Fed Chair Powell says raising wages is the key to solving the cost-of-living crisis. However, the job market has stalled, pay growth is slowing, and rising tariffs threaten to reignite inflation, which could erase any wage gains. The path to affordability remains unclear. https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/15/economy/affordability-jobs-inflation #usa #economy #uspol

Three years after a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed from the waist down, a patient has become the first person in China to receive a brain-computer interface implant billed under the country’s new national pricing scheme. The procedure was performed at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, where surgeons implanted a device designed to link neural signals to hand movement and sensory function. The surgery cost 6,552 yuan ($925), fully covered by research funding.

#SixthTone

China Performs First Brain Implant Procedure Under State Pricing

A patient has received a brain implant to help with hand function, the first BCI procedure billed through China’s new regulated pricing system.

#china #tech

China proposes an "ElectroYuan" strategy: using its green tech dominance (solar, EVs) to make the yuan the world's primary currency for financing the energy transition. This offers the Global South cheaper loans and technology, but risks creating new dependencies and intensifying geopolitical competition with the West.

APRI

The Petrodollar vs. the Electroyuan

Is the Electroyuan set to replace the Petrodollar? This article unpacks the global shift in power and finance as clean energy rises and climate goa...

#china #technology #cleanenergy

VW gears up for first production closure in Germany in its 88-year history.

Client Challenge

#europe #economy #germany

No 'out-of-pocket expenses' for childbirth in China from 2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/no-out-of-pocket-expenses-childbirth-china-2026-2025-12-15 #china