The global economy has moved past what my reVue co-editor Eric Huang calls the “Great Re-Entry” after the pandemic, and into a period of New Gravity. Geopolitics is no longer a peripheral variable; it is a weight, a gravitational force that now shapes trade flows, investment cycles, and technological frontiers.
Today’s overwhelming re-election of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi marks a decisive turning point in Japan’s post-war political trajectory. Xi Jinping cannot be happy with this result. It reflects the world’s fourth-largest economy’s clear alignment with the United States in building an alliance-based industrial policy. For global markets, it signals that supply chain realignment to reduce dependence on China will accelerate. As Scott Bessent just said in reaction to the election results, “When Japan is strong, the US is strong in Asia.”
The complex interplay of these factors, combined with unprecedented monetary and fiscal conditions around the world, is producing a rocky recalibration in markets. At one point last week all asset prices fell at once, only to whipsaw back again and achieve new highs. The news cycle, including concerns over impending kinetic conflict with Iran, is making it almost impossible to look past the near term in order to make long term decisions. Does Prime Minister Takaichi’s super-majority victory makes conflict over Taiwan more or less likely?
At econVue, our aim is to provide clarity. In this issue of reVue, you will find articles, podcasts, and panel discussions that bring evidence, experience, and unconventional questions, to keep you both grounded and informed. Our experts covered an extraordinary range, from Europe to China’s health care system, from silver to AI to Iran, stablecoins, energy security, and risks to US Treasuries from unlikely quarters such as Taiwanese insurance companies. These developments are not unconnected; they are part of a new geopolitical landscape in formation.
There is no shortage of spectacle this weekend, from the 2026 Winter Olympics to Super Bowl LX, an event of special significance for me. In 1986, I bought the rights and produced the first broadcast of the Super Bowl on China Central Television, a symbol of US-China engagement at its most optimistic. It was a time when barriers were routinely broken, not built.
As I wrote recently, the arc of China’s economic trajectory over the past four decades since that first Super Bowl has been breathtaking. Politics, however, does matter, as well as do the basic laws of economics, and gravity inevitably reasserts itself. As individuals, we cannot change this environment; what matters is how we navigate it.
–𝓁𝓎𝓇𝒾𝒸 💬
Editor-in-Chief
About re:Vue
re:Vue is all our newsletters condensed into one convenient, unobtrusive e-mail, prefaced by our editorial commentary. You can select exactly which econVue newsletters you receive or omit, including this one, at any time in your econVue account..: Stories in ↪ re:Vue
↪: Now on econVue 🔈
1.:
🎧 THE HALE REPORT™ ⸱ Episode 75
David Marsh-Why This Conversation Matters Now→
Hosted by LYRIC HUGHES HALE ⸱ NOV 23, 2025
Our guest for Episode 75 of The Hale Report™ is David Marsh, journalist, historian, and OMFIF chairman. He discusses his new book, Can Europe Survive? (Yale University Press, November 11), arguing that Europe has entered a “deciding window” where the EU’s unstable “halfway status” must be resolved. Otherwise, stagnation, deepening Franco-German tensions, and marginalization in the U.S.–China rivalry could leave the continent as a mere supplicant. 💬
2.:
🎧 THE HALE REPORT™ ⸱ Episode 76
Ruby Wang-China’s Health Care System→
Hosted by LYRIC HUGHES HALE ⸱ DEC 31, 2025
Our guest for Episode 76 of The Hale Report™ is Dr. Ruby Wang, founder of Lintris Health and global health strategist. She examines China’s healthcare system—its fast digital shift, structural weaknesses, and what it shows about state capacity and an aging society. Dr. Wang argues that China’s health landscape is now a vital lens for global risk, biotech progress, and societal trust. 💬
↪: 👥 PANEL RECAPS (AI, Stablecoins & Iran)
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NOV 18, 2025 →AI & the Contest for Critical Resources
↳ Panelists: ERIC HUANG, KARIM PAKRAVAN, MARK ROEDER, ELEANOR HUGHES
Moderated by: Lyric Hughes Hale, Editor-in-Chief, econVue
On Nov 18, 2025, EconVue convened experts from Washington, Sydney, Taipei, and Chicago to examine the physical foundations of the global economy at a moment when globalization is giving way to mobilization. The discussion explored AI’s massive physical footprint, mineral dependence, and the Middle East’s emerging role in the supply chain.💬
🔑 Key Takeaways
AI is physical: Its infrastructure demands vast energy, land, minerals, and capital.
The Bottleneck: Minerals—not technology—are the primary constraint for electrification.
The Nuclear Pivot: Uranium is returning to the center of strategic planning.
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JAN 7, 2026 →Stablecoins: The View from Chicago
↳ Panelists: GINA PIETERS,KARIM PAKRAVAN, COLLIN CANRIGHT
Moderated by: Lyric Hughes Hale, Editor-in-Chief, econVue
On Jan 7, 2026, EconVue convened leading thinkers in Chicago to examine one of the most consequential financial innovations of our time: the transition of stablecoins from the crypto fringe to systemic infrastructure.💬
🔑 Key Takeaways
The US Treasury Market: Issuers like Tether and Circle now hold massive portfolios of safe assets, influencing market yields and systemic footprints.
The Value Proposition: Faster payments—challenging legacy SWIFT and ACH systems with real-time settlement both domestically and abroad.
The Chicago Role: Chicago’s ecosystem of exchanges and the Federal Reserve make it a unique hub in the future of money.
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JAN 19, 2026 → Iran’s Impossible Trade-offs
↳ Panelists: KARIM PAKRAVAN, NARIMON SAFAVI, KAVEH EHSANI, KAVEH MIRANI
Moderated by: Lyric Hughes Hale, Editor-in-Chief, econVue
On January 19, 2026, econVue convened a Chicago-based group of economists, commentators, and social scientists to analyze Iran’s impossible trade-offs as war looms and events unfold in the Middle East—grounded in political economy, sanctions constraints, and regional security dynamics.💬
🔑 Key Takeaways
Political Economy Over Ideology: Elite incentives and state-linked wealth networks are primary constraints for any transition.
Active Sanctions: External pressure is not a background condition but an active force reshaping internal class structures and incentives.
The Achilles’ Heel: Economic deterioration is the ultimate system constraint across all scenarios.
↪: Latest articles
6.:
§ Tech & AI
MARK ROEDER ⸱ JAN 16, 2026
Editor’s note: This article is part of the Hale Strategic Resources Initiative’s work on critical infrastructure, economic resilience, and national capacity in an era of technological disruption. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across essential systems, questions of ownership, governance, and long-term sovereignty increasingly mirror those faced in energy, supply chains, and security. 💬
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§ Conflict
LYRIC HUGHES HALE ⸱ FEB 2, 2026
In November 2025, the US added silver to its critical minerals list for its key role in solar, EVs, electronics, and defense, amid extreme price volatility showing possible liquidity stress. China’s heavy dependence on imported silver gives the US a strategic chance to counter other mineral vulnerabilities by securing supplies from Peru, Mexico, and Canada, boosting recycling, and creating modest stockpiles.💬
8.:
§ Tech & AI
Mind the Regulatory Gap in Stablecoins→
KARIM PAKRAVAN ⸱ JAN 16, 2026
Stablecoins have shifted from the crypto fringes to the heart of global finance, holding massive sovereign debt and integrating into mainstream payments. The critical challenge now is whether regulators can bridge the governance gap before this unregulated hybrid system triggers a systemic monetary crisis.💬
9.:
§ Regional
China’s Economic Splashdown: A Year-End Reflection→
LYRIC HUGHES HALE ⸱ DEC 25, 2025
China and the US are prioritizing national security over growth, shifting from hyper-globalization to a deliberate "controlled deceleration." This "splashdown" phase driven by debt and demographics leaves one critical question: will diplomacy manage the descent, or are the world’s two largest economies on a collision course? 💬
10.:
§ Tech & AI
Tokenization and the Future of Money→
KARIM PAKRAVAN ⸱ DEC 18, 2025
Tokenization collapses messaging and settlement into one programmable step, enabling faster and cheaper global payments. As stablecoins evolve into narrow banks holding massive Treasury reserves without a lender of last resort, they mirror the fragility of 19th-century banking. Their success depends on achieving singleness and institutional trust as they merge with traditional finance.💬
11.:
§ Regional
LYRIC HUGHES HALE and ⸱ERIC HUANG DEC 11, 2025
Taiwan’s life insurers hold ~$700 billion in US assets, creating a dangerous feedback loop. Geopolitical tension typically strengthens the New Taiwan Dollar, forcing these heavily leveraged insurers to sell US Treasuries to cover currency hedging losses. This mechanism effectively turns Taiwan’s private sector into a global margin account, where regional shocks can instantly trigger a worldwide liquidity crisis.💬 See the interview about this article with Ed D’Agostino on Mauldin Economics: The $800 Billion “Margin Call” That Could Crash the Bond Market.
12.:
§ Regional
KARIM PAKRAVAN ⸱ NOV 24, 2025
The 1945 energy for security pact is evolving as the Gulf leverages cheap energy and sovereign wealth to become global AI hubs. Through landmark 2025 deals, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are pivoting from oil to data exports. By targeting 10% of global compute by the 2030s, they are establishing physical AI infrastructure as the new cornerstone of national security. 💬
🖊️ Vue⫶𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓼
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⬆️ Registration Link to this free NABE Chicago event
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↪: What econVue’s reading ✁
→ CFR
The Next Taiwan Crisis Won’t Be Like the Last ↗
DAVID SACKS and PAUL STARES⸱ DEC, 2025
A Taiwan conflict could spark a regional war involving Japan and the Philippines. Triggers in the South China Sea or Korean Peninsula may ignite fighting without warning. Because U.S. defensive moves look like intervention to Beijing, they could invite preemptive strikes. Rapid escalation in cyber and space could turn this local crisis into a $10 trillion global disaster. 💬
Enjoy the game! Even if the Bears did not make it this time.
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