winter heating drains gas stocks, so a war or supply shock at the end of February hits when reserves are at their lowest.
  2. Europe entered 2026 with unusually low gas storage and still relies on Russian pipelines and global LNG markets, so disruptions like a Strait of Hormuz shutdown or halted Qatari exports can push prices up across the whole market.
  3. Doubling down on gas-fired capacity increases dependence, while rapidly expanding solar and battery storage is a smarter, now-feasible way to replace significant gas supplies.

Top Links 1037 How bad is a closure of the Straits? Revisiting THAT Summers chart! The Brits and Dubai & Baudrillard on "something more".

Chartbook ā€¢ 715 implied HN points ā€¢ 10 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. A closure of strategic straits would severely disrupt global trade and energy flows, so the potential economic and security fallout needs careful re-examination.
  2. Re-examining Summers's famous chart encourages a fresh look at macroeconomic assumptions about growth, investment, and systemic risk.
  3. Cultural and geopolitical contrastsā€”like those between Britain and Dubaiā€”are being read for what they reveal about modern values, even as many fund managers worry that US tech firms may be overinvesting in AI.

How Wall Street Ruined the Roomba and Then Blamed Lina Khan

BIG by Matt Stoller ā€¢ 50650 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Dec 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Wall Streetā€™s short-term financial pressure pushed iRobot to cut R&D and offshore manufacturing, hollowing out its innovation and helping foreign firms capture its technology.
  2. Amazonā€™s attempted buyout was less about vacuums and more about building a vast IoT network that would concentrate data and surveillance power, raising real competition and privacy concerns.
  3. Antitrust enforcement is important but not sufficient; the economy also needs policies that reward long-term investment and onshoring instead of extracting outsized returns for financiers.

Henry Huiyao Wang: Middle powers are taking up the mantle of multilateral leadership

Pekingnology ā€¢ 60 implied HN points ā€¢ 26 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. With the United States stepping back from its traditional leadership role, middle powers are forming flexible coalitions to uphold multilateralism and keep economic integration moving forward.
  2. The CPTPP shows how these middle powers can save and expand rules-based trade as a bulwark against tariffs and unilateral measures, and it could grow to include major economies like China and the EU to strengthen global trade rules.
  3. Globalisation will continue in a more multipolar, plural system where coalitions of willing countries, not any single power, sustain open markets and shape the future of international governance.

Europe is under siege

Noahpinion ā€¢ 56765 implied HN points ā€¢ 07 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Europe now faces a real security squeeze: an aggressive Russia aided by China on one side and an increasingly unreliable United States on the other, so European security can no longer be taken for granted.
  2. Europe must act more like a single country by integrating militarily and economically ā€” coordinating defense procurement, building a domestic defense-industrial base (drones, batteries, chips, AI), and strengthening its nuclear and conventional forces.
  3. Europe needs big policy changes at home and abroad: create fiscal tools to fund defense, reform social and energy policies to free resources, onshore critical industries, and diversify partners and export markets (India, Japan, Korea, etc.) to reduce dependence on China and the U.S.

Top Links 1036 Indiaā€™s trade deficit, CO2 Emissions of Chocolate, and US Bases in Italy.

Chartbook ā€¢ 515 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Mar 26
šŸŒ International Trade
  1. Indiaā€™s trade deficit is largely shaped by oil imports, with the rest of goods adding to the shortfall.
  2. Chocolate production has a significant CO2 footprint, showing that everyday foods can carry meaningful environmental costs.
  3. The network of US military bases in Italy is a notable strategic and political factor, influencing both regional geopolitics and domestic debates.

Big Joe Jafurah

Doomberg ā€¢ 7264 implied HN points ā€¢ 31 Jan 26
šŸŒ International Trade
  1. The Middle East still burns a huge amount of oil for electricity ā€” roughly 1.8 million barrels per day ā€” showing local energy use has been wasteful and oil-heavy.
  2. Many countries in the region have underdeveloped natural gas sectors: even with Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia included, overall gas output trails major producers and flaring has risen to nearly 5 billion cubic feet per day, wasting valuable fuel.
  3. That is changing fastā€”global LNG and gas infrastructure expansion is pushing the Middle East to develop and export its gas, and the regionā€™s gas landscape will look very different within the next five years with major global impacts.

Roundup #75: Checking in on the Bad Guys

Noahpinion ā€¢ 16000 implied HN points ā€¢ 14 Jan 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Iranā€™s mass unrest is rooted largely in economic and resource failures ā€” severe water shortages, power cuts, runaway inflation, and sanctions have crushed living standards and helped spark protests.
  2. China is using export controls and other levers to block Indiaā€™s rise in strategic manufacturing (especially batteries), because Beijing sees Indian industrialization as a geopolitical threat.
  3. Russiaā€™s wartime economy is weaker than it looks on paper ā€” likely understated inflation, falling real incomes, lower oil revenues, and attacks on infrastructure are straining its long-term capacity.

Why Europe should resist the Second China Shock

Noahpinion ā€¢ 25706 implied HN points ā€¢ 24 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Europe needs to keep its manufacturing base so it can scale up weapons and equipment quickly in a high-tech war; letting industry die would weaken its military options.
  2. Cheap, high-tech Chinese exports are creating large trade deficits that act like IOUs and can drain Europe of jobs, profits, and the innovative capacity that comes from making things at scale.
  3. To stop this, Europe should use targeted measures ā€” tariffs and non-tariff barriers on Chinese goods, export subsidies, allied-scale partnerships, joint ventures, and pressure on Chinaā€™s exchange rate ā€” to rebuild and protect domestic industry.

I think India can do it

Noahpinion ā€¢ 26823 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Dec 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. India is growing fast enough that, if those perā€‘capita growth rates are sustained, living standards could rise to upperā€‘middle or developedā€‘country levels within a generation.
  2. Recent policy moves ā€” like labor law changes, big financial reforms, and a manufacturing upswing (including more electronics and Apple production) ā€” show the country can mobilize resources and climb the industrial value chain.
  3. Real risks exist (state fragmentation, competition from China, low female labor participation, and costly capital), but continued reforms, foreign partnerships, and the political momentum created by growth can help India overcome them.

Forget Trump and Greenland. Howard Lutnick Gave the Davos Speech that Mattered

TK News by Matt Taibbi ā€¢ 10203 implied HN points ā€¢ 23 Jan 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. A senior U.S. commerce official publicly declared that globalization has failed and argued for an Americaā€‘first approach that prioritizes domestic workers over offshoring.
  2. Those remarks mattered more than the headline-grabbing political theater at Davos because they directly challenged the World Economic Forumā€™s pro-globalization consensus and signaled a real policy shift.
  3. The speech sparked boos, walkouts, and outrage among global elites, exposing deep divisions and forcing Europe and others to rethink competitiveness and self-reliance.

At least five interesting things: Buy Local edition (#74)

Noahpinion ā€¢ 17941 implied HN points ā€¢ 31 Dec 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Reducing regulatory costs and investing in infrastructure makes it much easier for small businesses to start, compete, and find customers. This kind of "abundance" policy lowers barriers to entry and helps local economies revive.
  2. Building more market-rate or "luxury" housing lowers rents for everyone by giving high earners places to live so they donā€™t bid up older, affordable units. Increasing overall housing supply acts like a containment for upward pressure on rents.
  3. Tariffs have raised some prices and hurt certain industries, but the broader U.S. economy has been resilient because actual tariffs paid are much lower than headline rates due to exemptions and trade rules. Also, much of the damage from tariff shocks can appear with a year or two of delay.

The Resource Wars Have Begun

Anima Mundi ā€¢ 1009 implied HN points ā€¢ 28 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Control of raw materials ā€” oil, rare earths, cobalt, uranium, gold ā€” is the central driver of many current wars and diplomatic moves. Conflicts from Iran to Venezuela to the DRC are being shaped more by resource access than by ideology.
  2. Three competing strategies are colliding: the US uses transactional military leverage for resource access, China builds long-term infrastructure and standards to secure supplies, and Russia funds war through extraction while shadow actors profit. That collision is creating a multipolar scramble with no clear global rules or effective institutions.
  3. The resource scramble risks cascading global crises ā€” energy chokepoints, nuclear proliferation, supplyā€‘chain collapses if Taiwan is attacked, and worsening humanitarian and democratic breakdowns. These cascades threaten markets, food and energy security, and accelerate the weakening of dollar dominance.

Yao Yang on three shifts he saw in the U.S. and in China-U.S. relations

Pekingnology ā€¢ 67 implied HN points ā€¢ 24 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Fewer Chinese students are coming to the U.S., which is squeezing public university budgets because stricter visa/work policies and better job prospects at home make U.S. study less attractive.
  2. American attitudes and strategy on China are shifting: a new generation of scholars and changing political camps are more sober and interest-driven, favoring selective, pragmatic policy over older emotional or broadly expansionist approaches.
  3. True decoupling is limited because the U.S. and China remain economically complementary, while capital-driven narratives (like AI hype) and fast-changing policy create public anxiety and leave think tanks lagging behind events.

Taiwan Can Rescue the World from China

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 468 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Taiwan is actively breaking its economic dependence on China and taking big steps to diversify its supply chains and economy.
  2. China is rapidly increasing its share of global manufacturingā€”projected to reach about 45% by 2030ā€”which raises risks for the global economy and heightens geopolitical competition.
  3. Taiwanā€™s advanced tech and manufacturing strengths could help other countries reduce reliance on China and strengthen the wider global economy.

Noahpinion's 2025 Year in Review

Noahpinion ā€¢ 21941 implied HN points ā€¢ 27 Nov 25
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Trade
  1. Tariff and authoritarian moves have overturned decades of U.S. trade policy, creating huge uncertainty thatā€™s hurting manufacturing, pushing up prices in places, and straining institutions and alliances.
  2. An enormous AI-driven data-center boom is propping up the economy now but risks a financial bust if the sector canā€™t pay back its investments, and AIā€™s real effects on jobs are still unclear.
  3. China is clearly ascending as the dominant manufacturing and electric-technology power, while the U.S. is weakened by political polarization, a crisis of national identity, and the collapse of old progressive orthodoxies.

The Secret Lives of Hair

The Global Jigsaw ā€¢ 277 implied HN points ā€¢ 23 Oct 24
šŸŽ­ļø Culture Trade
  1. Hair holds deep personal significance for people, symbolizing identity, shame, and beauty. From keepsakes to wigs, hair affects how we see ourselves and how others see us.
  2. The global trade of human hair is complex and often hidden, relying on economic disparities between those who sell their hair and those who buy it. Much of this trade originates from poorer regions, with many women selling their hair for financial support.
  3. Wigs and hair products go through a long journey before reaching consumers, involving multiple countries and cultures. The authentic origins of hair can be misleading, highlighting the hidden stories and market dynamics behind beauty products.

The Weeb Economy

Noahpinion ā€¢ 8235 implied HN points ā€¢ 30 Dec 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Japanā€™s post-2008 stagnation has left productivity and living standards lagging, so the focus should shift from macro fixes to micro and development policies that raise productivity and make life easier for ordinary people.
  2. A multi-pronged industrial strategy is needed: modernize big firms, nurture startups, and actively attract greenfield platform FDI (foreign factories and offices) because it brings investment, exports, jobs, and tacit technology transfer.
  3. Japan can leverage its huge global cultural appeal and uniquely attractive cities to draw entrepreneurs, capital, and skilled workers by making life and business easier for foreignersā€”simple steps include streamlined visas and banking, targeted investment packages, and support for creative small businesses.

Free-market economics is working surprisingly well

Noahpinion ā€¢ 41294 implied HN points ā€¢ 10 Jul 25
šŸ’° Finance Trade
  1. Free-market economics can have real benefits, as seen in Argentina, where new policies helped lower inflation and boost growth. It shows how changing economic strategies can lead to improvements.
  2. Critics of free markets often underestimate their potential, thinking policies like austerity will only hurt people. But in some cases, these approaches can actually help an economy recover.
  3. Every country needs to find its right mix of economic policies, balancing government action with market freedom. It's important to keep adapting rather than sticking to one ideology.

FDI is the missing piece of Japanā€™s puzzle

Noahpinion ā€¢ 7058 implied HN points ā€¢ 17 Dec 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Japan should focus on attracting greenfield FDI ā€” foreign firms building new factories and research centers ā€” because these projects bring fresh investment, local jobs, and direct technology transfer.
  2. Increasing exports is crucial to strengthen the yen and offset a shrinking domestic market, and greenfield platform FDI is an effective way to create export-oriented production and accelerate learning-by-exporting.
  3. Japan already has strong selling points for investors (a weak yen, skilled suppliers, national security/ā€˜friendshoringā€™ appeal, efficient permitting, and global desire to live there), so policy should target and scale greenfield platform FDI across multiple high-value industries beyond semiconductors.

Top Links 1027 Why the US gas business loves exports. Unger on Keynes. Decarbonization coalitions & the last Mauds in America.

Chartbook ā€¢ 329 implied HN points ā€¢ 28 Feb 26
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. The US natural gas industry is increasingly built around exports, which strongly shapes its business strategy and political influence.
  2. A major discussion revisits Keynesian economics and assesses how Keynesā€™s ideas matter for current policy debates.
  3. There is growing focus on coalitions pushing decarbonization and on the situation of the remaining entities referred to as the "last Mauds" in America.

Yesterdayā€™s War

Doomberg ā€¢ 5706 implied HN points ā€¢ 11 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Attacks on tankers carrying Russian oil aim to cut Moscowā€™s war revenue, but theyā€™re hard to enforce and provoke political and legal backlash from other countries.
  2. The strikes and sanctions have already driven up warā€‘risk insurance and shipping costs sharply, raising logistics bills for everyone and likely pushing global commodity prices higher.
  3. Fully blocking seaborne exports probably wonā€™t crush Russia because producers can offset lost volume with higher prices and alternate routes, meaning the economic pain may fall on global consumers rather than on Moscow.

Alberta Unstuck

Doomberg ā€¢ 6383 implied HN points ā€¢ 03 Dec 25
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Trade
  1. A new energy deal between Alberta and Ottawa aims to boost oil exports, marking a significant change in Canadian energy policy.
  2. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has decided to suspend emissions caps and support a pipeline to help Alberta's oil reach Asian markets.
  3. This shift in policy is seen as a major move in global oil and gas flows, potentially impacting international markets soon.

Has the Chinese government figured out the fact that GPUs ā‰  AGI?

Marcus on AI ā€¢ 6165 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Dec 25
šŸ•¹ Technology Trade
  1. China is holding back on buying Nvidia H200 GPUs, which suggests they may recognize that more GPU hardware doesn't automatically mean AGI.
  2. Loading up on expensive AI infrastructure now could be premature because hardware and approaches can quickly become outdated or lose value, so hoarding chips might not pay off.
  3. The first country to appreciate that GPUs ā‰  AGI could gain a major strategic and economic advantage in the next phase of AI development.

They've Got You Buying and Selling

Bet On It ā€¢ 392 implied HN points ā€¢ 26 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. Modern protectionism is inconsistent and ad hoc: it attacks both buying from foreigners and selling to them depending on which group complains, rather than following a clear principle.
  2. Exports like housing, tourism, and energy can raise local prices and spark backlash, but that same price effect would apply to any export, so singling out certain sales is arbitrary.
  3. Trade is a form of technology that creates abundance and overall gains, and since progress always hurts some people, the wiser response is to boost production and help the losers rather than block trade.

Top Links 1021 Asia as manufacturing hub. Revaluing the RMB. Golf in DC & Endgame.

Chartbook ā€¢ 400 implied HN points ā€¢ 22 Feb 26
šŸ’° Finance Trade
  1. Manufacturing employment is rising across Asia and the Pacific, reinforcing the region's role as a global manufacturing hub.
  2. There is renewed focus on revaluing the RMB, a development that could shift trade balances and international financial flows.
  3. Coverage also highlights political and cultural pieces like "Golf in DC" and "Endgame," pointing to debates about power, influence, and the dynamics of contemporary politics.

Op-ed in Foreign Policy: ā€˜Made in Americaā€™ Should Accept Chinese Investment

Pekingnology ā€¢ 98 implied HN points ā€¢ 17 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Trade
  1. The U.S. should allow tightly constrained Chinese investment that protects national security through legal ringfencing, governance safeguards, robust audits, and a clear link to American production and jobs.
  2. Broadly excluding Chinese participation is counterproductive and inconsistent with other U.S. economic goals, because it raises costs, slows manufacturing scale-up, and conflicts with efforts that deepen Chinaā€™s reliance on U.S. supply.
  3. Policy should use a precise risk test focused on control or privileged data access, favor structured partnerships and minority stakes with governance concessions, and press Beijing to make data-security rules legible and enforceable to enable limited cooperation.

Closed Loop

Doomberg ā€¢ 6214 implied HN points ā€¢ 19 Nov 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. China is investing heavily in coal-to-liquids technology to reduce reliance on foreign oil and improve energy security. They are developing facilities that convert coal into fuels and chemicals, which is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
  2. There is a booming sector in coal-to-gas production in China, which aims to increase energy independence despite global natural gas being cheaper and more abundant. This focus on coal-derived natural gas has economic and environmental concerns.
  3. China is also making strides in nuclear energy with a new thorium-based reactor, potentially leading to a new source of energy. This aims to enhance their energy resources and reduce dependence on external supplies.

Japan and the Birth of Modern Shipbuilding

Construction Physics ā€¢ 29020 implied HN points ā€¢ 22 May 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. Japan learned from America's efficient shipbuilding methods used during WWII, which helped them build ships faster and cheaper after the war.
  2. Japanese shipbuilders improved their processes by incorporating prefabrication and aircraft manufacturing techniques, leading to more efficient construction.
  3. Government support and a strong desire to succeed were crucial for Japan's shipbuilding industry's growth, allowing it to become a world leader.

šŸŽ“ On the origins of the merchant class

Obsidian Iceberg ā€¢ 59 implied HN points ā€¢ 24 Oct 24
šŸ’¾ History Trade
  1. Merchants used to work for kings and leaders, getting luxury goods for them. Over time, trade changed to focus on profit rather than just serving powerful rulers.
  2. As trade expanded, merchants started catering to smaller clients. This shift led to more diverse trading networks and a wider variety of goods available.
  3. Cities grew as places of commerce, not just government. Instead of being mainly for rulers, urban areas became important for trade and economic activity.

China's industrial policy has an unprofitability problem

Noahpinion ā€¢ 22412 implied HN points ā€¢ 20 Jun 25
šŸ’¼ Business Trade
  1. China's industrial policy is pushing many manufacturers to compete heavily for a limited domestic market. This competition is driving down profit margins as companies fight for customers.
  2. Despite heavy government support and subsidies, many Chinese manufacturers are struggling with profitability and facing price wars that could lead to bankruptcies. This creates a risk of economic instability.
  3. The focus on making more products instead of better ones can hurt innovation. Companies under financial pressure might not invest in long-term improvements and could rely on cheap prices to sell their goods.