Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

Climate alarmist turned humanitarian activist Greta Thunberg said Sunday that she’s been “kidnapped” after she and the rest of the crew aboard the The Madleen, a sailboat that’s trying to break Israel’s starvation blockade on Gaza, was intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces.

‘My name is Greta Thunberg and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,” she said. “I urge all my friends, family and colleagues to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me as soon as possible. ”

“My name is Greta Thunberg and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel.” pic.twitter.com/Ku7QILHpfd

— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) June 9, 2025

According to antiwar.com’s Dave Decamp, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to intercept the Madleen earlier on Sunday. DeCamp reported that the boat is carrying 12 civilian activists who are traveling unarmed, including Thunberg.

“I have instructed the IDF to act to ensure that the hate flotilla ‘Madleen’ does not reach the shores of Gaza—and to take all necessary measures to achieve this,” Katz wrote on X, as reported by DeCamp.

“A senior Israeli official told Israel’s Channel 12 that if the boat doesn’t turn around, it would be boarded by Israeli Navy commandos and brought to the port of Ashdod,” DeCamp reported.

Israel supporters in the U.S. have suggested Israel should sink the Madleen, including sports gambling mogul Dave Portnoy and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

“Hope Greta and her friends can swim!” Graham said in a post on X.

The highlight this week will be US CPI on Wednesday and a resumption of trade talks between the US and China today in London. Bessent, Lutnick and Greer are set to meet Chinese representatives at the meeting today. So it’s all the big guns from the US administration. DB’s Jim Reid reminds us that the monthly 30-yr UST auction on Thursday will also be a heavy focus with all the attention on the long-end in recent weeks. There’s a 10yr auction the day before as well. So a good test of demand as the fiscal bill meanders its way through Congress.

Before we preview the CPI release the other main highlights this week are the NY Fed 1-yr inflation expectations today; US NFIB small business optimism, UK employment data and Danish and Norwegian CPI tomorrow; that CPI, the 10yr UST auction and the UK Spending Review on Wednesday; US PPI, US jobless claims, UK monthly GDP, the 30yr UST auction and my birthday on Thursday; and the UoM consumer sentiment (including inflation expectations) on Friday. A fuller day-by-day diary of events is at the end as usual.

With regards to US CPI, DB’s US economists expect weak seasonally adjusted gas prices to again keep the headline rate (+0.20% forecast vs. +0.22% previous) gain below that of core (+0.31% vs. +0.24%). This should help the YoY rate for both headline and core to rise two-tenths to 2.5% and 3.0%, respectively. Shorter-term trends for core would be mixed with the three-month annualized rate rising by three-tenths to 2.4% while the six-month rate would remain steady at 3.0%. DB’s economists do expect tariffs to begin to impact core goods prices, especially in categories like household furnishings and supplies where we saw potential preliminary tariff impacts in the April data. On the services side, economists will be most attuned to the volatile categories like lodging away and airline fares that have been a meaningful drag of late. For PPI the following day, our economists expect a +0.27% increase in May which would reduce the YoY rate by a couple of tenths. As ever, how the subcomponents that feed into core PCE come out will be the most interesting part of the release. Note that the Fed are now on media blackout ahead of next Wednesday’s (18th) FOMC.

It’s not clear that the Fed will have learnt too much more than they already knew from Friday’s payrolls data. May headline (+139k vs. 147k) and private (140k vs. 146k) payrolls were slightly above the 126k consensus but -95k of net revisions to the two previous months softened the beat. We now have very stable private sector hiring trends over the past three (133k), six (146k) and twelve (122k) months. However the narrow breadth in job growth as health care / social assistance (+78k) and leisure / hospitality (+48k) continued to drive the majority of private sector job gains in May and have accounted for 75% of private job growth over the past twelve months.

Staying on employment there will be increased attention on claims this week given the recent tick up. It’s not clear whether its seasonals or evidence that there is some real time slipping in employment trends.

Courtesy of DB, here is a day-by-day calendar of events

Monday June 9

• Data: US May NY Fed 1-yr inflation expectations, April wholesale trade sales, China May CPI, PPI, trade balance, Japan May Economy Watchers survey, bank lending, April BoP current account balance, BoP trade balance
• Central banks: ECB’s Elderson speaks

Tuesday June 10

• Data: US May NFIB small business optimism, UK April average weekly earnings, unemployment rate, May jobless claims change, Japan May M2, M3, machine tool orders, Italy April industrial production, Sweden April GDP indicator, Norway and Denmark May CPI
• Central banks: ECB’s Villeroy, Holzmann and Rehn speak
• Auctions: US 3-yr Notes ($58bn)

Wednesday June 11

• Data: US May CPI, federal budget balance, Japan May PPI, Canada April building permits
• Central banks: ECB’s Lane and Cipollone speak
• Earnings: Oracle, Inditex
• Auctions: US 10-yr Notes (reopening, $39bn)
• Other: UK Spending Review

Thursday June 12

• Data: US May PPI, Q1 household change in net worth, initial jobless claims, UK May RICS house price balance, April monthly GDP, Germany April current account balance, Italy Q1 unemployment rate
• Central banks: ECB’s Muller, Escriva, Knot, Guindos and Schnabel speak
• Earnings: Adobe
• Auctions: US 30-yr Bond (reopening, $22bn)

Friday June 13

• Data: US June University of Michigan survey, Japan April capacity utilisation, Tertiary industry index, Germany May wholesale price index, Italy April trade balance, Eurozone April trade balance, industrial production, Canada April manufacturing sales, Q1 capacity utilisation rate

* * * 

Finally, looking at the US, Goldman notes that the key economic data releases this week are the CPI report on Wednesday and the University of Michigan report on Friday. Fed officials are not expected to comment on monetary policy this week, reflecting the blackout period ahead of the June FOMC meeting.

Monday, June 9 

• 11:00 AM New York Fed 1-year inflation expectations, May (last 3.6%) 

Tuesday, June 10 

• There are no major data releases scheduled. 

Wednesday, June 11 

• 08:30 AM CPI (MoM), May (GS +0.17%, consensus +0.2%, last +0.2%); Core CPI (MoM), May (GS +0.25%, consensus +0.3%, last +0.2%); CPI (YoY), May (GS +2.47%, consensus +2.5%, last +2.3%); Core CPI (YoY), May (GS +2.89%, consensus +2.9%, last +2.8%): We estimate a 0.25% increase in May core CPI (month-over-month SA), which would raise the year-over-year rate by 0.1pp to 2.9%. Our forecast reflects a decline in used car prices (-0.5%) reflecting a decline in auction prices, a slight increase in new car prices (+0.1%), and a more moderate increase in the car insurance category (+0.4%) based on premiums in our online dataset. We expect another soft month of travel services inflation based on higher frequency prices measures: we forecast unchanged hotel prices and unchanged airfares. We have penciled in moderate upward pressure from tariffs on categories that are particularly exposed (such as apparel, recreation, and communication) worth +0.05pp on core inflation. We expect the shelter components to decelerate on net (OER +0.31% vs. +0.36% in April; primary rent +0.31% vs. +0.34%). We estimate a 0.17% rise in headline CPI, reflecting higher food prices (+0.4%) but sharply lower energy prices (-1.2%).

Thursday, June 12 

• 08:30 AM PPI final demand, May (GS +0.3%, consensus +0.2%, last -0.5%); PPI ex-food and energy, May (GS +0.3%, consensus +0.3%, last -0.4%) ;PPI ex-food, energy, and trade, May (GS +0.3%, consensus +0.3%, last -0.1%); 
• 08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended June 7 (GS 260k, consensus 241k, last 247k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended May 31 (consensus 1,910k, last 1,904k): We estimate that initial claims rose a further 13k to 260k in the week ended June 7, reflecting a boost from residual seasonality related to the timing of the Memorial Day holiday.

Friday, June 13 

• 10:00 AM University of Michigan consumer sentiment, June preliminary (GS 53.6, consensus 53.5, last 52.2); University of Michigan 5-10-year inflation expectations, June preliminary (GS 4.1%, consensus 4.2%, last 4.2%)

Source: DB, Goldman

President Donald Trump on Friday signed three executive orders aimed at jumpstarting the development, domestic manufacturing, integration, and global export of U.S.-made drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, reversing the previous four years of stalled progress under the Biden-Harris regime, during which China leapfrogged in the sector. Now, the U.S. is in a race to catch up. 

The three orders direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expedite rules allowing companies to operate eVTOL aircraft beyond visual line of sight, while also tightening restrictions to address national security threats. U.S. officials have expressed concern over foreign adversaries using drones to surveil military bases and other sensitive locations.

“The United States must accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies and fully integrate UAS into the National Airspace System,” one of the orders said. 

It continued, “The time has come to accelerate testing and to enable routine drone operations, scale up domestic production, and expand the export of trusted, American-manufactured drone technologies to global markets.” 

“Building a strong and secure domestic drone sector is vital to reducing reliance on foreign sources, strengthening critical supply chains, and ensuring that the benefits of this technology are delivered to the American people,” the order noted. 

In addition to bolstering safety and security, the new EOs will also spur greater innovation across the aerospace and drone sectors. 

In the markets, air mobility stocks rose early in premarket trading following the EOs.

• Archer Aviation +9%

• Joby Aviation +9%

• Vertical Aerospace +8%

• Blade Air Mobility +2% 

Earlier this year, billionaire investor Marc Andreessen—co-founder of the influential Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz—told Uncommon Knowledge host Peter Robinson (a former Reagan speechwriter) that the Biden-Harris regime had stifled the U.S. drone industry, while China’s eVTOLs soared.

🚨 NEW: Marc Andreessen on China’s manufacturing dominance

“There’s three industries that follow phones that the Chinese own the global market at:

1) Drones
Something over 90% of all the consumer drones are made in China. Which is what the US Military also uses. It’s the whole… pic.twitter.com/e94C927MMU

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) January 15, 2025

The previous administration’s drone policies sparked serious concern—why throttle a sector so vital to the 2030s economy and national security, especially as China raced ahead?

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

• EV interest among U.S. drivers has dropped to 16%, the lowest since 2019.

• Key deterrents include high upfront costs, limited charging infrastructure, and concerns over long-distance suitability.

• Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles are gaining favor as more practical alternatives.

Just 16% of American drivers say they are likely to buy an electric vehicle (EV) as their next car—the lowest share recorded in AAA’s annual surveys since 2019.

High battery maintenance costs, high purchase prices, and concerns about range continue to be major deterrents for U.S. consumers to consider buying an EV, according to AAA’s latest survey released earlier this month.

These key barriers have remained more or less the same in recent years.

But this year three other factors have also played a role to result in the smallest share of American drivers considering an EV purchase—lower gasoline prices, the increasingly uncertain future of EV incentives such as tax credits and rebates, and politics.

Only 16% of U.S. adults reported in AAA’s 2025 survey that they are “very likely” or “likely” to purchase a fully EV as their next car. This compares to 25% in 2022, when gasoline prices of $5 per gallon incentivized more buyers to consider an EV purchase.

This year, the percentage of consumers indicating they would be “unlikely” or “very unlikely” to purchase an EV rose to 63%, up from 51% last year.

“While the automotive industry is committed to long-term electrification and providing a diverse range of models, underlying consumer hesitation remains,” said Greg Brannon, director of automotive engineering for AAA.

Consumers cited high battery repair costs and purchase prices as key barriers to go fully electric, at 62% and 59%, respectively. Other top concerns identified in this year’s survey were the perceived unsuitability of EVs for long-distance travel (57%), a lack of convenient public charging stations (56%), and fear of running out of charge while driving (55%).

Other barriers cited by the Americans unlikely to buy an EV include safety concerns cited by 31%, challenges installing charging stations at their residences for 27%, and 12% who are concerned that the tax credits and rebates will be reduced or eliminated.

Saving on gasoline costs is a key reason for interest in EVs this year—77% of Americans likely to buy an EV cited gas savings as their top motivation to purchase.

The reason, of course, is quite simple. Gasoline prices this spring hit their lowest level ahead of Memorial Day weekend in four years. A large part of the strong demand over Memorial Day weekend was due to the fact that the typical seasonal spike in the spring didn’t materialize, because oil prices – the single-biggest driver of gasoline prices—have lingered in the low $60s per barrel for weeks.

Uncertainty about incentives for EV purchases has started to play a larger role in drivers’ hesitancy to consider fully-electric vehicle purchases. Interest in EVs to take advantage of tax credits and rebates has plummeted—from 60% of those saying last year they are likely to buy an EV to 39% this year, per the AAA survey.

Moreover, fewer Americans now believe that most passenger cars would be EVs within a decade. The share of U.S. drivers who believe that most cars will be electric within the next ten years has plunged from 40% in 2022 to 23% this year.

Despite the fact that the availability of EV models in the U.S. market has soared in recent years, with many legacy carmakers seeking to compete with Tesla, Americans remain hesitant about purchasing electric cars.

Public perception about the future of EVs remains uncertain, AAA says, despite the more than 75 EV models introduced in the past four years.

For many drivers, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles could be more appealing than full battery EVs as they combine the advantages of traditional internal combustion engines with electric power, reducing range anxiety while providing an environmentally friendly alternative, AAA says. 

President Trump has championed the idea that a key part of making America great again is bringing back industries that left the country in recent decades. With his tariff-driven trade policy, the White House has promoted “Made in America” as a way to create jobs and boost the economy.

Based on April 2025 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this map, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, highlights the U.S. states leading and lagging in manufacturing employment.

California Leads in Manufacturing

Manufacturing remains geographically diverse across the U.S., with major hubs on both coasts and in the interior.

In terms of absolute numbers, California leads the nation, with 1.22 million manufacturing jobs. Texas follows with 970,600 jobs, while Ohio and Michigan maintain their traditional industrial strength with 687,500 and 597,600 jobs, respectively.

Several Southern states have also built strong manufacturing bases. North Carolina (459,300), Georgia (426,500), and Tennessee (364,300) each rank among the top states, supported by industries such as automotive, aerospace, and food processing.

Wisconsin, ranked in the top 10 for total manufacturing employment, stands out for outperforming its size. Although it’s only the 20th most populous state, its manufacturing base remains strong, thanks in part to food and dairy processing. In per capita terms, it’s number one in the nation with 7,763.8 manufacturing jobs for every 100,000 people.

Florida, another top 10 state, has emerged as a growth story. Between 2019 and 2023, the state’s manufacturing employment grew by nearly 10%, highlighting the sector’s expansion in one of the country’s largest economies.

At the other end of the spectrum, Wyoming (10,600 jobs), Alaska (11,900), and Washington, D.C. (1,200) recorded the lowest levels of manufacturing employment. The latter (D.C.) also has the lowest numbers per capita.

To learn more about Trump’s impact in his first 100 days, check out this graphic that compares S&P 500 returns during post-WWII presidents’ first 100 days.

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

The Fed, businesses, and consumers are all concerned over price hikes.

Worried About Prices?

Please consider the Atlanta Fed research article Worried about Tariff Passthrough onto Prices? So Are Business Execs.

Over the past couple of months, newswires have focused on the potential for elevated tariff rates to feed through into higher inflation and potentially affect output growth as well. Indeed, Chair Powell, in his last post-FOMC meeting press conference said, “What looks likely, given the scope and scale of the tariffs, is that…the risks to higher inflation, higher unemployment have increased.“

Recent research from economists at the Atlanta Fed suggests that if firms are able to pass through all the costs of tariffs, retail prices would increase significantly―as much as 1.6 percent (depending on how effective tariff rates evolve from here).

And even at a 50 percent passthrough rate, the impact on prices would be large enough to be felt in the aggregate (0.8 percent increase in retail prices). How plausible is full passthrough? Going back to the last episode with rising tariffs in 2018, research icon denoting destination link is offsite showed that the cost of the tariffs was almost entirely passed through onto domestic prices.

In this environment, where policy changes lead to sharp increases in costs for many firms, we were curious about how firms would respond, especially in light of a potential reduction in demand that typically accompanies a price hike. So, we turned to the Atlanta Fed’s Business Inflation Expectations survey (BIE), a monthly survey of Sixth District firms that is well positioned to ask timely questions on economic conditions facing firms. In gathering information for the April 2025 BIE survey, we asked firms about their ability to pass through increased costs caused by a new economic policy without a resulting reduction in demand.

The interesting twist in this line of questioning is the inclusion of the phrase “Based on current levels of demand.” The interpretation here is that firms are telling us how much of the cost increase they would be able to pass through to customers before it had a negative impact on demand for that good or service.

Although a diversity of views is apparent, on average firms tell us they expect to be able to pass through 51.1 percent of a 10 percent cost increase, and 47.3 percent of a 25 percent cost increase, without reducing current levels of demand. 

In sum, firms with about normal or greater-than-normal sales expect to be able to pass through more of the cost increases while maintaining the same levels of demand for their goods or services. And figure 3 shows us that those firms are more likely to be larger firms, due to their smaller sales gap compared to “normal.” In the aggregate, business executives see their current sales levels as about 8 percentage points below “normal,” which is much weaker than firms’ relative position entering 2018. In this environment, firms on average anticipate passing through a little more than half of a 10 percent cost increase without damaging demand. It’s not yet clear where the average tariff rate will ultimately settle, or how firms’ passthrough rates will evolve from here. However, it does appear that most firms anticipate sacrificing demand should they choose to fully pass a tariff-related cost increase on to customers.

Only Three Things Can Happen

1. Corporations can pass on the tariffs

2. Corporations can eat the cost

3. A combination of the above

The Results

• To the extent corporations pass on the costs, consumers will pay the tariff. That means consumers will cut back somewhere else, exhaust savings, or go into debt.

• To the extent corporations eat the costs, that’s a direct hit on corporate profits.

• If corporations misjudge how much they can pass on, they will also take a hit on profits.

Corporate Profits

If you are thinking tariffs are a huge drain on aggregate corporate profits, then you are thinking correctly.

Fed Beige Book Shows Only 3 of 12 Regions Growing, 6 Declining

On June 5, 2025, I noted Fed Beige Book Shows Only 3 of 12 Regions Growing, 6 Declining

This report reeks of stagflation, defined as rising prices and recession simultaneously.

Prices

Prices have increased at a moderate pace since the previous report. There were widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward. A few Districts described these expected cost increases as strong, significant, or substantial. All District reports indicated that higher tariff rates were putting upward pressure on costs and prices. 

ISM Services Dips Into Contraction as New Orders and Backlogs Plunge

On June 4, I noted ISM Services Dips Into Contraction as New Orders and Backlogs Plunge

“The Prices Index registered 68.7 percent in May, a 3.6-percentage point increase from April’s reading of 65.1 percent; the index has elevated 7.8 percentage points in the last two months to reach its highest level since November 2022 (69.4 percent). This is the first time the index has recorded this high of a two-month increase since a 9.2-percentage point gain in February and March 2021. The May reading is also its sixth in a row above 60 percent.”

What caught my eye was a plunge in new orders and backlog of orders, yet prices rose 96 consecutive months and just accelerated.

Should the Fed Cut? Hike? Do Anything?

Many say the Fed should cut because jobs are slowing and so is inflation.

But on the basis of tariffs and general disagreement about the rate of inflation, many others stating the Fed should hike rates.

Those who are open to either stagflation or economic collapse don’t think the Fed should do anything.

I am in that camp with the side note the free market should set rates, not the Fed, not Congress, not the President.

Is the Fed in a Good Spot?

That’s what the Fed says. I am not in that camp.

The economy can tip either way suddenly and severely. And Trump’s tariff whipsaws don’t make the Fed’s life easy.

Fear of Making Mistakes

The Fed does not want to make a policy error in the wrong direction especially after blowing the massive inflation response to Congressional free money coupled with inane QE by the Fed.

So, the Fed cannot be proactive now, even if it wants to, due to FOMMtm

Trumpian Howls

The Fed has its Covid mistake in the back of its mind but a howling Trump in the foreground.

Trump howled about Jerome Powell again on June 4, as noted in Trump Demands Fed Rate Cut After Weakest ADP Payroll Report in 2 Years

ADP reported a slim 37,000 private payroll rise for May.

The payroll report on Friday temporarily halted the howls.

For discussion, please see Nonfarm Payrolls Rise by 139,000 Employment Declines by 696,000

The Fed may easily overreact or underreact. Right now the Fed looks like a deer in headlights.

Finally, the Fed will take a lot of criticism no matter what it does. And it will still have its recent policy mistakes in mind, while also having to deal with Trump.

Is this really a good place for the Fed?

Vive la resistance – in reverse. Pornhub and its sister sites YouPorn and RedTube have gone dark in France, yanking access to their content Wednesday in a dramatic protest over a government crackdown on underage users.

The move comes after Aylo – the firm behind the trio of X-rated titans – hit pause on its French operations rather than comply with a new law requiring porn platforms to verify users are 18 or older.

“I can confirm that Aylo has made the difficult decision to suspend access to its user-uploaded platforms… in France,” a Pornhub spokesperson said Tuesday. “We will be using our platforms to directly address the French public tomorrow.”

Aylo, which operates some of the world’s most trafficked adult sites, is now in a standoff with France’s digital watchdog, Arcom, which has the power to block sites and fine operators who fail to screen out minors.

French officials aren’t exactly begging them to stay.

“If Aylo would rather leave France than apply our laws, they are free to do so,” Clara Chappaz, France’s junior minister for artificial intelligence and digital technology, posted bluntly on X.

According to Arcom, some 2.3 million minors access porn sites every month in France – a clear violation of laws requiring age gating. The government has demanded stricter controls, like government ID or verified digital passports.

But Aylo claims the measures would compromise user privacy and create security risks, setting up a classic clash between data protection and content regulation.

Now, French users clicking over to Pornhub are getting nothing but a cold shower – a sudden blackout that leaves millions of adults scrambling for alternatives.

Whether the blackout is a temporary gambit or a long-term exit remains unclear. But one thing’s for sure: in France, the liberté to browse adult content just got a whole lot harder to come by.

Authored by RFE/RL staff via OilPrice.com,

• The European Commission has given Bulgaria the green light to adopt the euro as of January 1, 2026, following a positive assessment of the country’s economic convergence.

• Bulgaria’s approval to join the eurozone represents a significant milestone in its broader integration into the European Union, following its recent entry into the Schengen Agreement.

• Despite facing political and economic challenges, Bulgaria has met the necessary criteria for euro adoption, with final decisions to be made by the Council of the EU.

The European Commission has given Bulgaria the go-ahead to join the eurozone single currency region as of January 1, 2026, the country’s second major step in just one year on its path to full integration into the European Union.

The commission, which met on June 4 to convey its decision on the issue, said Bulgaria fulfils the four nominal convergence criteria that are used to evaluate whether a country is ready for euro adoption.

“The euro is a tangible symbol of European strength and unity,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Central Bank (ECB) also gave a positive assessment of Bulgaria’s application, saying it met the criteria of currency stability, inflation, public finances, and interest rates.

“This positive assessment of convergence paves the way for Bulgaria to introduce the euro as of 1 January 2026 and become the 21st EU Member State to join the euro area,” Philip Lane, a member of the ECB Executive Board, said.

“I wish to congratulate Bulgaria on its tremendous dedication to making the adjustments needed.”

The Council of the EU will take the final decisions on euro adoption for Bulgaria, basing its decision on the opinions of the EC and the ECB, as well as from talks with the Eurogroup and European Council.

While adoption of the euro was a condition for joining the European Union, legislative failures, including reforms to combat money laundering, concerns over inflation, and political gridlock — Bulgaria has had seven elections in the past four years — have made the path difficult for the country.

Mass protests took place in Sofia and other cities across the country last week, and politicians said after the decision that the task now is to make sure adoption provides benefits, not disruption.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said the government would work to make “the process of introducing the euro smooth, predictable, predictable” and to dispel “the fears that are instilled in people and that are used for political abuse.”

Added Boyko Borisov, leader of the GERB party and a former prime minister: “A huge amount of work lies ahead, especially next year, because Bulgarians should feel the benefits of the eurozone.”

The decision in favor of adoption is Bulgaria’s second big step in just one year on its path to full integration into the European Union.

In January, Sofia became a full member of Schengen agreement — and Bulgaria’s borders with neighboring Greece and Romania are now fully open.

In 2025, smoking remains a persistent public health concern, with sharp disparities visible not only across countries but also between genders.

The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco use causes over 8 million premature deaths each year. Of these, more than 7 million are due to direct tobacco use, while around 1.3 million non-smokers die from exposure to second-hand smoke.

The graphic below, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, highlights the male and female smoking rates in ten major countries. The data is based on projections compiled by Statista.

Gender Disparities in Global Smoking Rates

The most striking contrast is seen in Indonesia, where nearly three-quarters (72.8%) of men are smokers, while just 1.8% of women partake.

This gender gap is also present in China (44.4% vs. 1.4%) and India (10.9% vs. 0.9%), reflecting cultural norms and targeted marketing practices.

In contrast, countries like France and Germany show much narrower disparities. France stands out with almost equal smoking rates among men (35.2%) and women (34.0%), suggesting a more gender-neutral culture around tobacco use.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan fall in the mid-range, with moderate gender gaps and relatively lower overall smoking prevalence compared to Asian and European counterparts.

In Russia, 31.4% of men and 5.7% of women smoke, while in Brazil, smoking rates are lower, with 14.1% of men and 8.1% of women who smoke.

Raw tobacco production is a huge industry. In 2022 alone, around 5.8 million tons of tobacco were produced worldwide, roughly a third of which was in China. Learn more about tobacco production in this graphic on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Via Remix News,

Farmers in Spain and France were again protesting agricultural imports from Ukraine and South America under the Mercosur trade agreement ahead of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visiting France and the expiration of a free trade agreement with Ukraine, writes TopAgrar.pl.

Da Silva wants to convince President Emmanuel Macron to drop his opposition to the EU-Mercosur Agreement, and at a press conference with the French head of state, told press that he would not “leave the Mercosur presidency without having concluded the trade deal,” a position he will be taking up in a few weeks. 

Meanwhile, the French Federation of Agricultural Unions (FNSEA) has once again called on Macron to take action to create a minority in the EU to block the ratification of the Mercosur Agreement by the Council of the European Union.  

In a statement quoted by Reuters, the French organization warned that the agreement will be “devastating for the beef, poultry and sugar industries and compromise the EU’s ambitions in terms of food sovereignty.” 

“We are raising the alarm!” said Alain Carre, head of the French sugar industry group AIBS. 

If an agreement with Mercosur is reached, the French are demanding clear trade rules: “Our demands (for an EU-Mercosur deal) are simple: reciprocity of regulations, traceability of products abroad and much clearer labeling,” said Jean-Michel Schaeffer, head of French poultry industry group Anvol. 

In Spain, hundreds of farmers gathered in Madrid to protest excessive grain imports from Ukraine, which have resulted in grain prices below production costs.

“Spanish farmers will lose €1 billion this year,” Javier Fatas, leader of the farmers’ union COAG from the Aragon region in northeastern Spain, said. 

Spaniards also refuse to import genetically modified grain from Mercosur, which is cheaper than Spanish grain, into the EU.  

Similar sentiments are prevalent in Poland. In June, farmers took to the streets again to express opposition to trade liberalization with Ukraine, the Mercosur agreement, and the Green Deal, reminds TopAgrar.

“Our position should be firm and clear: the customs and limits from before the war must return. Otherwise, we will not be able to compete on the European market, and especially in Poland,” said Stanisław Barna from the grassroots All-Poland Farmers’ Protest.

At the protest in Krążkowy in Wielkopolska, another OOPR representative, Krzysztof Olejnik, called the provisions of the EU-Mercosur Agreement a “spit in the face” of farmers: “If we are talking about Mercosur, we still do not have detailed information about the terms of this agreement. We assume that the terms of this agreement will probably not be favorable for us,” said Krzysztof Olejnik.

The lack of hope for economic improvement in agriculture is combined with a sense of lack of action on the part of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Government and the European Commission. Maciej Zawadzki from the Association of Farmers of Southern Wielkopolska said, “We decided to take to the streets because our issues that were supposed to be resolved are still unresolved. The government remains passive. (…) Unfortunately, we do not see any actions that would improve our position and situation. Quite the opposite: what is happening is working to our disadvantage.”

Stanisław Barna says the only option for farmers now is to put pressure on decision-makers via protests. 

“We want to work with dignity, have a stable situation. Have a decent salary for our work (…) This is what we are reduced to, to make our farms fail. If you do not fight for yourselves, no one will do it for you! Thank you and God bless you for your determination and showing strength today. Let the government see, and Minister Siekierski will finally get down to work, because he has been talking to us for a year and a half, saying that he will prepare a position, but let him finally come to West Pomerania and talk,” he said.

Farmers also hope the newly elected president, Karol Nawrocki, will come through for them. “Mr. President, we are here, we are watching, we are waiting for your decision,” Barna added. “We farmers would like these promises to be fulfilled and not forgotten.”

Macron and Lula did not appear to make much headway on EU-Mercosur trade deal. Macron clearly wants to boost trade and relations with Brazil but he also made clear that he cannot accept the deal in its current form, emphasizing the need for “either mirror clauses or safeguard measures” to ensure Brazilian products conform with EU production standards.

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