Good
What it is:
Kuwait is proposing a sovereign-backed initiative to form a new investment company targeting sectors in Saudi Arabia, including energy, transport, infrastructure, smart cities, and manufacturing. It follows reports that Kuwait’s roughly $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund could open an office in Riyadh to boost cross-border investments
What it will do:
Assuming approval, the entity would channel some $164 billion into Saudi projects. This supports Saudi’s Vision 2030 goal of attracting $100 billion annual foreign direct investment by 2030—a steep rise from the roughly $20 billion achieved in the prior year
How you can benefit:
- Sector exposure: Investing in listed companies involved in Saudi infrastructure, smart city development, and energy.
- Strategic positioning: Access regional growth trajectories driven by Gulf sovereign funds.
Early gains: Capitalizing on early movers in Saudi privatization and development partnerships.
Bad
What it is:
On August 6, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports in response to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. This brings the total tariff rate on Indian goods to 50%, effective 21 days later (around August 27).
What it will do:
This escalates trade tensions, targeting labor-intensive Indian export sectors like textiles, gems, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. The goal is to pressure India into limiting its Russian energy imports as part of efforts to weaken Russia economically
How you can benefit:
- Reallocate exposure: Reduce holdings in tariffs-hit Indian exporters; consider hedging with global diversified funds.
- Supply-chain shifts: Look at U.S. firms with operations in India (Apple, Google, Tesla, etc.) adapting to mitigate the impact.
Trade arbitrage: Track U.S. importers potentially facing cost increases—monitor consumer goods companies that depend on Indian imports.
Ugly
What it is:
At Black Hat 2025 (August 6), Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert warned that the U.S. is undergoing a “dramatic descent into authoritarianism,” describing a fusion of technology and fascism enabled by big tech platforms. He called on the cybersecurity community to resist contributing to the erosion and to help reverse it.
What it will do:
Deibert highlighted industry-wide political pressures—former cybersecurity leaders like Chris Krebs and Jen Easterly have been penalized or sidelined. He fears companies like Meta, Google, and Apple may defund internal threat-intel research teams, diminishing public oversight of spyware-making entities.
How you can benefit:
- Invest in resilient security firms: Seek cybersecurity vendors maintaining strong threat intelligence capabilities.
- Support oversight: Back companies or initiatives promoting transparency and accountability in surveillance markets.
Watch industry trends: Be alert to companies cutting safety/research teams—those doubling down may offer stronger long-term value in reputation-sensitive markets.
