Morning Edition · Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Macro
OECD Puts 2026 Global Growth at 2.9% and Credits AI Spending for Absorbing the Energy Shock
The forecast arrives a week after the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate, and the OECD names higher sovereign bond yields and weak returns on artificial-intelligence investment as the main risks to its own numbers.
Macro
US Secondary Sanctions on Iranian Airlines Take Effect, With Dollar Access as the Enforcement Tool
Turkey, Iraq, Oman and Azerbaijan have suspended flights to and from Iran, while Russia and China say their aviation links with Tehran remain lawful and will continue.
Geopolitics
Xi Jinping Flies to Washington for His First White House Visit in 11 Years
Hours before departure, Elon Musk told Chinese state television that Xi is "a great leader," and technology chief executives are expected at the state dinner on Thursday.
Markets
Trump Threatens to "Annihilate" Iran at the United Nations as Brent Crude Falls Toward $98
Tehran promises a crushing response to any attack, offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the blockade on its oil exports ends, and the European Union's top diplomat presses for free passage.
Crypto
BitMEX Halts Trading After 11 Years as Bitcoin Holds Near $86,000
The exchange that popularised perpetual futures closed at 04:00 UTC on Wednesday and left withdrawals open, while wallets tied to the FTX estate moved $75 million of ether to a market maker.
Geopolitics
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan Demand Security Council Reform as Guterres Calls Africa's Exclusion Indefensible
A senior Russian lawmaker responded that abolishing the veto would be a tragic error, marking the divide between the states that want the 1945 structure changed and the ones that hold its privileges.
Tech
Beijing Pushes Back as Chinese Carmakers Diversify Away From CATL Batteries
A publication under the industry ministry called market talk of "de-CATLisation" an overreaction after the battery maker's shares fell, while Hong Kong pulled forward the start of a supercomputing hub to mid-2027.
Geopolitics
Kremlin Rules Out an Unprepared Putin-Zelensky Meeting as Both War Budgets Expand
Dmitry Peskov said top-level talks without expert groundwork would waste time, while Kyiv plans to raise funding for its security service by 25 percent and Russian regions report continued attacks.
World
European Commission Moves to Release €4.2 Billion to Hungary Under Its New Government
Ursula von der Leyen cited rule-of-law progress since Peter Magyar became prime minister in May, while about €2 billion stays frozen and member states must still approve the release.
Geopolitics
India Joins a New Middle-Power Bloc as Britain and Indonesia Expand Defence Capability
The Partners for Multilateralism grouping, founded by the European Union with Brazil, Kenya and Canada, held its first session as Britain announced a military space squadron and Indonesia sent Rafale pilots to France.
Geopolitics
Yemeni Government Forces Say They Have Taken Mount Qarfan in Taiz
The claimed capture would disrupt Houthi defensive positions and complicate their advance along the Red Sea coast, where the movement has already seized the port of Mocha.
World
Younger Filipinos Warm to China Even as the Maritime Dispute Continues
Consumer goods, entertainment and business partnerships are moving Southeast Asian opinion in a direction that security confrontations have not reversed, with Indonesian business groups courting Chinese partners in film and short-form drama.