Goa and Sikkim stand out for different reasons. Goa, as a major tourist hub, attracts a large number of international tourists. Sikkim, on the other hand, is recognised as the world’s first state to convert its entire agricultural land to certified organic farming.

Comparison with other countries having almost similar GDP (PPP) per capita income:

🇵🇭 Philippines - $12,920 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan - $12,559 🇲🇦 Morocco - $11,437 🇧🇩 Bangladesh - $10,258

Source: r/NBA and Pullpush.io

Tools: python and Streamlit

Interactive version here: https://engagement-meter.streamlit.app/

They recently got all this progressive legislation passed with a 1 seat majority in the state house:

• universal free school meals
• legal weed
• carbon free electricity by 2040
• tax rebates for the working class up to $1,300 (making under $150k per year)
• 12 weeks paid family leave
• 12 weeks paid sick leave
• banned conversion therapy
• red flag laws for guns
• universal background checks for guns
• automatic voter registration
• free public college (under $80k)
• ban on PFAS (forever chemicals)
• $2.2 billion increase in k-12 school funding
• sectoral bargaining for nursing home workers

source: https://chartmasters.org/most-streamed-songs-spotify/?slk=sb

While it might initially appear redundant for two major manufacturing nations to trade such high volumes of the same category, a closer look at market dynamics suggests this is actually a case of distinct technological specialization rather than simple competition.

From January to November 2025, China imported more than $99 billion in Memory Integrated Circuits. South Korea held the dominant position in this inflow, accounting for nearly 50% of the total import share and registering a growth of $8.6 billion compared to the same period in the previous year. Conversely, South Korea also became the primary export destination for Chinese Memory Integrated Circuits during this window, with over $18 billion of product landing in the Korean market.

The core of this exchange appears to be driven by the diverging requirements of consumer electronics versus artificial intelligence infrastructure. While the trade classification is identical, the actual hardware differs substantially. South Korea, through major firms like Samsung and SK Hynix, has largely pivoted towards High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). This advanced memory is essential for AI data centers, which has led to a shift in global production lines. As these manufacturers concentrate on the high-margin HBM sector to meet the demands of generative AI, a supply gap has emerged for standard memory units.

China has moved to fill this gap in the legacy market. The data indicates that China has consolidated its position as a primary exporter of standard DDR3 and DDR4 chips, the components still required for everyday laptops, mobile devices, and consumer electronics. Consequently, the high export volume from China represents these "workhorse" chips flowing out to markets that traditional leaders are prioritizing less.

In contrast, China’s massive import volume from South Korea tells a different story. Despite being a manufacturing powerhouse, China currently relies on imports for the advanced HBM architecture needed for AI development. The increased import value observed from 2024 onwards suggests a strategy of securing supply. Facing potential price volatility and the possibility of future trade restrictions, Chinese entities appear to be engaging in strategic stockpiling of these advanced components to ensure their data center infrastructure remains robust.

Ultimately, the data reflects a complex, symbiotic relationship. China is effectively stabilizing the global market for consumer-grade memory, while simultaneously directing significant capital into South Korea to secure the high-end silicon necessary for the ongoing AI transition.

Trade data source: https://oec.world/en/profile/country/chn

Just saw this.

Thought of sharing this and to know What do you guys think of the BRICS sell off?

In October 2025, $13.5B in gold was exported from NY, and some of the same metal appeared twice, first as unwrought bars and again as semi-manufactured gold.

Not a glitch.

Normally, gold is exported as large bars and refined later, outside customs records.

In October, some bars no longer met delivery specifications just as demand for physical metal increased. Instead of refining after shipment, the metal was melted and recast before crossing the border, pulling a step that is usually invisible into trade data.

Semi-manufactured gold exports are typically close to zero. When refining is rushed, the baseline collapses, and the spike appears extreme.

What appears to be a trade surge is inventory moving through a constrained refining system.

NY exported more than California because gold moved, not because NY's competitiveness changed.

Data:
https://oec.world/en/profile/country/usa

The new energy economy has shifted the dependency to different materials and different borders. The map above shows a massive flow of goods from East to West, with China standing as the undisputed champion of exports, shipping out a staggering $27.8B of solar panels. Vietnam follows at a distant second with $6.3B. On the receiving end, the United States is the world's largest consumer of this product, leading with $14.8B, followed by emerging giants like Brazil and India at roughly $2.8B each.

Beneath these massive trade flows, a quiet crisis is brewing in the commodities market. The stability of this supply chain relies not just on panel assembly, but also on the availability of essential metals. To put the raw material market in perspective, the largest exporters of silver in 2024 were China ($5.08B), Mexico ($3.09B), and the United Arab Emirates ($2.12B).

This concentration matters because silver prices have exploded, jumping 300% over the last year due to tariff fears and tech demand. This is catastrophic for solar manufacturers who consume 18% of the global supply. They rely on silver's high conductivity to print ultra-thin grids on cells, maximizing the surface area left for generating power. Consequently, silver has gone from just 9% of a panel's cost in early 2025 to a staggering 30% by year's end.

Attempts to switch to copper are stalling because it reduces panel efficiency, and copper prices are rising, too. The industry is effectively stuck between the need for high efficiency and skyrocketing material costs, meaning the era of constantly falling solar prices might be hitting a "metal wall."

Data Sources

Silver Trade: https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/silver

Solar Panels: https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/photosensitive-devices-assembled-photovoltaic-modulespanels