LunarWeavePakistan Got Bigger. Its Neighbours Got Richer.
Pakistan added 105 million people after 2000 while India and Bangladesh overtook it on real income per person.
Research — Page 10
Standalone, data-led research into the questions behind the news.
Solar Has Already Passed US Coal On The Grid
IRENA capacity shows US solar already larger than coal, with wind close behind; generation through 2023 still has coal ahead of wind and solar while gas is the largest source, and coal-minin
A 3 Percent World Is A Slowdown, Not A Slump
The IMF’s 2026 world-growth projection of 3.06 percent is a 0.39-point step down from 2025, near the long-run typical pace, with an $82 oil assumption below 2022.
The 3 Percent World Is Still Asia’s Expansion
The IMF’s 3 percent 2026 world-growth figure is a slower, Asia-weighted expansion under an $80 average Brent assumption — not a 2008-style oil-shock recession.
The AI Boom Is Not A US Chip-Factory Hiring Boom
US semiconductor manufacturing payrolls were 180,300 in June 2026, near the 2017 low, even as software and cloud jobs stayed well above 2019.
AI Data Centres Are Arriving On Grids That Were Not Expanding
IRENA generation data through 2023 show UK electricity output down 23 percent from 2010 and US output barely higher, even as AI data-centre projects promise renewable power.
The United States Is Still Larger Than China In Dollars. Its Budget Deficit Is The Outlier.
IMF accounts show the US–China dollar-GDP gap widened after 2019, while the United States ran the largest general-government deficit among large economies in 2024.
Germany’s Economy Is No Larger Than It Was In 2019
IMF growth rates show Germany uniquely contracted in 2023 and 2024, leaving real GDP essentially where it was in 2019.
Iran’s New Leader Inherits The Worst Slump Since The Iran-Iraq War
IMF estimates put Iran’s 2026 real-GDP contraction at 6.1 percent — worse than the 2010s sanctions years and the steepest since 1988 — as Mojtaba Khamenei inherits the economy after his fath
The Rest Of The U.S. Job Market Has Been Shrinking
Later BLS payroll data show June 2026’s job gain shrinking to 20,000, with health care and social assistance more than accounting for it, while the rest of U.S. payrolls have been declining
Before The Rubble: Venezuela’s Economy Had Already Shrunk By Two-Thirds
IMF figures show Venezuela entered the 2026 earthquakes with real output still only 31 percent of its 2013 level, 4 million fewer people, and a gutted tax take.
