🟢 [E1686] Modern warfare (Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh) shows drones and hypersonics reduce the dominance of traditional naval and air power. Implications: global trade routes less secure, 'just-in-time' shifting to 'just-in-case', higher inventories, higher capital costs, more cyclical volatility.

🟢 [E1638] Despite US outperformance, China may have won the trade war. Trade surplus expanded from ~$250B to ~$1.3T. US tone toward China is softening. RMB has been appreciating.

🟢 [E1608] AI may be disrupting the very companies that benefited most from the 'knowledge economy.' Software and information-based business models have seen major drawdowns. If AI commoditizes knowledge, US equities lose a key pillar of their valuation premium.

🟢 [E1666] Private credit deals have stumbled. Exit timelines are stretched. Fundraising is tougher. Even large PE firms posted negative returns. Less financial engineering means fewer leveraged buyouts, less buyback-driven EPS growth, lower overall risk appetite.