Semiconductor prices fall while every other manufactured good gets dearer. The 12-month gap is ten points — and the quarterly decline is really two months.
Technology
The capital and physical infrastructure behind the technology cycle, costed from public capex, power and price data.
3 pieces
July 2026
Every figure traces to a named public source.
- A record June for chip output — but not a seven-month climb
US semiconductor output hit an all-time high of 181.9 in June. Output fell in two of the seven months that got it there, and capacity is growing faster still.
- You cannot audit OpenAI's losses. You can audit the electricity bill.
The AI build-out's costs are hidden inside private companies. But US tech capex is back near its dot-com share, electricity generation has broken a 14-year flatline, …
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About this section
Technology and innovation drive both economic growth and geopolitical competition. AI disruption is reshaping industries from finance to manufacturing, creating new winners while threatening incumbents. Semiconductor supply chains have become a strategic battleground, with control over design, fabrication, and packaging determining national competitiveness. This section covers the forces shaping the digital economy and their implications for markets and policy.
Tech regulation is tightening across jurisdictions. Antitrust enforcement, data privacy rules, and platform governance create compliance costs and strategic constraints. Cybersecurity threats escalate as critical infrastructure and corporate systems face sophisticated attacks. The digital economy continues to expand, but its contours are increasingly defined by regulatory and geopolitical boundaries rather than pure technological possibility.
US-China tech competition dominates the landscape. Export controls on advanced chips, restrictions on software and services, and investment screening have bifurcated supply chains and talent pools. Understanding these dynamics is essential for anyone exposed to technology sectors—whether as an investor, operator, or policymaker. We provide analysis that connects technological change to market and geopolitical reality.