Death of Charlie Kirk
Thursday, Sept 11th, 2025
World News — Russian Incursion Into Polish Airspace
FT
Nato fighter jets shot down several Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what experts warn was a deliberate test of the alliance’s air defences, marking the first direct military engagement between Nato and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine; while officials praised the response, analysts stressed that the incident exposed Europe’s lack of preparedness for large-scale air assaults of the kind routinely faced by Ukraine, with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirming that only a handful of 19 drones — many of them believed to be decoys — were destroyed, prompting calls from defence leaders such as Ben Hodges for a multi-layered, integrated air defence system, as Russia and Belarus prepare to begin their Zapad military exercises along Nato’s borders.
Tech — Getting Used to a $2,000 iPhone
Bloomberg
Apple, which first normalized the $1,000 smartphone with the iPhone X in 2017, has now introduced its priciest device yet with a 2-terabyte iPhone 17 Pro Max costing $1,999, signaling the start of a push toward $2,000 iPhones; while base prices have risen only modestly — the iPhone 17 Pro now starts at $1,099 and the new iPhone Air at $999 — analysts note that Apple is testing consumer tolerance for far higher price tiers, with a foldable iPhone expected next year likely to cost at least double the single-screen Air, and a forthcoming “iPhone 20” envisioned as a transformative anniversary model that could cement a new, higher standard for premium smartphone pricing.
Economics — Carney Says Major Trade Projects Coming to Combat Trade War Crisis
Bloomberg
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he will unveil on Thursday the first set of major projects to be fast-tracked under new legislation aimed at permitting nationally significant initiatives within two years, part of a broader strategy to combat what he called a trade war “crisis” caused by U.S. economic shifts; the projects, focused on expanding ports, railways, and infrastructure to diversify trade, will be followed by additional waves in the coming months, alongside initiatives such as a government-backed homebuilding agency, a climate competitiveness plan, and new industrial and defense strategies intended to build domestic industries, create tens of thousands of jobs, and reduce Canada’s reliance on its largest trading partner.
Culture — The Death of Charlie Kirk
FT
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA and a close ally of Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at a Utah Valley University event on Wednesday, an attack that authorities described as a targeted political assassination and that has drawn condemnation across the political spectrum; President Trump ordered flags lowered to half mast in Kirk’s honor, while FBI director Kash Patel confirmed a suspect is in custody, and Utah governor Spencer Cox vowed full accountability, as tributes highlighted Kirk’s influence as a youth-focused conservative organizer and media figure whose death underscores rising concerns over escalating political violence in the United States.
The Daily Spark
Daily data for consumer spending shows growth is slowing in discretionaries and on goods that are impacted by tariffs, see tables below.
Our chart book with daily data for consumer spending is available here.
Quote of the Day
“I do not pretend to be able to prove that there is no God. I equally cannot prove that Satan is a fiction. The Christian god may exist; so may the gods of Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But no one of these hypotheses is more probable than any other: they lie outside the region of even probable knowledge, and therefore there is no reason to consider any of them.” ― Bertrand Russell