China’s government spending fell short of plans in the budget for the seventh straight year in 2025, giving Beijing more fiscal firepower if the economy comes under pressure. The government spent a total of 40 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) last year under its two main budgets — the general public account and the government-managed fund book , according to Bloomberg calculations based on data relea...
China’s government spending fell short of plans in the budget for the seventh straight year in 2025, giving Beijing more fiscal firepower if the economy comes under pressure. The government spent a total of 40 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) last year under its two main budgets — the general public account and the government-managed fund book , according to Bloomberg calculations based on data released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday. That’s about 5% less than envisaged early last year. The restraint highlights how Beijing is trying to balance support for the economy with efforts to curb local borrowing risks. The last time China spent more than planned was in 2018 during the first trade war with the US during Donald Trump ’s first presidency. Expenditure climbed almost 4% from a year earlier, exceeding broad government revenue by 12.7 trillion yuan — a new record deficit. However, the increase in spending wasn’t fully used to prop up economic growth as a large chunk of the money went toward refinancing off-balance-sheet borrowing by local governments. With exports expected to stay resilient in the months ahead, the government may expand outlays only modestly this year as it struggles to boost revenue while continuing the campaign to defuse concerns about the debt amassed by provinces. Chinese Rebound in Consumer Prices Masks Deflationary Risk Ahead China’s Economic Momentum Weakens Despite Meeting 5% Growth Goal PBOC’s Leanest Year for Easing Since 2021 Defies Wall Street Xi’s Export Machine Gets Lift From US Move to Strongarm Allies Broad spending picked up in the first half of last year as the authorities rushed to prop up domestic demand in anticipation of setbacks to exports from Trump’s tariffs. But expenditure decelerated later into the year — leading investment and consumption to cool — after strong foreign shipments to other markets more than offset a slump in sales to the US. A tariff truce reached with the Trump administration in October further decrea...
What's Worrying Billionaires The Most In 2026? This infographic, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, highlights the factors most likely to negatively impact the global market environment over the next 12 months, based on responses from billionaires across regions. The data for this visualization comes from the UBS Billionaire Survey 2025 . Trade and Geopolitics Dominate Concerns Tariffs rank a...
What's Worrying Billionaires The Most In 2026? This infographic, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, highlights the factors most likely to negatively impact the global market environment over the next 12 months, based on responses from billionaires across regions. The data for this visualization comes from the UBS Billionaire Survey 2025 . Trade and Geopolitics Dominate Concerns Tariffs rank as the top concern overall, cited by 66% of respondents. Close behind, 63% of billionaires point to major geopolitical conflict as a key risk, underscoring fears around wars, regional instability, and great-power rivalry. Policy uncertainty is the third-largest concern, flagged by 59% of respondents. Meanwhile, 44% of billionaires remain worried about higher inflation, indicating that price stability is still not taken for granted after years of elevated inflation across major economies. Regional Differences Reveal Uneven Risk Exposure While global results show common themes, regional differences stand out. In Asia-Pacific, 75% of billionaires cite tariffs as their biggest concern, reflecting the region’s deep integration into global supply chains and export-driven growth models. Meanwhile in the Americas, 70% of respondents are most worried about higher inflation or major geopolitical conflict. Lower-Ranked but Persistent Threats Concerns such as debt crises (34%), higher taxes (28%), and global recessions (27%) still rank meaningfully, though below headline geopolitical risks. Interestingly, technological disruptions (15%) and climate change (14%) appear lower on the list, suggesting that billionaires may view these as longer-term or more manageable challenges compared to immediate political and economic shocks. If you enjoyed today’s post, check out How Balanced Is Economic Growth Within Countries? on Voronoi , the new app from Visual Capitalist. Tyler Durden Fri, 01/30/2026 - 02:45
Key Points Iren announced a deal with Microsoft worth $9.7 billion recently. Applied Digital's backlog grew to $16 billion. Both companies repositioned to capitalize on AI-infrastructure momentum. 10 stocks we like better than Iren › If you're comparing two compelling AI infrastructure companies, you may already have Iren (NASDAQ: IREN) and Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) on your radar. Both stocks...
Key Points Iren announced a deal with Microsoft worth $9.7 billion recently. Applied Digital's backlog grew to $16 billion. Both companies repositioned to capitalize on AI-infrastructure momentum. 10 stocks we like better than Iren › If you're comparing two compelling AI infrastructure companies, you may already have Iren (NASDAQ: IREN) and Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) on your radar. Both stocks experienced meteoric gains recently, but which company is going to be better in the long term for investors? Let's take a closer look at each business. Similar beginnings with diverging paths forward Both Iren and Applied Digital began in the crypto industry but are pivoting to AI and high-performance computing. While their paths and reasons for the reposition are similar, each is taking a different strategy to capture AI-related business. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Originally, Iren owned and operated large-scale data centers specifically for Bitcoin mining purposes. The company understood the fluctuating economics within crypto mining and decided to move into AI data center services. Because Iren can operate in both crypto and high-performance computing, the company retains the unique flexibility to go back and forth depending on demand. Iren's stock is up over 400% in the past 12 months. It does have a high forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 50, and its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is also on the incline, reaching 20 as of Jan. 27. Iren recently secured a $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with Microsoft. It looks as though the company's pivot is paying off, as net income improved from a loss of $51.7 million in the first quarter of last fiscal year to a gain of $384.6 million in Q1 of fiscal 2026. Applied Digital also began in crypto mining but now focuses on building high-performance data centers and offering long-term leases to customers with massive comp...