In the Blind Spot: Exorbitant privilege as a service
SNEAK PEEK — The risky attempt to transition from an era where America provided the world with liquidity for free to one where access to the dollar is a premium service. — U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent provides some more clues about how a U.S. sovereign wealth fund might work. — Ask not what the […]
In the Blind Spot: A Balkan black box
SNEAK PEEK — What’s going on in Serbia and the Republica Srprska? Dear subscribers, Dario here. It turns out that admitting my deficiencies is a superpower. Because this week, it has allowed me to dive into the mysteriously parallel events in Serb-speaking land: the Serbian protests and the arrest warrant for the President of the […]
In the Blind Spot: The incoming ‘Trump Pump’
SNEAK PEEK — Still struggling to understand what the great Trumpian economic restructuring is all about? Think reverse ESG. — It’s not a tariff on money. It’s Regulation Q in reverse. — We ask what role private military contractors will play in a Ukraine peace deal Happy Saturday subscribers! We’ve spent some time this […]
It’s not ‘Military Keynesianism’, it’s ‘Military Thatcherism’
“Surplus production provokes a destructive backlash that precludes civilization for societies that do not have, or cannot build, defense capabilities. Yet, an optimal first public choice offers a resolution to the paradox of civilization along two paths. One is being twice-lucky in terms of growth and defense capabilities. The other is to create artificial defense […]
In the Blind Spot: Europe’s rearmament that isn’t
SNEAK PEEK — Why Europe should be pursuing a different type of rearmament. Dear subscribers: Dario here. I have to be upfront about my deficiencies. With things moving so quickly, it’s hard to keep up and analyse the goings-on. I’ve never felt more stupid than in the first three months of 2025. But that […]
The DSR: A Bretton Woods for War?
A coalition of former NATO officials, European defense leaders, and financial elites is pushing for the creation of a Defense, Security, and Resilience (DSR) Bank. This is a proposed £100 billion military finance institution designed to underwrite Western defense spending. Styled as an IMF for war, the DSR Bank would issue AAA-rated bonds to raise […]
In the Blind Spot: A controlled demolition of U.S. stock prices
SNEAK PEEK — The Mar-a-Lago Accord as a pathway to a new global order and a renewed trust pact centered on the idea of “mutual assured narrative collapse” theory. — Why Trump’s ‘tariff talk’ seeks to emulate China’s ultimate inequality-check mechanism (aka its tendency to use regulatory threats to burst financial bubbles before they […]
In the Blind Spot: Mutual liberation syndrome
SNEAK PEEK — A renewed bid to help Ukraine get its hands on €300 billion of frozen Russian assets may embolden Zelensky to go it alone with only EU support. — When both sides think they’re saving the other. The skeleton key to understanding global markets is that nobody can agree on who is […]
In the Blind Spot: Watch out, Morocco
SNEAK PEEK — Why Trump may secretly love what he openly pretends to hate about Zelensky. — How the firewall that protects American citizens can only be upheld by dismantling America’s dirty tricks empire and replacing it with an open empire. — Why Morocco is more fragile than you think. Dear subscribers: Dario here. Is it just […]
In the Blind Spot: Memecoin philanthropy and the Mar-a-Lago Accord
Dear Subscribers, Izzy here. Writing from “burnout leave”. Dario is holding the fort for now, but I am acutely conscious that subscribers have only had one properly drafted newsletter from me this year. I just wanted to reassure you all that I will be back in normal operating mode the first weekend of March. Until […]
