Editorial desk

Outspoken Digest Global Markets Desk

Reports for The Outspoken Digest across Business.

Stories by Outspoken Digest Global Markets Desk

Business

The US Government Now Owes $40 Trillion, and Its Answer Was to Start Buying Back Its Own Bonds

Gross federal debt crossed forty trillion dollars on 18 August. Two days later the Treasury said it would more than double its repurchases of long-dated bonds. Yields fell, gold rose, bitcoin ran, and the underlying arithmetic did not change.

Aug 22, 2026/4 min read

The Treasury Building in Washington DC, headquarters of the US Department of the Treasury

Business

The Strait of Hormuz Has Been Shut for Almost Six Months. Oil Is at $93, Not $200, and That Gap Is the Story.

A potential war is the wrong frame. Fighting began on 28 February and the strait closed on 4 March. The economic damage is real and measurable, and it is far smaller than the forecasts issued in the first month, for reasons worth understanding.

Aug 22, 2026/5 min read

Satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Musandam Peninsula

Business

Saudi Arabia and US EXIM Sign a $15 Billion Understanding

The kingdom's sovereign fund and America's export credit agency have agreed a memorandum worth up to fifteen billion dollars. What it is not is a committed investment.

Aug 6, 2026/4 min read

Two document folders and pens on a boardroom table

Business

World Trade Is Breaking Records, but Prices Are Doing Too Much of the Work

Goods and services trade added about $2 trillion in the first half of 2026. Much of the rise reflects higher prices, leaving a more uneven volume story underneath.

Aug 2, 2026/2 min read

Container ships and cranes operating at a major international port