Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Equinor

16 October 2025 – On 15 October, at 22.56 Rio time, Equinor and its partners ExxonMobil Brasil, Petrogal Brasil (JV Galp|Sinopec) and Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) achieved start-up of production from the large Bacalhau field in Brazil. With recoverable reserves exceeding 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Bacalhau is the largest international offshore field ever developed by Equinor.

“The safe start-up of Bacalhau marks a major milestone for Equinor. Bacalhau represents a new generation of projects that bring together scale, cost-efficiency and lower carbon intensity. With this development, we are strengthening the longevity of our oil and gas production and securing value creation for decades to come,” says Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor.

Bacalhau is located in the pre-salt region of Brazil's Santos Basin in ultra-deep water exceeding 2,000 metres. The field features one of the most modern Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSO) in the world, measuring 370 metres in length and 64 metres in width, with a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Anders Opedal (left), president and CEO of Equinor, Geir Tungesvik, executive vice president, Projects, Drilling and Procurement, and Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for Exploration and Production International
Photos: Ole Jørgen Bratland / Equinor

Phase 1 development consists of 19 wells, producers and injectors, which will be brought online in sequence as we ramp up and sustain production. Equinor will be positioned to provide an update in 2026 during the ramp-up phase.

“Around 70 million hours of work have been recorded in the project with solid safety results. I would like to sincerely thank our partners, suppliers, and employees for making this achievement a reality. With its size, water depth and lower carbon intensity, Bacalhau is a testament to our engineering capabilities and ability to operate internationally,” says Geir Tungesvik, Executive Vice President, Projects, Drilling and Procurement.

The Bacalhau FPSO features combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT), a technology that significantly reduces carbon intensity. With an expected CO₂ intensity of around 9 kg per boe, and advanced abatement across flaring, processing, power generation, and storage, the field sets a new benchmark for cost efficient and lower emission deepwater production.

“Brazil is a core area for us and Bacalhau will be a major contributorto Equinor’s goal of generating more than 5 billion dollars of free cashflow by 2030 from our international portfolio. Bacalhau will also deliver positive ripple effects and long-term benefits to Brazil´s economy, creating approximately 50,000 jobs over its 30-year lifetime,” says Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International.

MODEC, the FPSO contractor, will operate the unit for the initial phase. Thereafter, Equinor plans to operate the Bacalhau facilities until end of the license period.

Facts – Bacalhau

The Bacalhau discovery well was drilled by Petrobras in 2012
Equinor took over as operator in 2016
Bacalhau is the first field development in Brazil’s pre-salt to be developed by an international operator
The field is located 185 km from the coast of the municipality of Ilhabela/SP, in the state of São Paulo, in water depths of above 2,000 meters
Phase 1 reserves are > 1 billion barrels and with a production capacity of 220,000 boe/d
The partners in Bacalhau: Equinor (40%, operator), ExxonMobil Brasil (40%), Petrogal Brasil (JV Galp|Sinopec) (20%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A (PPSA – Government Company, PSA Manager).

Facts – Equinor in Brazil

Equinor has been present in Brazil for more than two decades
Brazil is a core area for the company’s long-term growth
In addition to Bacalhau, Equinor is operator for the Raia development, another major ultra deepwater field development, expected to come on stream in 2028.
Equinor is also expanding its investments in renewable energy, with onshore assets already in operation and more projects under development through its subsidiary Rio Energy.

Source: deVere Group

Source: KOF Economic Institute

Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Federal Statistical Office (FSO) have carried out a benchmark revision of GDP data. This comprehensive revision of the national accounts has led to some significant adjustments in the time series. The KOF Institute has updated its autumn forecast on this basis. Overall, the economic outlook has hardly changed compared with the forecast published in September.

Further information on the revision of this data can be found in the FSO/SECO Revision Analysis for 2025: National Accounts.

The main changes in the data revision relate primarily to manufacturing and the wholesale trade on the production side, investment on the expenditure side, and merchanting as well as some trade in services as part of foreign trade. The KOF Institute has updated its forecast on the basis of this new data. The results confirm the general picture to date: the outlook for the Swiss economy remains largely unchanged. Only the gap between gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP adjusted for major sporting events has narrowed slightly, as additional major events are being taken into account in the current year.

Foreign trade

The outlook for foreign trade remains subdued. The adjustment has been particularly pronounced in merchanting, which is not relevant to the economic cycle. Consequently, the growth forecast for total exports in 2025 is now lower at 1.3 per cent (previously 2.8 per cent). The outlook for trade in goods remains unchanged. Imports and exports of services have been revised downwards, which means that the current data better reflect the subdued outlook for foreign trade. The forecast for service imports in 2025 is now for a decrease of 2.1 per cent (previously growth of 3.1 per cent). Service exports are now down slightly by 0.6 per cent in 2025 (previously up by 0.5 per cent).

Equipment investment

Equipment investment has been particularly affected by the recent benchmark revision of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office's (SFO) national accounts. According to the revised data, they fell much less sharply during the pandemic than previously assumed (2020: down by 0.4 per cent instead of 1.5 per cent) and recovered more strongly over the following years than previously reported (2021: up by 6.9 per cent instead of 5.8 per cent; 2022: up by 4.7 per cent instead of 3.3 per cent). Furthermore, the revised data for 2023 and 2024 now show a largely modestly positive trend in investment instead of the previous decline (2023: up by 3.8 per cent instead of 1.4 per cent; 2024: up by 1.2 per cent instead of a decrease of 2.1 per cent).

At present, however, the investment outlook remains unchanged. Weak earnings, insufficient capacity utilisation and ongoing uncertainty are weighing on firms' investment plans. Against this backdrop, KOF now expects investment to decline by 1.0 per cent in 2025 (previously growth of 0.6 per cent) based on the latest data. Investment is expected to stagnate in 2026 (up by 0.1 per cent; previously 0.2 per cent) before picking up again moderately in 2027 (up by 2.1 per cent; previously 2.0 per cent).

Construction investment

The data on investment and production in the construction sector has changed owing to the benchmark revision carried out by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Real construction investment declined by 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent in 2023 and 2024 respectively (previously: 2023: down by 2.7 per cent, 2024: up by 2.2 per cent). As this shifts the starting point, the KOF Institute now expects construction investment to stagnate this year (0.0 per cent) instead of increasing by 1.4 per cent. A recovery is expected over the following years (2026: growth of 1.4 per cent, 2027: 1.5 per cent).

Based on the latest information, the recent growth picture in the construction segments has clouded over slightly: following six years of declines, residential construction is likely to have fallen again last year (2024: down by 1.1 per cent). Stabilisation followed by a modest recovery will not begin until this year at the earliest (2025: decrease of 0.4 per cent, 2026: growth of 1.0 per cent). However, the surprising increase in industrial, commercial and service construction in 2023 is still likely to be followed by a slowdown (2024: fall of 7.5 per cent, 2025: decline of 4.6 per cent) before firms' subdued investment appetite gradually improves over the further forecast period.

Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

16 October 2025 – Continued growth in household spending signals that the Australian economy is gaining momentum.

Source: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)
 
The dairy industry has been plagued by a persistent global problem for decades – bacterial infection of cow udders that significantly reduces milk production.
 
The condition, known as bovine mastitis, is estimated to cause annual global losses of US$22 billion (S$28 billion). While antibiotics have been used to treat the infection in dairy cattle, there are issues such as rising antibiotic resistance and concerns around milk contamination from antibiotic residues.
 
Now, a team of international researchers has developed alternatives to antibiotics that prevent infection through a novel mechanism they discovered.
 
The scientists were led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), in collaboration with the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research enterprise in Singapore. Their findings were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
 
In a preliminary farm trial, the new antimicrobial compounds were applied on cow teats and shown to stave off udder infection after the animals were exposed to bacteria.
 
“Our study has unveiled an alternative class of potent antimicrobial compounds that could be used in the agriculture industry to combat multi-drug-resistant bacteria that cause bovine mastitis,” said Professor Mary Chan, one of the co-leads of the research from NTU Singapore’s School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, as well as a Principal Investigator at SMART AMR. “The compounds are also promising as they did not cause significant adverse effects in cattle in our tests. They didn’t spoil the cows’ milk nor make it unsafe for consumption as well.”
 
The new compounds have since attracted interest from several agricultural companies in Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and New Zealand. The businesses are keen as they are seeking substitutes that are safer and more environmentally friendly than existing compounds in preventing the infection of cow teats.
 
Professor Paula Hammond, Institute Professor and Executive Vice Provost at MIT and Principal Investigator at SMART AMR, who is one of the co-authors of the research, said: “With the success of our initial study in both the laboratory and in the field, we are now planning to work closely with industry partners to scale up and do larger trials in dairy cattle, with the aim of commercialising the novel antimicrobial compounds.”
 
Professor Kevin Pethe, the study’s other co-lead from NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and Principal Investigator at SMART AMR, noted that the new compounds are also very effective in killing multi-drug-resistant bacteria in mice at doses that were not noticeably harmful to the rodents in the team’s study. “This opens the way for the compounds to be further developed and optimised for other therapeutic applications in the biomedical field in the future,” he said.
   
Udder concerns
When cattle udders get infected, the antibiotics used to treat them often end up in their milk in high concentrations for some time, so the milk cannot be consumed or sold under existing rules. Bacteria resistant to such antibiotic treatments have surfaced too.
 
To prevent the infection of cow teats, farmers typically dip udders in antiseptic solution, such as those containing iodine or chlorhexidine, to kill bacteria on them. However, the disinfectants’ long-term use can irritate udders or cause their skin to crack, which increases the risk of infection.
 
There are also concerns that after cleaning the udders of the antiseptics, iodine and chlorhexidine may find their way into the environment and cause problems like disrupting the nutrient balance in nature and harming aquatic life respectively. And when the chemicals come into contact with milk, like when udders are not properly cleaned, they become less effective at killing bacteria.
 
The NTU-led scientists realised that these challenges in the dairy business could be addressed with novel compounds called “oligoimidazolium carbon acids” (OIMs) that they initially developed as alternatives to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
 
They found that OIMs kill bacteria in a new way, unlike traditional “cationic” antimicrobials studied now as antibiotic substitutes. Parts of the OIMs convert into structures called carbenes, which lets them slip past the bacteria’s protective membranes quickly to damage their DNA and kill them. This killing method is more potent than for typical cationic antimicrobials. So, lower doses of OIMs are needed, which reduces the chance of side effects.
 
Commercial potential
The research team tested if OIMs could be used as an antiseptic dip to prevent bovine mastitis in a preliminary farm trial led by SMART AMR. Cows whose teats were dipped in the compounds did not develop udder infection over time after being exposed to bacteria.
 
The OIMs also did not irritate the cows’ udders nor cause the animals to behave abnormally – for example, they were not restless and did not kick, which are signs of itching and irritation. The compounds were easily washed off as no traces of them were detected on the udders or in the cows’ milk after the teats were cleaned.
 
They have a sustainable advantage as well. “The OIMs are biodegradable and break down into natural molecules that are neither toxic nor polluting, so we expect them to be more environmentally friendly than using iodine or chlorhexidine,” explained Dr Kaixi Zhang, Research Scientist at SMART AMR and a co-author of the study.
 
Tests showed that the OIMs do not affect the quality of the milk too. Furthermore, unlike iodine and chlorhexidine, the OIM’s ability to kill bacteria was unaffected by milk.
 
Going forward, the scientists are commercialising the OIMs through a spin-off company, and a large farm trial has been started in Malacca, Malaysia, to optimise the antimicrobial compounds. Several agricultural companies in Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and New Zealand have expressed interest in exploring the commercial use of the antimicrobial compounds in preventing, and possibly treating, bovine mastitis in dairy cattle.
 
The dairy industry has been actively searching for new compounds that are much less toxic, more effective and more sustainable to replace existing iodine- and chlorhexidine-based products, which have been used to prevent bovine mastitis for decades. Coupled with increased scrutiny of the dairy business following rising incidents of adulterated milk, companies have thus shown interest in the researchers’ new antimicrobial compounds.
 
The research conducted at SMART is supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. The farm trial study was supported by a grant from the SMART Innovation Centre, which helps researchers commercialise their technologies and turn them into successful ventures.

Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

With the festive season fast approaching, homeowners are prioritising last-minute renovations – driving an expected revenue boost for tradies this quarter, according to new data from CommBank.

16 October 2025 – Small business revenue increased an average of 10 per cent in the three months to 31 December 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Construction leads the charge with a 19 per cent revenue boost in the festive quarter.

Electricians and plumbers see 16 per cent growth, while accommodation, cafes and restaurants remain steady at 4.8 per cent.

Australians focus on home improvements

Builders, electricians and plumbers are set to have a busy period leading up to Christmas, as CommBank data highlights the small business sectors most likely to benefit from the busy festive season.

CommBank’s business customer data over the last two years shows that small business revenue is typically around 10 per cent higher in the final quarter of the year (1 October – 31 December) compared to the first three months of a calendar year (January – March). Some sectors, however, are set to benefit more than others from the busy spending period.

CommBank Executive General Manager Small Business Banking, Bec Warren said rather than splurging at local boutiques, accommodation, cafes and restaurants – where revenue tends to remain steady year-round – Australians prioritise long-postponed home improvement projects before the New Year.

“Small businesses in construction saw a 19 per cent revenue boost between October to December last year, while electricians and plumbers also experienced a busy Christmas-period with revenue up 16 per cent,” said Ms Warren.

“Accommodation, cafes and restaurants were only up 4.8 per cent compared to the January-March 2025 period, perhaps signalling that the festive season continues well into the early months of the year.”

State-by-state highlights

Across Australia, project-driven sectors such as construction, utilities, and professional services dominate festive-season spending, with resources and government activity creating standout spikes in some regions.

Construction is king:

Source: Amnesty International

Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, who is currently imprisoned in an unknown location in China on unsubstantiated “spying” charges, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

“Ten years after Gui Minhai’s disappearance, his case stands as a chilling warning to anyone who dares to write or publish ideas that fall foul of the government’s censorship machine.

“Gui’s abduction, prosecutions and convictions violate every principle of international law. His case is not an isolated injustice, but an early example of a deliberate pattern of repression that seeks to silence dissent and that doesn’t hesitate to reach beyond China’s borders to do so. 

“Governments, in particular Sweden, other EU Member States and the EU itself, must not allow Gui Minhai to be forgotten. They should continue to publicly and consistently demand his release, exerting leverage through all tools at their disposal to urge the Chinese authorities to disclose his whereabouts and ensure consular access and the full protection of his rights.

“For a decade, China has kept Gui Minhai hidden from the world and, worse, those who love him — denying him regular access to his relatives, lawyers, and independent medical care. This cruel secrecy must end. Gui Minhai must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Background

Gui Minhai’s Causeway Bay Bookstore in Hong Kong was known for its books on Chinese leaders and political scandals which are banned in mainland China but popular with mainland Chinese tourists visiting Hong Kong.

He went missing in Thailand on 17 October 2015 – one of five Hong Kong–based publishers and booksellers who disappeared in late 2015 after publishing books critical of the Chinese government.

Gui reappeared on Chinese state media in 2016, giving an apparently forced confession to a hit-and-run several years earlier.  He was released in 2017 but appears to have been under tight police surveillance, with his freedom of movement curtailed. He was seized by plainclothes police while travelling from Shanghai to Beijing for medical reasons with two Swedish diplomats in January 2018.

In February 2020, he was sentenced in a sham trial to 10 years in prison on charges of “illegally providing intelligence to foreign entities”. He remains in jail at an unconfirmed location and has been denied access to his family and Swedish consular officials. Chinese authorities claim that this is because he sought the reinstatement of his Chinese nationality – a claim belied by Swedish government statements confirming his desire to renew his identity documents.

His daughter Angela Gui has campaigned tirelessly for her father’s release and says she has faced intimidation from Chinese state agents in an attempt to silence her.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) 

MANILA, 15 October 2025 – For a woman with obstructed labour, safe surgery can mean the difference between life and death. For a child with appendicitis, it can prevent lifelong complications. For a father with a diabetic foot infection, it can spare his leg. Yet across the Western Pacific, too many people still face unsafe, delayed surgery or cannot afford surgery altogether. These risks can turn a chance to heal into lasting harm.

WHO highlights that safe, accessible and affordable surgical care is essential for universal health coverage.  It is also one of the smartest investments in health, with the potential to avert 1.5 million deaths every year in low- and middle-income countries. But to deliver on this promise, systems must shift from isolated solutions to integrated, people-centred care.

“Surgery should save lives, not break them,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Every operation – no matter its scale and scope – must be safe, every patient must be protected from catastrophic costs, and every health worker must be equipped to deliver the best care. That's why at our upcoming 76th Regional Committee, we’re putting safer surgery on the agenda, calling on Ministers of Health and policymakers to drive solutions that benefit health for all.”

Why it matters

Surgical care improvements are not only for the operating theatre; they strengthen entire health systems as a part of continuum of care. To give every baby the best start in life, countries require adequate distribution of skilled health workforce. Fewer mortality from road injury demands strong promotion, prevention and referral system in place.  Safer surgery also forestalls the danger of antimicrobial resistance and builds resilience for emergencies.

Countries in the Western Pacific are already making progress:

• Cambodia, Fiji, Mongolia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are improving sterilization, infection control, and appropriate antibiotic use in surgery. 
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Papua New Guinea are strengthening essential intrapartum care to improve maternal, newborn and child care and reduce unnecessary caesareans or other surgical procedures. 
• Solomon Islands is tackling diabetic foot complications by catching and treating cases early, reducing the need for amputations. 
• Kiribati has pioneered leadership training for nurses, empowering them to improve hospital quality and governance from the ground up. 
• Cambodia, Samoa and Tonga have launched national surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia plans (NSOAPs), prioritizing access to safe, timely and affordable surgical care for all. 

Looking ahead

At the 76th  session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, Member States will consider new steps to scale up safer surgery. WHO is urging governments to:

• Embed essential surgery in universal health coverage packages to ensure essential surgical care is available for all and protect families from catastrophic costs. 
• Expand the use of low-cost, proven safety measures like sterilization audits and the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. 
• Invest in leadership and governance so hospital teams, from surgeons to nurses, can sustain continuous quality improvements. 
• Strengthen community-level referral systems to ensure timely, lifesaving surgical care as a part of Primary Health Care. 

WHO remains committed to working with countries and partners to “weave health for all,” reflecting its regional vision that interlaces efforts, resources, and expertise to protect health, keep the Western Pacific safer, and serve the more than 2.2 billion people who live in this vast region.

For more on the 76th WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, visit:https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/session-76

Source: GridBeyond

New York, 15 October 2025 – GridBeyond is proud to announce the launch of its new podcast, Energy Trends, a series that dives deep into the shifting dynamics of the global energy landscape.  

Hosted by Alden Phinney, GridBeyond’s Vice President of Business Development, the podcast features insights and expertise from industry leaders on the innovation driving change across the energy sector, from technologies and optimisation to trading, batteries and Artificial Intelligence.

In the first episode, Alden speaks with Pedro Robredo, Senior Vice President of the Americas, ABB Electrification Service. Together, they explore the intersection of energy, electrification, and infrastructure service models, and how partnerships like ABB and GridBeyond are driving transformation across the sector. The episode dives into how data-driven insights and intelligent automation are helping businesses move faster and seize new opportunities.  

“Energy Trends hosts the voices shaping the future of energy,” said Alden Phinney. “We’re excited to kick off with a guest like Pedro. We have started this project as we think there’s a real need for deeper, more accessible conversations around the rapid changes and innovations in the energy sector. Our goal is to inform, inspire, and connect professionals and enthusiasts alike as we navigate the transition to a more sustainable energy future.”

Pedro Robredo said: “It’s a pleasure to join GridBeyond for this important conversation,” said Pedro Robredo. “At ABB Electrification Service, we’re helping industries accelerate their energy transition through smarter service models, advanced technologies and strong partnerships. Together with innovators like GridBeyond, we’re enabling customers to unlock new value from their infrastructure, reduce emissions and build more resilient, future-ready operations.”

Subscribe to Energy Trends on Spotify and YouTube. New episodes release monthly.

 

About GridBeyond

GridBeyond's vision is to deliver a global zero carbon future. By leveraging AI, we innovate and collaborate with our customers to create optimal value from energy generation, demand and storage to deliver a zero-carbon future. By bridging the gap between distributed energy resources and electricity markets, GridBeyond’s technology means every connected asset – whether utility-scale renewables generation, battery storage, or industrial load – can be utilized to help maximize opportunities and enhance the grid. By intelligently dispatching flexibility into the right market, at the right time, asset owners and energy consumers unlock new revenues and savings, resilience, and management of price volatility, while supporting the transition to a Net Zero future.

For more information, visit www.gridbeyond.com

Source: Investors Observer

October 14, 2025 – As President Trump prepares to implement historic tariffs reaching up to 100% on Chinese goods starting November 1, InvestorsObserver's research reveals which U.S. states could be most affected by this escalation in trade tensions. (ref. https://investorsobserver.com/research/ranked-the-u-s-states-most-and-least-exposed-to-china-import-tariffs )

In 2024, California imported more than $122 billion worth of goods from China, which accounted for 25% of its total imports and close to 12% of its GDP. Nevada follows with the highest reliance ratio – 26% of its imports come from China. States like Tennessee, Illinois, Texas, and New York also show strong economic exposure, with China imports composing large shares of their GDPs.

Economic Implications by State

California's ports handle an immense share of U.S.-China trade, supporting around 500,000 jobs. “Tariff hikes at this scale could lead to immediate disruptions in employment and supply chains, especially in California's logistics and retail sectors,” said Sam Bourgi, finance analyst at InvestorsObserver. “Higher costs will likely ripple through consumer prices, reducing spending power just ahead of the holiday season.”

Tennessee's imports make up 22% of its GDP, driven largely by electronics and auto manufacturing. “The state's economy will feel the pinch sharply if tariffs disrupt Chinese supply chains, potentially risking job losses and slower growth,” continued Bourgi.

Illinois, with $41.4 billion in Chinese imports, faces a potential bottleneck in critical rare earth components. “It may take 5 to 10 years to develop domestic alternatives for heavy rare earths needed in defense and tech,” said Bourgi. “Trade restrictions now amplify the urgency of this long-term strategic vulnerability.”

Retail giants such as Walmart, Amazon, and Target have already signaled potential price increases and disruption of popular electronics, apparel, and household goods. “Consumers nationwide should brace for higher costs and potential shortages over the coming months,” said Bourgi.

Least Affected States

Rural and smaller states such as Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming show minimal exposure, each importing less than $132 million from China with less than 3% of their GDP reliant on Chinese goods. These states' economies, centered on agriculture, natural resources, and trade with Canada or South Korea, will remain largely insulated from the tariff shock.

Preparing for the Future

California, Nevada, Tennessee, and other highly exposed states face major uncertainty as tariffs threaten to raise costs across supply chains critical to industries' and consumers' daily functions. While ongoing diplomatic efforts around the Trump-Xi meeting may influence tariff implementation, businesses and policymakers are preparing for potential disruptions.

“Strategic diversification of supply chains and accelerated domestic production will be key to mitigating these risks,” advised Bourgi. “But such shifts take time and come with transitional economic costs that could weigh on growth in the near term.”

ABOUT SAM BOURGI

Sam Bourgi is a finance analyst and researcher at InvestorsObserver, bringing over 13 years of expertise in financial markets, economics, and monetary policy. His professional background spans the private, nonprofit, and public sectors, where he has held positions such as senior policy adviser, labor market analyst, and marketing director. Sam's in-depth research and market analysis have been referenced by leading institutions and organizations, including the U.S. Congress, Department of Justice, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Bank for International Settlements, Boston University Law Review, Barron's, and Forbes. Sam regularly appears on TV, including CBN, KFYR TV, and ABC30, and is often quoted by such media outlets as the SF Chronicle and MSN.

ABOUT INVESTORS OBSERVER

Investors Observer is a trusted source of independent financial analysis, market insights, and investment research for individuals and institutions. Founded to empower retail investors with actionable intelligence, InvestorsObserver delivers timely commentary, data-driven studies, and accessible financial tools designed to simplify complex market trends. Its research and insights have been featured by various media outlets, including Yahoo, The Guardian, Morning Star, Nasdaq, and more.

Previous research by InvestorsObserver: 

• How buying 1% of the S&P 500 went from achievable to nearly impossible for minimum wage workers

• How many Big Macs does it take to buy a house? The surprising truth about home affordability in 2025

• The American middle class is locked out: nearly a third of major cities now unaffordable for homebuyers

• These American cities have the most unaffordable neighborhoods in 2025

• Can you trust chatbots with your college debt? What AI chatbots get right and wrong under Trump's 2025 student loan overhaul