What Is Happening with Interest Rates, Credit and Investment Activity (Part 3)

By Andrii Azarov (Andrew Azarov) — Professor of Business, Economics, and the Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Business Process Automation Software Systems. International Business Academy Consortium (United Kingdom).  

This article is for readers who want to understand the real forces shaping the modern economy — not only as observers, but as people making financial, business and strategic decisions. It is especially valuable for entrepreneurs, investors, executives and thoughtful citizens who recognise that interest rates, credit conditions and investment activity now influence everything from household stability to global business growth. For the audience of 100news.tv, this material matters because it goes beyond headlines and helps interpret the deeper logic of economic change.

Part 3 

 <<< Part 1 

 <<< Part 2 

 

XXXV. The United States: why the world still watches the Federal Reserve first

No analysis of interest rates, credit and investment activity is complete without beginning with the United States, because the American monetary system still casts the longest shadow over global finance.

This is not merely because the Federal Reserve is powerful in a formal sense. It is because the U.S. dollar remains central to the architecture of trade, reserves, sovereign borrowing, commodity pricing, institutional portfolios and cross-border corporate finance. When American rates change, they do not remain inside America. They ripple outward through the global financial bloodstream.

That is why the Federal Reserve is watched not only by Wall Street but by exporters in Asia, borrowers in emerging markets, pension funds in Europe, central banks in Latin America, family offices in the Gulf, and entrepreneurs everywhere whose access to capital depends, directly or indirectly, on the global price of money.

What Is Happening with Interest Rates, Credit and Investment Activity (Part 2)

By Andrii Azarov (Andrew Azarov) — Professor of Business, Economics, and the Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Business Process Automation Software Systems. International Business Academy Consortium (United Kingdom).  

This article is for readers who want to understand the real forces shaping the modern economy — not only as observers, but as people making financial, business and strategic decisions. It is especially valuable for entrepreneurs, investors, executives and thoughtful citizens who recognise that interest rates, credit conditions and investment activity now influence everything from household stability to global business growth. For the audience of 100news.tv, this material matters because it goes beyond headlines and helps interpret the deeper logic of economic change.

Part 2 

 <<< Part 1

 Part 3 >>> 

XXI. Mortgages: why the housing question has become the emotional centre of the rate cycle

If interest rates are the nervous system of the economy, mortgages are the point at which that system touches human life most directly. For many households, nothing makes the rate cycle feel more real than the monthly housing payment.

This is why debates about monetary policy quickly become debates about fairness, opportunity and social mobility. A percentage point on paper may look technical. In household budgeting, it can mean the difference between confidence and anxiety, ownership and exclusion, stability and deferral.

The mortgage market is where three forces collide at once.

What Is Happening with Interest Rates, Credit and Investment Activity (Part 1)

By Andrii Azarov (Andrew Azarov) — Professor of Business, Economics, and the Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Business Process Automation Software Systems. International Business Academy Consortium (United Kingdom). 

This article is for readers who want to understand the real forces shaping the modern economy — not only as observers, but as people making financial, business and strategic decisions. It is especially valuable for entrepreneurs, investors, executives and thoughtful citizens who recognise that interest rates, credit conditions and investment activity now influence everything from household stability to global business growth. For the audience of 100news.tv, this material matters because it goes beyond headlines and helps interpret the deeper logic of economic change.

Part 1 

There are periods in economic history when money is simply money: a neutral medium, a technical instrument, a background condition to ordinary commercial life. And then there are periods when the price of money becomes the main character in the story.

We are living through the second kind.

For several years, households, entrepreneurs, investors, bankers and governments have all been forced to relearn an old truth that many had nearly forgotten during the age of ultra-cheap liquidity: interest rates are not a detail. They are one of the most powerful organising forces in the economy. They shape mortgages and car loans, the appetite of investors, the confidence of business owners, the pace of construction, the valuation of technology firms, the sustainability of public debt, the resilience of banks, the attractiveness of bonds, and even the emotional climate of consumption.

The Top 20 Best Countries for Business Development Today (Interactive Chart)

By Andrii Azarov (Andrew Azarov) — Professor of Business, Economics, and the Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Business Process Automation Software Systems. International Business Academy Consortium (United Kingdom).

Why we returned to this topic — and how this editorial assessment was built

In our previous analytical article, Top 20 Best Countries for Business Development by 2035, we set out to answer a question that has become increasingly important for entrepreneurs, investors, internationally mobile families and ambitious professionals: where in the world can a serious business not only be launched, but also protected, scaled, monetised and lived around in a sustainable way? 

That earlier article was not written as a superficial ranking, nor as a collection of fashionable destinations. It was designed as a strategic framework to help readers understand that the best jurisdiction for business is rarely defined by one variable alone. Tax matters, but tax is not enough. Registration speed matters, but speed is not enough. 

Reputation matters, but reputation alone does not pay rent, educate children, protect health or preserve long-term savings.

Top 20 Best Countries for Business Development by 2035

Loading 3D Globe...

By Andrii Azarov (Andrew Azarov) — Professor of Business, Economics, and the Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Business Process Automation Software Systems. International Business Academy Consortium (United Kingdom).

Introduction

By 2035, the best country for business development will not necessarily be the country with the lowest tax rate or the fastest incorporation form. It will be the country where business can be built, financed, protected, scaled and lived around.

This means the serious founder must now ask a wider question: not merely where to register a company, but where to create a durable economic life. A truly strong jurisdiction must combine legal predictability, workable taxation, credible institutions, practical infrastructure, decent family living conditions, educational opportunity for children, acceptable healthcare, and enough economic headroom for the entrepreneur not only to survive, but to accumulate capital.

That is why this article does not offer a shallow “top list”. It offers a strategic view of 20 jurisdictions that, for different reasons, may remain among the strongest places in the world for business development by 2035. The world economy is entering a more selective era of capital, more geopolitical fragmentation, more AI-led productivity gaps, and more competition between tax systems, talent systems and quality-of-life systems. Countries that align all three — money, institutions and family life — will win the next decade.

Final Recommendation Table: Where It Is Best to Start a Business and Live

Country	Best for business start	Best for family life	Tax attractiveness	Corruption / institutional cleanliness	Cost comfort	Fastest path to first million	Overall verdict
Singapore	Excellent	Good, but expensive	Strong	Excellent	Low	Fast	Best for Asian HQ and structured wealth
United States	Exceptional	Very uneven by state	Moderate	Good	Uneven	Very fast	Best for scale and venture growth
United Kingdom	Very strong	Good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium-fast	Best for trusted international business
UAE	Excellent	Good if income is high	Excellent	Strong	Moderate	Fast	Best for capital retention and mobility
Switzerland	Very strong	Excellent	Good	Excellent	Expensive	Medium	Best for premium and high-trust business
Sweden	Strong	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Costly	Medium	Best for innovation + social quality
Canada	Strong	Very good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium	Best balance of North America + stability
Netherlands	Strong	Very good	Moderate	Excellent	Moderate	Medium	Best European base for trade and HQ logic
Estonia	Strong for digital	Good	Excellent for retained profit	Strong	Good	Medium-fast	Best lean EU digital setup
Germany	Very strong	Very good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium	Best for serious industrial business
Denmark	Strong	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Moderate	Medium	Best for clean, stable long-term building
Finland	Strong	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Moderate	Medium	Best for technical and education-led models
South Korea	Strong	Good	Moderate	Good	Moderate	Medium-fast	Best for advanced tech and industrial scale
Japan	Strong	Very good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium	Best for quality-centric and premium sectors
India	Exceptional in upside	Uneven	Good	Mixed	Good	Fast	Best for scale, cost leverage and growth
France	Strong	Very good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium	Best for premium, AI, aerospace, deep tech
Australia	Strong	Very good	Moderate	Strong	Moderate	Medium	Best for APAC gateway + quality of life
Israel	Strong in tech	Good	Good	Moderate-good	Moderate	Fast	Best for cyber, AI, defence-linked tech
Poland	Strong	Good	Good	Moderate-good	Good	Medium-fast	Best lower-cost EU expansion base
New Zealand	Good	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Moderate	Medium	Best for stable niche-export family life

1. Singapore 🇸🇬

Singapore remains one of the most technically efficient business jurisdictions in the world. It still functions as a compact command centre for Asian business, finance, logistics and digital trade. The real secret of Singapore is not just low friction. It is predictable excellence. Rules are clear, corruption is extremely low, infrastructure is world-class and the state behaves like an elite operating system rather than a passive bureaucracy. In a world where uncertainty is expensive, that predictability has enormous monetary value. Singapore also remains one of the most expensive places in the world to live, but the price buys security, speed and institutional trust.

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK 2026 will be held in Davos

Every year, leading entrepreneurs from five continents who are interested in developing business connections, studying and supporting innovation, establishing new trade missions, and shaping a global business civilisation gather at GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK — an international platform for a series of business forums and strategic corporate retreats.

Secret of German Economy

Germany is often described through the language of engineering, exports, and industrial discipline. But beneath those familiar labels lies something even more distinctive: a deeply rooted culture of family business. In Germany, family firms are not a niche or a romantic leftover from an earlier era. They are the core of the economy. 

Depending on the definition used, family-owned or family-controlled companies account for roughly 86–90 percent of all German businesses. They employ about 54 percent of the national workforce, and under a broader “family-controlled” definition they account for around 58 percent of jobs subject to social-security contributions. In revenue terms, they generate about 43–46 percent of total business turnover.

One important methodological note is that Germany does not have a single universally cited “official” statistic for the exact share of national GDP produced by family businesses alone. German research institutes and family-business foundations more often publish turnover, employment, and ownership figures than a direct GDP share. So the best careful formulation is this: family businesses produce around 43–46 percent of aggregate business revenues in Germany, while the broader Mittelstand sector—much of it family-run—accounts for more than half of the country’s economic output and nearly 60 percent of jobs.

Women's Diplomacy: World Woman Forum will be held in Davos, 9-12 July 2026

WORLD WOMAN FORUM 2026 will take place in the unique environment of the Davos Congress Centre in Switzerland, a venue globally recognised as the home of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and one of the world’s symbolic spaces for international dialogue, strategic thinking and the future of business and society, according to the Davos Congress Centre.

The Forum is designed as an international platform dedicated to women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, education, family business, social impact and global cooperation. It will bring together women leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, executives, educators, public figures and changemakers from different countries to exchange ideas, build partnerships and strengthen the role of women in the global economy.

The deeper purpose of the Forum is even more important: women are not only invited to attend, but are given a voice, a stage and the opportunity to shape the global agenda.

The Forum will be opened by Dr Christina Batruch, daughter of Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, co-founder and first Director of the World Economic Forum. This year marks the 100th anniversary of his birth, making the opening of the Forum especially symbolic and historically meaningful.

Startup World Cup Championship 2026: Davos to Host the Next Generation of Global Entrepreneurs

From 9 to 12 July 2026, Davos, Switzerland, will become a meeting point for a new kind of global leadership: young founders, visionary educators, business angels, investors, diplomats, trade representatives, policymakers, and innovation leaders. The 26th Startup World Cup Championship 2026 will gather some of the world’s most forward-looking entrepreneurial and intellectual communities to evaluate youth-led startups and select the best projects of the year as World Champions 2026.

The Championship is part of a broader international movement dedicated to practical entrepreneurship education, innovation, and business diplomacy. According to the official Davos event listing, the Startup World Cup Championship brings together young and mature entrepreneurs, inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, and government representatives from more than 35 countries, with projects assessed by an international jury across innovation, feasibility, scalability, and business potential. (davos.ch)

The 2026 competition will involve 35 educational partners from different countries, stretching across continents — from the United Kingdom to Australia, from the United States to Azerbaijan, from Ukraine to Taiwan, from Lithuania to Turkmenistan, from Switzerland to Kazakhstan, from South Africa to Germany, from the UAE to Iraq, and from the Philippines to Thailand. This geography reflects the Championship’s central idea: startup culture is no longer limited to Silicon Valley or major financial capitals. It is becoming a global educational language.

A New Era of Young Entrepreneurs

UAE Leaves OPEC: Scenario № 1 or 2?

The announced withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from OPEC and OPEC+ is more than a technical change in an oil producers’ club. It is a geopolitical signal, a market shock, and a challenge to the old architecture of energy coordination. According to Reuters, the UAE announced on 28 April 2026 that it would leave OPEC and OPEC+ effective 1 May 2026, marking a major shift for one of the group’s most important Gulf producers. (Reuters)

For decades, OPEC’s power was built not only on barrels, but on the image of unity. The organisation has always had internal disagreements: between price hawks and volume maximisers, between Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers, between sanctioned and non-sanctioned states, and between political rivals inside the same cartel. Yet OPEC’s public message was usually the same: discipline, coordination and market stability. The UAE’s exit breaks that image.

Why the UAE Matters

GLOBAL EDUCATION FORUM 2026 will be held in Davos

GLOBAL EDUCATION FORUM 2026 will take place in Davos, Switzerland, as one of the key educational events within GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK 2026. It will bring together school owners, founders of educational networks, university leaders, EdTech innovators, investors, franchise developers, education entrepreneurs, teachers, methodologists and policymakers who understand one simple truth: the future of education cannot wait for instructions from ministries. It must be created now. 

The world is changing faster than most formal education systems can reform. Artificial intelligence is transforming knowledge work. Children are growing up in a digital, global, entrepreneurial and unstable world. Parents are demanding better outcomes. Employers are looking for creativity, adaptability, leadership and problem-solving. At the same time, many schools are still built around industrial-age models: standardised lessons, slow curriculum reform, outdated assessment and limited exposure to entrepreneurship, technology and global thinking.

Ukrainian drones have issued “sanctions” to the Tuapse oil depots

Ukrainian drones have issued “sanctions” to the Tuapse oil depots for the 4th time this month — this is how Ukrainian sources and military commentators describe the latest series of strikes. 

According to Reuters, the confirmed attack on 30 April was at least the third strike on Tuapse in less than two weeks, while the Tuapse refinery had already halted operations after the 16 April attack due to damage to port infrastructure and the inability to ship products.

“Fire Sanctions”: How Ukrainian Drones Are Methodically Targeting Russia’s Oil Economy

 

Russia’s war against Ukraine has long gone beyond the front line. Every day, Russian missiles, aerial bombs and drones attack Ukrainian cities, energy facilities, residential buildings, hospitals, railways and civilian infrastructure. In response, Ukraine is increasingly using long-range drones against the part of the Russian economy that directly fuels the war: oil refining, oil depots, export terminals, ports and pipeline infrastructure.

 

Why 2026 is the Year of the Family Business

In April, BOSS Magazine officially declared 2026 as the Year of Family Business, recognizing that family-owned enterprises demonstrate the highest rates of survival and resilience amidst ongoing geopolitical instability. As traditional corporate structures grapple with market fragmentation and rapid technological shifts, the family-led model has emerged not as a relic of the past, but as the primary architect of global economic stability.

The Silent Giant: Macroeconomic Dominance in 2026

The data for 2026 paints a definitive picture: family businesses are the fundamental engine of global prosperity. Contributing over 70% of global GDP, these enterprises represent the lifeblood of both developed and emerging markets. While the global economy navigated a modest 3.3% growth rate in 2025, the top 500 family-owned firms outpaced the market with a remarkable 10% revenue surge, reaching a combined turnover of $8.8 trillion.

To put this in perspective, if the world’s leading family businesses were a single nation, they would constitute the third-largest economy on Earth, trailing only the United States and China. This economic footprint is equally vital to the social fabric; family firms provide 60% of global employment, a figure that climbs to 80% in the private sectors of several industrial powerhouses.

The Anatomy of Resilience: Why the Model Wins

 

Robert “Madyar” Brovdi: From Entrepreneur to Architect of Ukraine’s Drone Revolution

In the story of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s full-scale invasion, few figures symbolize the transformation of modern warfare as powerfully as Robert Brovdi, better known by his call sign “Madyar”. Once a businessman and cultural patron from western Ukraine, Brovdi has become one of the most recognizable commanders in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a central figure in the rise of drone warfare.

In June 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved Brovdi’s appointment as Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, making him responsible for one of the most innovative and strategically important branches of Ukraine’s military. (President of Ukraine)

Dr Olga Azarova: “Children Should Not Learn to Suffer — They Should Learn to Solve Problems”

MINIBOSS BUSINESS SCHOOL is one of the most recognisable international brands in children’s business education. Its mission is ambitious and unusual: to teach children entrepreneurship, invention, leadership and financial thinking from the age of six. 

Over the years, the MINIBOSS methodology has helped develop tens of thousands of young entrepreneurs around the world — children who learn not only how to build a business, but how to think independently, solve problems creatively and realise their own potential. 

One of the most distinctive developments of the MINIBOSS ecosystem is the FAMILY BUSINESS CAMP — a special educational format designed to nurture young entrepreneurs together with their families. It connects business education, family strategy, innovation, leadership and practical project work in one powerful environment.

We spoke with Dr Olga Azarova, founder of MINIBOSS BUSINESS SCHOOL, about why children need entrepreneurship education, how the FAMILY BUSINESS CAMP works, and why the future belongs to families that teach their children not to wait for opportunities, but to create them.

“Without Us, You Would Be Speaking French”: King Charles III’s Diplomatic Joke at the White House

King Charles III delivered one of the most memorable lines of his state visit to Washington during a White House reception, when he jokingly told President Donald Trump that, without Britain, Americans “would be speaking French.” The remark was humorous, but it carried a deeper historical and diplomatic meaning: it transformed centuries of Anglo-American rivalry, war, reconciliation and alliance into a single elegant joke.

According to reports from several international outlets, the King made the comment during a state dinner hosted by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House. The line was widely interpreted as a witty response to Trump’s earlier claim that, without the United States, Europeans would be “speaking German” after the Second World War. King Charles turned the argument back through history, reminding the audience that Britain’s long struggle with France shaped the early geopolitical destiny of North America. (Ground News)

King Charles III’s Speech to the U.S. Congress

Today, King Charles III of the United Kingdom addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington as part of his first state visit to America as monarch. It was a historic event: a British monarch has addressed the U.S. Congress only once before, when Queen Elizabeth II spoke there in 1991.

The speech was linked to the 250th anniversary of American independence and became a symbolic gesture of reconciliation between two countries that were once a metropole and a colony, and later became among the most important allies in global politics.

The central message of King Charles III’s address was that, despite historical conflicts, political disagreements and modern diplomatic tensions, Britain and the United States have found ways, again and again, to stand together. The King emphasised shared democratic roots, cultural closeness, defence cooperation, intelligence partnership, trade, technology and security.

The King’s address to Congress carried special symbolism. The United States was born through a war of independence against the British Crown. Therefore, a British monarch speaking to American lawmakers in the year marking 250 years since U.S. independence was not merely a diplomatic gesture. It was a demonstration of how former adversaries can become strategic partners.

King Charles began his speech by thanking Congress and the American people for the opportunity to speak on the occasion of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Members of Congress greeted him with applause as he spoke in the House chamber.