Where Is Pensioner Poverty The Most Prevalent?

Four in ten people aged 66 and older in Korea were living in relative income poverty in 2022, according to the latest data from the OECD. That year, 39.7 percent of Korean seniors were living on an income below half the national median equivalized household income - the highest elderly poverty rate recorded across the OECD. The rate has remained stubbornly high over the past decade and edged up slightly between 2021 and 2022.

Still, this figure has improved from a high of 47.8 percent in 2011, when the OECD began publishing this data for Korea. Analysts note that the country has made significant strides towards improving its social security for older adults over the last decade, citing how a key factor behind the persistently high rate is the relatively recent launch of Korea's pension system in 1988, which has yet to reach full maturity. Public pension coverage has continued to expand in recent years, though disparities remain, particulalry between men and women, due to decades of unequal access to formal employment, as noted by Moon Joon-hyun of the Korea Herald.

But, as Statista's Anna Fleck details below, Korea is not alone in facing high elderly poverty.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Fellow OECD countries such as Estonia, Latvia and New Zealand also reported elevated rates in 2022, each exceeding 33 percent.

New Zealand, in particular, has seen a sharp increase, rising from 20 percent in 2019 to 34 percent in 2022. A report from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission found that rising living costs have severely impacted older New Zealanders, with 46 percent of respondents aged 65 and over saying they had reduced social activities, 28 percent reporting they now buy less food and 26 percent delaying medical treatment.

By comparison, elderly poverty rates in other OECD nations were significantly lower in 2022.

The Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland and Norway, continued to report some of the lowest rates, each below eight percent, reflecting their strong welfare systems and social protections.

Meanwhile, the United States reported a rate of around 23 percent, with little change since before the pandemic.

The United Kingdom remained steady at around 15 percent, while Canada’s rate was just under 12 percent.

The OECD defines elderly poverty as affecting individuals aged 66 and older, and notes that countries with similar poverty rates may still differ significantly in the actual income levels of those considered poor.

Tyler Durden Sat, 10/11/2025 - 08:45

"We Will Not Agree!" - Polish President Rejects EU Migrant Relocation Plan

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix news,

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Poland will not accept any attempt by EU institutions to impose migrant relocations within its borders.

In a letter sent to Brussels, Nawrocki stated that such actions would be unacceptable and urged the Commission to focus on securing the European Union’s external frontiers and combating illegal immigration.

“I would like to kindly inform you that Poland will not agree to any actions by European institutions that would be aimed at relocating illegal migrants in Poland, and I hope that you will take this fact into account in your actions,” the president wrote, honoring his electoral pledge to firmly reject the bloc’s Migration and Asylum Pact.

Nawrocki reminded von der Leyen that Poland’s eastern frontier has for years faced “constant migratory pressure, controlled by the Moscow regime with the help of the Belarusian state and intelligence services.” He noted that Warsaw has devoted “significant resources” to protecting the EU’s border and to supporting Ukrainian refugees displaced by Russia’s war.

“In 2025, there are still nearly a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland,” Nawrocki wrote. “After Feb. 24, 2022, the Polish state acted responsibly and accepted Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. We offered not only our own homes but also the state’s support that was needed at that time. Poland acted in solidarity, even though it was not bound by the obligation to show solidarity.”

Nawrocki said the bloc’s focus should not be on redistributing migrants within Europe but on stopping illegal crossings in the first place.

“I agree that illegal migration is a problem that Europe must address, but the solution is not to forcibly return migrants to Central and Eastern European countries,” he wrote. “Our common task should be, above all, to seal borders and combat smugglers.”

The Polish leader also noted that opposition to migrant relocation is shared across the political spectrum in Poland, including, at least in principle, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s left-wing coalition government.

“If it occurs to anyone in Europe to consider that Poland should take on other burdens, then regardless of who says it, I will say that Poland will not implement it. End of story,” Tusk said earlier this year, albeit ahead of the presidential election.

“The overwhelming majority of Poles, regardless of political affiliation, oppose the forced relocation of migrants to Poland,” Nawrocki wrote, adding that his election campaign had centered on ensuring “that Poles feel safe in their own country” and preserving national sovereignty.

“One element of this security is undoubtedly the absence of the risk of illegal migration, which has been flooding Western Europe since German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s memorable decision in 2015,” he continued.

Nawrocki reaffirmed that he “will not consent to the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in Poland” but said Warsaw remains ready to cooperate in other areas. “At the same time, I remain ready to cooperate on border protection, joint operational activities, information exchange, and technical support for Member States most exposed to migratory pressures,” he concluded.

In February, the Polish legal foundation Ordo Iuris told Remix News that the European Union’s migration pact could see up to 100,000 migrants relocated to Poland every year.

“All will depend, of course, on the number of migrants arriving by the Southern routes, so it is a very rough estimate. But we stand by it,” said the institute’s Olivier Bault.

“In most cases, Poland will be unable to deport them, even if their asylum applications are denied,” Bault added.

When asked specifically about Poland and any possible exemption previously, EU commission spokesman Markus Lammert told press that “EU law is binding on the member states and the migration pact, as a result of its entry into force, is binding law.”

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Sat, 10/11/2025 - 08:10

Geert Wilders Suspends Campaign Due To 'Jihadi-Inspired Terrorist' Plot, Assassination Threats

In yet another example of how 'peaceful' both the Left and hardline Sunni/Salafi immigrants are, and in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination last month in the US, Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders - who the media constantly dubs Hitler "far Right" - has suspended his campaigning for elections later this month, due to ongoing threats to his life.

Specifically he was informed by authorities that he was a potential target of a suspected plot in Belgium to kill conservative politicians using a drone carrying explosives. Three men were arrested in Antwerp in the foiled attack believed to primarily be aimed at Belgium's Prime Minister Bert De Wever.

Via Shutterstock

"The NCTV does not foresee any 'residual threat' but I have a bad feeling and I am therefore suspending all my campaign activities for the time being," Wilders said after a briefing he received. 

Police raids in Antwerp recovered a homemade bomb, shrapnel loads, and evidence of apparent efforts to put together an explosive-laden drone. Washington Post details:

Prosecutors said the police raids were part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.” They didn’t identify the politicians who might have been targeted.

But Belgian government ministers identified Prime Minister Bart De Wever as one target. On X, Wilders posted a Belgian news report that he and De Wever’s successor as Antwerp mayor, Els van Doesburg, were also on the hit list. All three are right-wing politicians.

Wilders' outspoken stance against Islam as well as mass migration policies has actually resulted in some level of police protection and higher security going all the way back to 2004.

Dutch Justice Minister Foort van Oosten posted on X that he has ordered the Dutch counterterrorism office "do everything necessary to enable Mr. Wilders to resume his work as soon as he wishes."

The founder and leader of Party for Freedom (PVV) has attracted controversy and hate due to his outspokenness on Europe's migrant problem and the commentary like the following:

Geert Wilders: “Islam is truly evil. The so-called Prophet Muhammad raped a young girl and gave slave girls to his henchmen. Islam is violence, hatred and barbarism by nature. It is incompatible with freedom!” Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/qcoCCDxPMd

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) December 28, 2023

Wilders had previously canceled a planned radio debate, after which he was notified directly of the threat by the Dutch intelligence agency NCTV.

It does appear the plotter arrested in Belgium are Islamic radicals, given that Belgian prosecutors have described the intention of the suspects "was to carry out a jihadi-inspired terrorist attack targeting politicians."

Tyler Durden Sat, 10/11/2025 - 07:35

Lagarde And The Euro: Why The ECB Will Never Deliver A Global Reserve Currency

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

ECB President Christine Lagarde on Tuesday once again called for a leadership role for the euro in the global economy. According to her assessment, the Eurozone is today a passive observer, forced to endure shocks from Washington and other financial centers. A glimpse into the obscure world of ECB officials, who see themselves as victims.

They present themselves as the masters of money – the central bankers. Their influence on real-world politics and economic developments must not be underestimated, especially in times of exploding national debt. They are the backstop of politics. They are the ones who, through massive interventions in currency and bond markets, attempt to keep government budgets, long sinking in the swamp of debt, afloat. And they are increasingly in competition with each other.

USA vs. EU

Since the U.S. under President Donald Trump made it unmistakably clear that the transatlantic cuddle course – in view of European censorship, expansive state intervention, and green transformation – belongs to the past, the ECB’s monetary policy has come under intensified market scrutiny.

On Tuesday, ECB President Christine Lagarde appeared at an event organized by Business France in Paris – delivering a speech that made waves internationally.

At a time when political credibility is increasingly negotiated on the capital markets, such appearances send signals far beyond the conference hall.

In her speech, Christine Lagarde painted an unusual overall picture – a narrative that clearly fits into the ongoing currency war with the United States. Between the lines, she suggested a general loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar, without explicitly naming the supposed culprit. She implied that Donald Trump’s abandonment of climate policy and deregulation of the U.S. economy was erratic, shaking investor confidence in the American capital market.

The U.S. Is Gaining Ground

Nothing could be further from reality. The U.S. economy is currently growing at nearly four percent, with investments roughly 14 percent above the long-term average. An economic powerhouse defined by stability and confidence.

Exactly this is likely a thorn in the side of the currency watchers in the ECB Tower and the central planners of the Brussels Commission. While market-driven dynamism is returning to the U.S. after the stifling Biden years, Europe’s own model – driven by central planning and CO₂ dogma – remains deeply mired in economic distortions. The transatlantic gap is glaring.

It is truly bizarre when Christine Lagarde speaks of being a “powerless observer” of political decisions made elsewhere – especially in Washington. Her institution, the European Central Bank, which has long merged with Brussels’ power architecture into a political unit, plays a central role in propping up Brussels’ eco-socialist agenda through massive bond market interventions.

The ECB was not a bystander but an active architect of this course. While Lagarde today feigns the role of powerless observer, her bank is in fact one of the key actors keeping this fragile system alive, now crumbling before her eyes.

EU as the Victim

The European Union and the ECB love to cast themselves in the victim role. The very actors who confront European citizens with heavy-handed measures such as private chat monitoring or censorship laws like the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, shielding their power from criticism, present themselves as victims.

What Christine Lagarde demands is nothing less than a deepening of the monetary union – the next step toward a comprehensive banking union. This is preparation for what Brussels has already quietly planned: the gradual consolidation of national debts under the EU Commission, always kept liquid by the ECB’s money printer – a power project Brussels and Frankfurt have long committed to, to the detriment of democratic control and national sovereignty.

Euro as a Global Reserve Currency

Christine Lagarde sees the euro – a currency that lost its largest single buyer, Russia, after the cessation of Russian gas imports and has since been gradually declining in global significance – as poised to become a new global reserve currency. The push forward is intended, among other things, through the introduction of euro stablecoins, eurobonds, and structural reforms in the Eurozone economy.

Lagarde leaves unanswered the question of who will actually implement these structural reforms. She likely referred to the €800 billion investment package her predecessor Mario Draghi presented as a universal panacea for Europe’s problems.

In Brussels, Draghi’s advice is followed, plunging headlong into debt: the planned seven-year budget of the Commission totals €2 trillion – including €750 billion for the climate economy and €130 billion for the military-industrial complex of the new crony economy.

At the ECB, no one notices the contradiction: how can the euro become a trusted global reserve currency amid these mountains of debt? They represent nothing less than a massive expansion of the money supply, exerting growing depreciation pressure on the currency.

Who would voluntarily hold a currency whose debts are neither collateralized nor energy-secured, but backed solely by an economically exhausted European taxpayer and the central bank’s printing press?

Draghi’s Poisoned Legacy

Christine Lagarde and her colleagues have inherited the poisoned legacy of Draghi’s “Whatever it takes” principle – unlimited backing of state debt with the printing press has become the foundation of European monetary and fiscal policy. While the Federal Reserve demonstrates the stability of the U.S. economy with real positive interest rates, the ECB remains the indispensable backstop of Europe’s shrinking economy and debt-heavy states – a guarantor for financing numerous socialist programs on the capitals’ and Brussels’ agenda.

The ECB is not only the guardian of the euro; it is the safety net and lifeline of a system that would have collapsed without permanent monetary support. And the markets know it.
So when Lagarde speaks of addressing domestic economic problems through appropriate reforms, the world knows: the money pump will be switched on to flood the dried-up subsidy channels of the green crony economy. Lost capital, lost confidence. In this modus operandi, the euro will never become a global reserve currency.

The numbers confirm this. About 84 percent of global trade is still invoiced in U.S. dollars. The euro accounts for roughly 7 percent, far from challenging the greenback.

While global foreign exchange reserves show a slightly different picture – 58 percent in U.S. dollars and 20 percent in euros – this does not change the verdict: the euro is no real competitor to the U.S. dollar.

Digital Euro Brings Light to the Darkness

The ideological rift between the U.S. and EU becomes fully visible once the ECB introduces the digital euro. Behind the technocratic façade lies not a mere modernization step but an attempt to gain full control over cross-border transfers, prevent capital flight, and establish the currency as a political instrument of discipline.
The plan is transparent: those who oppose politically – whether against Brussels’ climate dogma, the Ukraine war, or the increasing centralization of power – will lose access to their digital wallet, fully controllable at any time. A diabolical scheme undermining individual sovereignty, nearing completion.

Just like censorship, chat monitoring, and eco-socialist regulatory mania, it will inevitably lead to a socio-political fiasco.

On October 14, the European Parliament will debate the introduction of chat monitoring – or, in other words, the end of postal privacy. All factions will lay their cards on the table. We will see who truly stands with the citizens, who defends the values of a free civilization, and who upholds the foundations of civic liberty. Many likely will not.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist, who has worked for over 25 years as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Sat, 10/11/2025 - 07:00

A US Port In Pakistan Would Complete Its Pro-Western Pivot

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Pakistan has been pivoting towards the West since April 2022’s post-modern coup against former multipolar Prime Minister Imran Khan, with this trend accelerating since Trump’s return to power and his obsession with punishing India for not subordinating itself as the US’ largest-ever vassal state.

Their rapid rapprochement aims to geostrategically reshape South Asia via the revival of their Old Cold War-era partnership, which would advance US interests by greatly decelerating regional multipolar processes.

To that end, Pakistan is suspected of facilitating the flow of foreign terrorists into Afghanistan as anti-Taliban proxies per what can be intuited by Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoigu in his article from late August that was analyzed here last month. In parallel, Trump’s recently reaffirmed goal of returning US troops to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase can only succeed with Pakistan’s support. To top it all off, the Financial Times (FT) reported that Pakistan is now offering the US a commercial port too.

They cited unnamed advisors to Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, the country’s de facto ruler who’s visited the US three times this past year alone and met with Trump twice thus far, to inform their audience that he envisages this being established in Pasni. That town is in close proximity to Iranian-bordering Gwadar, the terminal point of the Belt & Road Initiative’s China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) flagship that which the US has long fearmongered could one day host the Chinese Navy.

The FT reported that the project’s blueprint plays on these fears as well as the US’ ones about Iran and even Russia to make their Pasni proposal more appealing to Trump 2.0. The document allegedly declares that “Pasni’s proximity to Iran and Central Asia enhances US options for trade and security…Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar…and expand US influence in the Arabian Sea and Central Asia…China’s Gwadar investments under the Belt and Road Initiative raise dual-use concerns.”

The US presence in Pasni would aid the export of minerals that US companies were invited by Pakistan to mine in Balochistan province but could quickly take on military dimensions. The US naturally has an interest in helping Pakistan defeat the terrorist-designated “Balochistan Liberation Army” that’s been menacing this resource-rich region. That could lead to mission creep in Afghanistan given Pakistan’s claims that the Taliban backs that group, however, and more sanctions against India for the same reason.

The pretext of assisting “Major Non-NATO Ally” Pakistan in its own “War on Terror”, especially if Americans (even if only security contractors) are killed after attacks on US mining projects in Balochistan, could serve to justify the basing of US naval forces, ground troops, and/or aerial assets in or near Pasni. A Qatari-like pact could then follow for guaranteeing Pakistan’s security vis-à-vis Afghanistan, India, and even Iran, which Pakistan has also accused of backing terrorist-designated Baloch groups.

Through these means, which are dependent on a US presence of some sort in Pasni, Pakistan would complete its pro-Western pivot by fully restoring its Old Cold War-era partnership with America that Imran Khan opposed (and is why he was deposed). The regional multipolar processes championed by Russia, India, Iran, and China would therefore be challenged like never before, but that could also lead to them cooperating like never before too, with Pakistan bearing the brunt of their collective pressure.

Tyler Durden Fri, 10/10/2025 - 23:25

Central Banks Now Hold More Gold Than US Treasuries

Central banks have crossed a symbolic line: their combined gold reserves now exceed their U.S. Treasury holdings for the first time in nearly three decades.

The crossover underscores a gradual diversification away from dollar-denominated securities and toward hard assets.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, tracks how these shares have evolved from the 1970s to today.

The data comes from Crescat Capital macro strategist Tavi Costa.

From Petrodollars to De-Dollarization

After the end of Bretton Woods, soaring real interest rates and the rise of the petrodollar steered reserve managers toward U.S. Treasuries through the 1980s and 1990s.

In the 2000s, the dollar’s depth and liquidity reinforced that preference. Since 2022, however, heavy official gold buying has picked up again — 1,136 tonnes in 2022, a record — with 2023 and 2024 maintaining historically strong accumulation. The trend is even more striking considering that nearly one-fifth of all the gold ever mined is now held by central banks.

Date Gold Holdings As a % International Reserves U.S. Treasuries Holdings As a % International Reserves 1/30/1970 48% 13% 1/29/1971 43% 23% 1/31/1972 36% 32% 1/31/1973 39% 31% 1/31/1974 50% 17% 1/31/1975 50% 15% 1/30/1976 44% 18% 1/31/1977 41% 20% 1/31/1978 41% 23% 1/31/1979 44% 18% 1/31/1980 60% 8% 1/30/1981 54% 11% 1/29/1982 51% 13% 1/31/1983 57% 13% 1/31/1984 51% 15% 1/31/1985 46% 17% 1/31/1986 46% 16% 1/30/1987 44% 18% 1/29/1988 41% 19% 1/31/1989 37% 21% 1/31/1990 37% 19% 2/28/1990 36% 20% 1/31/1991 30% 21% 1/31/1992 29% 23% 1/29/1993 27% 23% 1/31/1994 27% 23% 1/31/1995 24% 24% 1/31/1996 23% 28% 1/31/1997 19% 31% 1/30/1998 16% 31% 1/29/1999 15% 31% 1/31/2000 14% 29% 2/29/2000 14% 29% 3/31/2000 14% 29% 4/28/2000 13% 29% 5/31/2000 13% 29% 6/30/2000 14% 28% 7/31/2000 13% 28% 8/31/2000 13% 28% 9/29/2000 13% 28% 10/31/2000 13% 29% 11/30/2000 13% 28% 12/29/2000 13% 28% 1/31/2001 12% 29% 2/28/2001 12% 28% 3/30/2001 12% 29% 4/30/2001 12% 28% 5/31/2001 12% 28% 6/29/2001 12% 28% 7/31/2001 12% 28% 8/31/2001 12% 28% 9/28/2001 13% 27% 10/31/2001 12% 30% 11/30/2001 12% 30% 12/31/2001 12% 30% 1/31/2002 12% 30% 2/28/2002 13% 29% 3/29/2002 13% 29% 4/30/2002 13% 30% 5/31/2002 13% 29% 6/28/2002 12% 28% 7/31/2002 12% 28% 8/30/2002 12% 28% 9/30/2002 12% 28% 10/31/2002 12% 30% 11/29/2002 12% 29% 12/31/2002 13% 28% 1/31/2003 13% 29% 2/28/2003 12% 29% 3/31/2003 12% 29% 4/30/2003 12% 30% 5/30/2003 12% 28% 6/30/2003 11% 28% 7/31/2003 11% 29% 8/29/2003 12% 29% 9/30/2003 12% 28% 10/31/2003 11% 29% 11/28/2003 12% 28% 12/31/2003 12% 28% 1/30/2004 11% 30% 2/27/2004 11% 29% 3/31/2004 11% 29% 4/30/2004 10% 31% 5/31/2004 10% 30% 6/30/2004 10% 30% 7/30/2004 10% 32% 8/31/2004 10% 31% 9/30/2004 11% 31% 10/29/2004 11% 31% 11/30/2004 11% 30% 12/31/2004 10% 29% 1/31/2005 10% 29% 2/28/2005 10% 29% 3/31/2005 9% 28% 4/29/2005 9% 29% 5/31/2005 9% 29% 6/30/2005 9% 28% 7/29/2005 9% 28% 8/31/2005 9% 28% 9/30/2005 10% 28% 10/31/2005 9% 28% 11/30/2005 10% 28% 12/30/2005 10% 27% 1/31/2006 11% 27% 2/28/2006 11% 27% 3/31/2006 11% 27% 4/28/2006 12% 26% 5/31/2006 11% 25% 6/30/2006 11% 25% 7/31/2006 11% 27% 8/31/2006 11% 26% 9/29/2006 10% 26% 10/31/2006 10% 27% 11/30/2006 10% 26% 12/29/2006 10% 26% 1/31/2007 10% 26% 2/28/2007 10% 26% 3/30/2007 10% 25% 4/30/2007 10% 25% 5/31/2007 9% 24% 6/29/2007 9% 24% 7/31/2007 9% 24% 8/31/2007 9% 24% 9/28/2007 10% 23% 10/31/2007 10% 24% 11/30/2007 10% 23% 12/31/2007 10% 23% 1/31/2008 11% 24% 2/29/2008 11% 23% 3/31/2008 10% 23% 4/30/2008 10% 23% 5/30/2008 10% 23% 6/30/2008 10% 22% 7/31/2008 10% 24% 8/29/2008 9% 25% 9/30/2008 9% 24% 10/31/2008 8% 30% 11/28/2008 9% 29% 12/31/2008 10% 29% 1/30/2009 10% 31% 2/27/2009 11% 31% 3/31/2009 10% 31% 4/30/2009 10% 32% 5/29/2009 11% 31% 6/30/2009 10% 30% 7/31/2009 10% 32% 8/31/2009 10% 31% 9/30/2009 10% 31% 10/30/2009 11% 31% 11/30/2009 12% 30% 12/31/2009 11% 30% 1/29/2010 11% 31% 2/26/2010 11% 31% 3/31/2010 11% 31% 4/30/2010 11% 31% 5/31/2010 12% 31% 6/30/2010 12% 31% 7/30/2010 11% 33% 8/31/2010 12% 33% 9/30/2010 12% 31% 10/29/2010 12% 31% 11/30/2010 12% 31% 12/31/2010 12% 31% 1/31/2011 12% 31% 2/28/2011 12% 30% 3/31/2011 12% 30% 4/29/2011 13% 29% 5/31/2011 12% 30% 6/30/2011 12% 29% 7/29/2011 13% 30% 8/31/2011 14% 29% 9/30/2011 13% 30% 10/31/2011 13% 29% 11/30/2011 14% 29% 12/30/2011 13% 30% 1/31/2012 14% 30% 2/29/2012 13% 30% 3/30/2012 13% 30% 4/30/2012 13% 31% 5/31/2012 12% 31% 6/29/2012 13% 31% 7/31/2012 13% 31% 8/31/2012 13% 31% 9/28/2012 13% 30% 10/31/2012 13% 31% 11/30/2012 13% 31% 12/31/2012 13% 31% 1/31/2013 13% 31% 2/28/2013 12% 31% 3/29/2013 12% 31% 4/30/2013 11% 30% 5/31/2013 11% 31% 6/28/2013 10% 32% 7/31/2013 10% 31% 8/30/2013 11% 31% 9/30/2013 10% 31% 10/31/2013 10% 31% 11/29/2013 10% 31% 12/31/2013 9% 31% 1/31/2014 9% 31% 2/28/2014 10% 30% 3/31/2014 10% 30% 4/30/2014 10% 30% 5/30/2014 9% 30% 6/30/2014 10% 30% 7/31/2014 10% 31% 8/29/2014 10% 30% 9/30/2014 9% 31% 10/31/2014 9% 31% 11/28/2014 9% 31% 12/31/2014 9% 31% 1/30/2015 10% 31% 2/27/2015 9% 32% 3/31/2015 9% 32% 4/30/2015 9% 32% 5/29/2015 9% 32% 6/30/2015 9% 32% 7/31/2015 9% 32% 8/31/2015 9% 33% 9/30/2015 9% 33% 10/30/2015 9% 32% 11/30/2015 9% 33% 12/31/2015 9% 33% 1/29/2016 10% 33% 2/29/2016 10% 33% 3/31/2016 10% 32% 4/29/2016 11% 32% 5/31/2016 10% 32% 6/30/2016 11% 32% 7/29/2016 11% 31% 8/31/2016 11% 31% 9/30/2016 11% 31% 10/31/2016 11% 30% 11/30/2016 10% 31% 12/30/2016 10% 31% 1/31/2017 10% 31% 2/28/2017 11% 31% 3/31/2017 11% 31% 4/28/2017 11% 32% 5/31/2017 11% 31% 6/30/2017 10% 31% 7/31/2017 11% 32% 8/31/2017 11% 31% 9/29/2017 11% 31% 10/31/2017 11% 31% 11/30/2017 11% 31% 12/29/2017 11% 30% 1/31/2018 11% 30% 2/28/2018 11% 30% 3/30/2018 11% 30% 4/30/2018 11% 30% 5/31/2018 11% 30% 6/29/2018 10% 30% 7/31/2018 10% 31% 8/31/2018 10% 31% 9/28/2018 10% 31% 10/31/2018 10% 31% 11/30/2018 10% 30% 12/31/2018 11% 30% 1/31/2019 11% 31% 2/28/2019 11% 31% 3/29/2019 11% 31% 4/30/2019 11% 31% 5/31/2019 11% 31% 6/28/2019 11% 30% 7/31/2019 11% 30% 8/30/2019 12% 30% 9/30/2019 12% 30% 10/31/2019 12% 30% 11/29/2019 12% 30% 12/31/2019 12% 29% 1/31/2020 13% 29% 2/28/2020 13% 29% 3/31/2020 13% 30% 4/30/2020 13% 29% 5/29/2020 14% 29% 6/30/2020 14% 29% 7/31/2020 15% 28% 8/31/2020 15% 28% 9/30/2020 14% 28% 10/30/2020 14% 28% 11/30/2020 14% 28% 12/31/2020 14% 27% 1/29/2021 14% 27% 2/26/2021 13% 28% 3/31/2021 13% 28% 4/30/2021 13% 28% 5/31/2021 14% 27% 6/30/2021 13% 28% 7/30/2021 14% 27% 8/31/2021 14% 27% 9/30/2021 13% 27% 10/29/2021 13% 27% 11/30/2021 13% 27% 12/31/2021 14% 27% 1/31/2022 14% 26% 2/28/2022 14% 26% 3/31/2022 15% 26% 4/29/2022 15% 26% 5/31/2022 14% 26% 6/30/2022 14% 27% 7/29/2022 14% 26% 8/31/2022 14% 26% 9/30/2022 14% 27% 10/31/2022 14% 27% 11/30/2022 14% 26% 12/30/2022 15% 26% 1/31/2023 15% 26% 2/28/2023 15% 26% 3/31/2023 15% 25% 4/28/2023 15% 25% 5/31/2023 15% 25% 6/30/2023 15% 26% 7/31/2023 15% 25% 8/31/2023 15% 25% 9/29/2023 15% 25% 10/31/2023 16% 26% 11/30/2023 16% 25% 12/29/2023 16% 25% 1/31/2024 16% 25% 2/29/2024 16% 25% 3/29/2024 17% 25% 4/30/2024 17% 25% 5/31/2024 17% 24% 6/28/2024 17% 24% 7/31/2024 18% 25% 8/30/2024 18% 24% 9/30/2024 19% 24% 10/31/2024 20% 23% 11/29/2024 19% 23% 12/31/2024 19% 23% 1/31/2025 20% 24% 2/28/2025 20% 24% 3/31/2025 22% 23% 4/30/2025 22% 23% 5/30/2025 22% 23% 6/30/2025 24% 23%

As political uncertainty and geopolitical risks continue to fuel safe-haven demand, this purchasing momentum has also lifted prices: gold surpassed $4,000 an ounce for the first time ever in October 2025.

Why “More Gold than Treasuries” Matters

Crossing above Treasuries signals that reserve managers are prioritizing durability, portability, and neutrality over yield.

According to the IMF, gold’s share of global reserves climbed to about 18% in 2024, up sharply from mid-2010s levels, reflecting a structural reweighting toward tangible assets.

Seen as an alternative to heavily indebted fiat currencies, especially the U.S. dollar, the share of gold in central bank reserves has increased most among emerging market economies. China, Russia, and Türkiye have been the largest official buyers over the past decade.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out U.S. Dollar Index Falls 10.1% in 2025, Steepest Drop in Three Decades on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Fri, 10/10/2025 - 23:00

Lesser-Known Breast Cancer Spreading Among American Women

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A subtype of breast cancer is on the rise among American women, with incidence rates highest among White females, according to an Oct. 7 peer-reviewed study published in the American Cancer Society’s (ACS’s) journal Cancer.

A new study found that race-wise, White women had the highest incidence rate for ILC at 14.7 per 100,000 females. Perfect Wave/Shutterstock

Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, making up one out of every three new female cancers occurring annually, according to ACS data.

Invasive breast cancer occurs when cancer cells spread into the surrounding breast tissue. There are two common types—invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).

According to the study, breast cancer stats and clinical data typically reflect IDC as the dominant subtype. As such, researchers analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to identify incidence and outcomes of ILC.

“The incidence of lobular breast cancer has increased from 6 cases per 100,000 women in 1975 to approximately 14 in 2021, mirroring patterns for all other breast cancers that are largely driven by the widespread uptake of mammography screening,” the study stated.

“Rising incidence for ILC, as well as other breast cancers, is thought to be driven by changing patterns in risk factors, such as increasing excess body weight, younger age at first menarche, later age at first birth, fewer children, later age at menopause, and increased alcohol consumption in some age groups.”

The study projected that roughly 33,600 women in the United States will be newly diagnosed with ILC this year. Women aged 60–69 are estimated to account for the majority of these cases, with 10,320 diagnoses.

Between 2017 and 2021, more than half of invasive lobular diagnoses happened among women over 65 years of age. Similar to other breast cancers, the most prevalent tumor sizes for lobular cancer types are less than two centimeters.

For the most recent decade, between 2012 and 2021, incidence rates for ILC have increased “more steeply” at 2.8 percent annually compared to 0.8 percent for other breast cancer types, said the study.

Unlike other breast cancers, ILC incidence was found to be rising at a similar pace among women under the age of 50 years and those above it.

Race-wise, White women had the highest incidence rate for ILC at 14.7 per 100,000 females. Incidence rates among black, Native American, and Hispanic women were roughly 33 to 55 percent lower.

In terms of survival, women diagnosed with ILC have a higher survival rate than those with IDC seven years after diagnosis, the study said.

At 10 years, survival rates for ILC and IDC are similar. For regional- and distant-stage disease, in which the cancer has spread wider in the body, ILC survival rates are lower.

ILC originates in the lobules, glands in the breasts responsible for producing milk, ACS said in an Oct. 7 statement.

“ILC tumors grow in a linear or dispersed pattern, instead of forming a lump typical of other breast cancers. This can contribute to delayed detection by patients and doctors, treatment challenges, and poorer long-term prognosis for advanced disease,” it said.

Angela Giaquinto, an ACS scientist and lead author of the study, said that while ILC makes up only 10 percent of all breast cancers, the rising number of these cases makes the disease “important to understand.”

“Also, survival rates beyond seven years are significantly lower for ILC than the most common type of breast cancer, highlighting the pressing need for prevention and early detection strategies targeting this subtype to be brought to the forefront,” she said.

Three of the researchers in the study were employed at the ACS, which receives grants from corporate and private sources.

One researcher reported a conflict of interest, having received grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Fashion Footwear Association of New York, and biotech company Genentech. Another researcher received grants from Genentech/Roche, Puma Biotechnology, and pharmaceutical company Eisai.

According to a Sept. 22 post by the CDC, risk factors for breast cancer include things that people can change and some that they can’t.

Changeable risk factors include being physically active, consuming less alcohol, reducing hormone intake, and reducing weight.

Risk factors that are not changeable include genetic mutations, having dense breasts, a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, and old age.

On Sept. 25, the Food and Drug Administration announced it had approved a new therapy for advanced breast cancer—Imlunestrant from Eli Lilly.

The therapy, expected to be made available in the United States over the coming weeks, is set to have a price tag of $22,500 per 28 days for the 400 milligram dose.

According to a 2024 survey, women who delayed mammograms typically had low breast cancer risk and were concerned about overdiagnosis and the resulting harms.

“Commonly stated reasons for delaying screening included lack of family history, low cancer risk, and concern about screening harms,” the study authors said.

Although mammography can save lives through early detection, it also comes with certain risks, including false positives, unnecessary biopsies, and overdiagnosis, with false positives being quite common.

The survey discovered that 239 out of 1,000 women who did breast cancer screenings between 40 and 49 years of age received a false positive result.

Tyler Durden Fri, 10/10/2025 - 22:35