From the archive
Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Eight desks across eight countries. This is a past edition; the figures in it were current the week it was published and have not been updated.
In this edition: eight desks
Geopolitics
The Gulf war ends in a shaky US-Iran deal, the West argues over Ukraine, and the world quietly splits into rival trade blocs. Explained in plain English.
The war that shut the Strait of Hormuz is over, for now. On 14 June, after three and a half months of fighting that began when the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February, Washington and Tehran agreed to stop and to reopen the strait.
Economics and Finance
What the end of the Strait of Hormuz war did to money, prices and jobs in eight countries, in plain English.
For three and a half months a war in the Gulf had kept the Strait of Hormuz closed. That strait is the narrow sea lane that about one in every five barrels of the world's oil passes through, so shutting it choked global supply and sent the oil price soaring. On 14 June the United States and Iran agreed to stop fighting and reopen it.
Stocks and Markets
A peace-deal rally pushes US stocks near a record and Japan past 70,000 for the first time. What the numbers mean, in plain English.
When the Gulf war ended on 14 June, money celebrated. A relief rally swept the world's stock markets, which simply means prices jumped now that a big danger had passed. America's S&P 500, the main scoreboard of 500 large US companies, climbed back near a record. Japan's market briefly passed 70,000 points for the first time ever.
Crypto and Web3
Bitcoin steadies near 66,000, but the real story is the quiet rise of digital dollars and the rules now landing on crypto. In plain English.
Crypto steadied this week as the wider mood lifted. Bitcoin, the original and largest cryptocurrency (a digital coin that no government issues), held near 66,000 dollars after a rough stretch. The same peace deal and falling dollar that lifted ordinary stocks gave crypto a small bounce too. But the real story in crypto right now is not the bitcoin price.
Tech and Internet
A government pulls an AI model off the market, the AI build-out runs into a power wall, and the global internet keeps splitting apart. Explained in plain English, plus a look at the future.
The biggest technology story this week was a first: a government reached in and pulled a powerful artificial-intelligence model off the market in real time.
Health Advances
A bumper week for new medicines, against a busy danger board led by an Ebola emergency. Explained in plain English.
It was a heavy week for medical news, and most of it was genuinely good. A new weight-loss drug helped people lose about 28 percent of their body weight in a large trial, close to what surgery achieves. A simple pill nearly doubled how long patients with pancreatic cancer survived, a disease that has barely improved in a decade.
Digital Nomads
The cheap-and-easy era is ending and a more regulated one is taking its place. Visas, the best and worst places, where to set up a company, and the week's news.
This is a new weekly desk for people who work from wherever they want. The short version of mid-2026: the golden age of cheap, easy nomad life is over, and a more grown-up, more regulated version is taking its place.
Popular and Social Signal
Light by design: the World Cup shocks, the Knicks end a 53-year wait, Zverev finally wins a major, a record-breaking music biopic, and a farewell to David Hockney.
This section stays light by design, the handful of things worth knowing for the room. It was a busy fortnight in sport and culture: a World Cup opening with an upset, two long-awaited titles, a record-breaking music film, and the loss of one of the world's most-loved painters.