And not a drop to drink
The US, NATO, Russia, Central Asia, Syria, and The Philippines.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UNITED STATES. Trump warns of liquidity as Americans go hungry.
NATO. RUSSIA. Between Moscow and Washington, Brussels gets bolder.
CENTRAL ASIA. The region finds a new reason for relevance.
SYRIA. Sharaa plays for multi-alignment but risks overstepping.
THE PHILIPPINES. Marcos faces renewed threats in Tino’s wake.
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UNITED STATES. The tide goes out
Trump warns of liquidity as Americans go hungry.
Donald Trump said the US “has to remain very liquid” to respond to unforeseen challenges after a Rhode Island district judge ordered the administration to fully fund food stamps for 42 million by Friday. The White House quickly appealed.
INTELLIGENCE. The comment was about an estimated $9 billion in funding for November, equivalent to merely three days’ worth of federal government interest repayments. Yet Trump’s response may be a tell of just how dire the US balance sheet has become. While the Treasury, with still the reserve currency, can theoretically issue its way out of any crisis, seldom has its sovereign looked more akin to an emerging market, at least in terms of political economy.
FOR BUSINESS. The news came amid further share market falls and signs of heat leaving the tech sector. While Tesla awarded its CEO a $1 trillion conditional compensation package, leaked reports suggested that 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenues came from ads for scams or illegal goods (amid separate estimates that $30 billion in infrastructure debt may be hidden in special purpose vehicles). Meta and Tesla rank 7th and 8th by market cap, respectively.
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NATO. RUSSIA. The tide turns
Between Moscow and Washington, Brussels gets bolder.
NATO’s Mark Rutte said the West was “turning the tide” in ammunition production Thursday, having closed the gap with Russia. Flights were diverted in Belgium after a second round of drone sightings following a similar scare in Gothenburg.
INTELLIGENCE. As per previous incidents, Russia has been blamed, though publicly