Hard Numbers: The World Is All About The Benjamins

530 billion: As the US-China trade war hit its stride last year, wealthy Chinese lost $530 billion, primarily through their exposure to the Chinese stock market.

12,000: Turkey has begun bringing home the children of foreign ISIS fighters, and has already reunited more than 200 children with their relatives. But more than 12,000 foreign women and children remain trapped in Syria and Iraq, and most of the countries they are from haven't been as willing as Turkey to welcome them back.

80: The IMF says there are now more $100 bills in circulation than $1 bills. Didn't notice, huh? That's because more than 80 percent of those C-notes are being held overseas, as are 60 percent of all US bills overall. While US politics might be topsy-turvy these days, the shot-callers of the world are still All About the Benjamins.

29: South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 29 percent in the second quarter of 2019, the highest figure in more than a decade. Rising joblessness underscores the challenges for President Cyril Ramaphosa, who led his African National Congress party to a slim victory in elections in May on the promise of economic reform and growth.

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​Elon Musk in an America Party hat.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London, United Kingdom, on July 2, 2025.
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“We wanted to be first with a flashy AI law,” says Kai Zenner, digital policy advisor in the European Parliament. Speaking with GZERO's Tony Maciulis at the 2025 AI for Good Summit in Geneva, Zenner explains the ambitions and the complications behind Europe’s landmark AI Act. Designed to create horizontal rules for all AI systems, the legislation aims to set global standards for safety, transparency, and oversight.

More than 60% of Walmart suppliers are small businesses.* Through a $350 billion investment in products made, grown, or assembled in the US, Walmart is helping these businesses expand, create jobs, and thrive. This effort is expected to support the creation of over 750,000 new American jobs by 2030, empowering companies like Athletic Brewing, Bon Appésweet, and Milo’s Tea to grow their teams, scale their production, and strengthen the communities they call home. Learn more about Walmart's commitment to US manufacturing. *See website for additional details.

Last month, Microsoft released its 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, demonstrating the company’s sustained commitment to earning trust at a pace that matches AI innovation. The report outlines new developments in how we build and deploy AI systems responsibly, how we support our customers, and how we learn, evolve, and grow. It highlights our strengthened incident response processes, enhanced risk assessments and mitigations, and proactive regulatory alignment. It also covers new tools and practices we offer our customers to support their AI risk governance efforts, as well as how we work with stakeholders around the world to work towards governance approaches that build trust. You can read the report here.