Bread, Bullion, and the Battle for Greenland: The Global Fault Lines of 2026

February’s Global Economic Outlook ranges across a world under strain — and in transition. Victor Hill examines the brutal suppression of Iran’s January uprising and the role of food inflation as a political accelerant, before widening the lens to global markets, elections, and shifting power blocs. From gold’s surge toward historic highs and the weakening dollar, to oil, Japan’s bond market, and uncertainty at the US Federal Reserve, the financial landscape is anything but settled. Geopolitically, this episode explores Donald Trump’s pharaonic return to the world stage at Davos, the strategic logic behind America’s push for Greenland, and the growing importance of the Arctic and Antarctic in a new era of great-power competition. In Europe, Macron’s waning authority, a possible Berlin–Rome axis, and Labour’s mounting troubles in the UK point to profound political realignments, while upcoming elections from Japan to the United States add further volatility. Victor also delves into the escalating debate over social media regulation, free speech, and AI, the uneasy dance between Europe, China, and Trump’s America, and the long, grinding endgame of the war in Ukraine. A wide-ranging, unsparing survey of the forces shaping the global economy — and the politics that now drive it. For more investment and economics analysis plus inspiration please visit our website masterinvestor.co.uk.