AI Summary. A rapid rise in long-term US Treasury yields has highlighted vulnerabilities elsewhere, notably France, where risks are elevated. Because France is in the euro zone, any crisis there would extend to the currency area, and European stocks have sold off alongside a weakening euro.

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The spread between 10-year French OATs and German Bunds is pricing a second eurozone sovereign-debt crisis. Authers suggests that the recent surge in US long-term yields has “shone a light” on France’s fiscal weakness, raising its salience to investors.

Do rising US long-term yields expose vulnerabilities in Europe?

Core argument: The speed of the rise in US long-term Treasury yields has raised the risk of dislocations elsewhere, with France a point of elevated vulnerability that would extend to the rest of the euro zone.

The speed of [the upward move in US long yields] brought the risk of dislocations elsewhere, like in France. Much as a surprising hawkish shift from the Fed under Alan Greenspan in 1994 revealed underlying weaknesses in the Mexican financial system that led to the Tequila Crisis, so this Treasury scare has shone a light on where the world’s greatest vulnerabilities are to be found. As France is part of the euro zone, any crisis must naturally extend to the rest of the currency area, at a time when most of its members are moving in a nationalist direction and likely reluctant to help. That is beginning to have an impact on stocks. The main European bourses sold off even as US equities rallied on Thursday. In combination with a weakening euro, the continent’s stocks have now given up almost all their gains since Trump took office.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The speed of the rise in US long-term Treasury yields has raised the risk of dislocations elsewhere, with France a point of elevated vulnerability that would extend to the rest of the euro zone.
  2. The Treasury scare echoes the Fed’s surprising hawkish shift under Alan Greenspan in 1994, which revealed weaknesses in Mexico’s financial system and led to the Tequila Crisis.
  3. Europe’s main bourses sold off even as US equities rallied, and combined with a weakening euro, the continent’s stocks have given up almost all their gains since Trump took office.

AI Summary. The Institute of International Finance reports global debt as a share of output rose less than 10 percentage points between 2018 and mid-2026, peaking at 337% in early 2021 before falling 27 percentage points by the end of 2023. Inflation eroded the debt burden, as it did in the UK after the Second World War.

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Wolf notes that the global debt-to-GDP ratio rose by less than 10pp btw 2018 and June 2026: after peaking at 337% in early 2021, it fell by 27pp by the end of 2023, as inflation boosted nominal GDP and eroded the value of existing debt.

Does inflation reduce the global debt burden?

Core argument: IIF data show the global debt-to-output ratio reached a post-Covid peak of 337% in early 2021 before falling by 27 percentage points by the end of 2023, with inflation identified as the force that eroded it.

The IIF shows that between 2018 and June 2026, the rise in the ratio of global debt to output was less than 10 percentage points. The story is striking: the ratio reached a post-Covid peak of 337% in early 2021, before falling by 27 percentage points by the end of 2023. What was this magical “debt-buster”? Good old-fashioned (and supposedly “unexpected”) inflation. This is — to put it mildly — not the first time inflation has wiped out debt. It was, to take one of countless examples, an important part of the UK’s elimination of its post-second-world-war debt. For countries able to print the money in which their debt is denominated, that is often what happens.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. IIF data show the global debt-to-output ratio reached a post-Covid peak of 337% in early 2021 before falling by 27 percentage points by the end of 2023, with inflation identified as the force that eroded it.
  2. Between 2018 and June 2026, the IIF shows the ratio of global debt to output rose by less than 10 percentage points.
  3. Inflation has wiped out debt before, forming an important part of the UK’s elimination of its post-second-world-war debt, and often does so for countries able to print the currency in which their debt is denominated.

AI Summary. The Congressional Budget Office projects that if interest rates rose to 1 percentage point above its baseline, federal debt held by the public would reach 222% of GDP by 2056, 47 percentage points above baseline, with primary deficits averaging 2.3% of GDP and annual growth 0.1 percentage point slower.

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If interest rates rise 1pp above CBO’s current extended baseline (a mean rate of 4% over 2026–2056), CBO projects federal debt held by the public will be 222% of GDP in 2056, versus 175% under the current baseline.

How much would higher interest rates raise projected federal debt?

Core argument: CBO projects that under a scenario in which interest rates rise to 1 percentage point above its extended baseline, debt held by the public would reach 222% of GDP in fiscal year 2056, 47 percentage points above the extended baseline.

Under a scenario in which interest rates increased until they were 1 percentage point higher than in CBO’s extended baseline, primary deficits—that is, deficits excluding net outlays for interest—would average 2.3% of GDP over the 2026–2056 period, 0.2 percentage points larger than in the extended baseline. Debt held by the public would grow to 222 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2056, 47 percentage points larger than in the extended baseline. Average annual GDP growth over the 2026–2056 period would be 0.1 percentage point slower than in CBO’s extended baseline, and the average interest rate on federal debt would be 0.7 percentage points higher.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. CBO projects that under a scenario in which interest rates rise to 1 percentage point above its extended baseline, debt held by the public would reach 222% of GDP in fiscal year 2056, 47 percentage points above the extended baseline.
  2. Primary deficits, which exclude net outlays for interest, would average 2.3% of GDP over 2026–2056 in CBO’s higher-interest-rate scenario, 0.2 percentage points larger than in its extended baseline.
  3. Under CBO’s higher-interest-rate scenario, average annual GDP growth over 2026–2056 would be 0.1 percentage point slower and the average interest rate on federal debt 0.7 percentage points higher than in its extended baseline.

AI Summary. Because investors can buy bonds across borders, an investment boom in one country such as the United States can draw in loanable funds from abroad and push up interest rates in other nations. The linkage is not one-for-one, since investors also weigh expected exchange-rate changes and the resulting capital gains or losses.

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The nominal 10-year Treasury yield is ~ where it was during the mid-2000s housing boom, but below its level during the late-1990s and early-2000s technology boom. Krugman asks, “If we’re now looking at an even bigger investment boom, why wouldn’t we expect to see interest rates at least that high?”

Does an investment boom in one country raise interest rates abroad?

Core argument: Because investors can buy bonds across borders, an investment boom in the United States draws loanable funds from other nations and pushes their interest rates up as well.

Investors can buy bonds across borders, so an investment boom in the United States can draw in loanable funds from other nations and drive up their interest rates. The international linkage between interest rates isn’t always one-for-one. That’s mainly because investors deciding which nation’s bonds to buy don’t just look at interest rates -- they also take into account expected changes in exchange rates. For example, there was a sharp rise in U.S. interest rates in the early 1980s that was only partially matched by a rise in German rates. The reason was that this was also a period of an extremely strong dollar, which many investors believed (correctly) would prove temporary. So German investors buying U.S. bonds had to set the high interest rates they could earn against the capital losses they were likely to experience when the dollar came back to earth.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Because investors can buy bonds across borders, an investment boom in the United States draws loanable funds from other nations and pushes their interest rates up as well.
  2. The international linkage between interest rates is not always one-for-one, mainly because investors choosing among nations’ bonds weigh expected exchange rate changes alongside interest rates.
  3. The sharp rise in U.S. interest rates in the early 1980s was only partially matched by German rates, as German investors buying U.S. bonds set high yields against likely capital losses when the strong dollar fell back.

AI Summary. Foreign investors made a record $942bn in net purchases of US stocks and investment fund shares over 12 months, the highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data going back to 1985. Foreign demand for US debt securities moved in the opposite direction, falling to a net $188bn in the second quarter from $314bn in the first.

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Foreign investors bought a record net $426B of US equities and fund shares in Q2, up 62% y/y, part of a record $942B in the 12 months through July. Overseas investors bought a net $188B of US debt securities in Q2, down from $314B in Q1.

Are foreign investors shifting from US debt into US stocks?

Core argument: Foreign investors made a record $942bn in net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares in the 12 months to July, the highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data going back to 1985.

Foreign investors made a record $942bn in net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares in the 12 months to July, accelerating a shift in overseas investment towards American stocks and away from debt. The flows represented the highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data going back to 1985. Net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares by foreign investors jumped to $426bn in the second quarter, up 62% from the same period in 2025, and surpassing the previous quarterly record of $299bn in 2022, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Foreign demand for US debt moved in the opposite direction. Overseas investors bought a net $188bn of US debt securities in the second quarter, down from $314bn in the first.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Foreign investors made a record $942bn in net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares in the 12 months to July, the highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data going back to 1985.
  2. Net foreign purchases of US equities and investment fund shares reached $426bn in the second quarter, up 62% from the same period in 2025 and above the prior quarterly record of $299bn in 2022, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  3. Overseas investors bought a net $188bn of US debt securities in the second quarter, down from $314bn in the first.

AI Summary. Historically, controlling for valuations, a 1% rise in the share of the market represented by initial public offerings has been associated with roughly a 4% decline in prices. With large artificial-intelligence company listings expected and share issuance exceeding buybacks, equity supply could shift from shrinking about 1% a year to growing near 5%, implying returns roughly 20% below average.

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GMO estimates net US equity supply could increase by ~5% or more of total market capitalization over the next year. Inker and Pease note that in 1999–2000, “IPOs peaked at ~5% of total market cap. It doesn’t take much new supply to overwhelm the market.”

How does rising equity supply from new listings affect stock returns?

Core argument: Controlling for valuations, a 1% increase in the market share of IPOs has historically led to an approximate 4% decrease in prices, a multiplier the author applies to a coming surge in equity supply.

Controlling for valuations, a 1% increase in the market share of IPOs has historically led to an approximate 4% decrease in prices [Exhibit 2 in gallery]. Consider what is happening to equity supply. SpaceX’s non-Elon sales alone exceed 1% of the U.S. stock market’s value. We are likely to see IPOs from both Anthropic and OpenAI—together valued at about 5% of the U.S. stock market’s total investable market cap —over the next 12 months. For the first time in twenty years, with the brief exception of the GFC, we are seeing net dilution in the U.S. stock market (i.e., share issuance exceeding share buybacks), as the hyperscalers continue their capital expenditure spree. In aggregate, we are going from a world where equity supply was shrinking by roughly 1% per annum (with buybacks exceeding primary or secondary issuance) to one in which equity supply will be increasing by close to 5%, if not more. If you believe the 4x multiplier [implied by the regression line in Exhibit 2], this means we should expect returns that are some 20% below average (roughly 6% real) over the next 12–18 months from the headwind of rising equity supply alone.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Controlling for valuations, a 1% increase in the market share of IPOs has historically led to an approximate 4% decrease in prices, a multiplier the author applies to a coming surge in equity supply.
  2. U.S. equity supply is shifting from shrinking roughly 1% a year, with buybacks exceeding issuance, to growing close to 5% or more, the first net dilution in twenty years apart from the Global Financial Crisis.
  3. Anthropic and OpenAI, together valued at about 5% of U.S. investable market cap, are likely to go public within 12 months, while SpaceX’s non-Elon sales alone exceed 1% of the U.S. stock market’s value.

AI Summary. The authors estimate roughly 57 gigawatts of operating US data center capacity against a planned development pipeline of about 509 gigawatts, which is not a completion forecast since projects may be delayed, scaled back, or abandoned. Their central scenario has 182.8 gigawatts of added capacity becoming operational through 2032, 117.2 gigawatts completed later, and 226.9 gigawatts never completed.

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Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh projects ~$10.3T will be spent on the AI buildout over 2025–2032, averaging 3.63% of GDP. He estimates 2/3 of that spending reflects IT equipment and one-third real estate and associated power infrastructure.

How much of the planned data center pipeline gets built?

Core argument: Using Cleanview project-level data from July 2026, the authors estimate roughly 57 GW of operating U.S. data center capacity against a planned development pipeline of roughly 509 GW, which they stress is not a completion forecast.

The required investment is enormous. A representative 200 MW AI training campus costs roughly $8.2 billion, about two-thirds of which reflects IT equipment and one-third the real estate and associated power infrastructure. We estimate that 183 GW is completed by 2032 with a further 118 GW completed after 2032. This pipeline will trigger about $10.3 trillion dollars of investment over 2025–2032. At an average of 3.63% of GDP per year, the projected buildout would be larger relative to the economy than the major U.S. canal, railroad, electrification, highway, and telecommunications investment booms. It would double the electricity consumption of the entire U.S. residential sector.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Using Cleanview project-level data from July 2026, the authors estimate roughly 57 GW of operating U.S. data center capacity against a planned development pipeline of roughly 509 GW, which they stress is not a completion forecast.
  2. The authors’ central scenario allocates the announced pipeline so that 182.8 GW of additional U.S. capacity becomes operational during 2025–32, including 19.0 GW tied to projects already operational in 2025 or 2026.
  3. The authors’ scenario has 117.2 GW of planned data center capacity completed after 2032 and 226.9 GW never completed, applying lower realization rates to more distant and less fully documented projects.

AI Summary. China's export boom shows signs of cresting, with year-over-year growth leveling off at roughly 24-27% in US dollar terms, and memory chips now the biggest single swing factor for exports. Total export growth is expected to converge toward the recent trend for non-artificial-intelligence products of about 5-7%.

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Andrew Batson argues that as the memory-chip price cycle’s impact on Chinese export growth fades, export growth in renminbi terms in 2027 “will most likely converge toward the recent trend for products outside the AI complex, which is around 5–7%.”

Is China's export boom leveling off toward slower growth?

Core argument: China’s export growth has leveled off over the past three months at roughly 24–27% year-on-year in US dollar terms and 18–20% in renminbi terms, a sign the export wave is cresting.

China’s latest extraordinary export wave is showing signs of cresting. The headline YoY growth of exports has leveled off over the past three months, staying around 24-27% in US dollar terms and 18-20% in renminbi terms. The boom in exports of products associated with investment in artificial intelligence is certainly not over, but current super-high growth rates will probably slow in coming months. Memory chips are now the biggest single swing factor for exports, and prices for some products have recently leveled off after their massive surge. While the ebb and flow of memory prices is difficult to forecast, growth of total exports in 2027 will most likely converge toward the recent trend for products outside the AI complex, which is around 5-7%. Semiconductor cycles have limited implications for China’s vast range of other exports, which are still very competitive in global markets.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China’s export growth has leveled off over the past three months at roughly 24–27% year-on-year in US dollar terms and 18–20% in renminbi terms, a sign the export wave is cresting.
  2. Memory chips are the biggest single swing factor for China’s exports, with prices for some products leveling off after a massive surge and super-high AI-related growth rates likely to slow in coming months.
  3. Total Chinese export growth in 2027 will most likely converge toward the recent 5–7% trend for products outside the AI complex, which remain very competitive in global markets.