Banking 64 cited records 8 min read Q4 2025–July 2026; research cut-off September 2026
Monetary Transmission, Credit Growth, and Lending Margins
Commercial banking across the United States, Euro Area, and United Kingdom exhibited resilient operational performance through mid-2026, navigating policy rate shifts with divergent balance-sheet dynamics. In the US, FDIC-insured institutions achieved record quarterly net income of $90.1 billion in Q2 2026, lifting return on assets to 1.37% with a stable 3.32% net interest margin and 6.8% annual loan growth. Across the Euro Area, ECB figures show credit expansion tilting heavily toward non-financial corporations (+4.4% in July 2026) at a composite borrowing cost of 3.64%, while household mortgage growth remained subdued (+3.1%) alongside wide spreads between term deposits (2.04%) and overnight balances (0.53%). In the UK, elevated interest rates (5.62% corporate borrowing, 4.45% newly drawn mortgages) constrained mortgage debt growth (+3.6%), yet large business borrowing (+9.4%) and consumer credit (+9.2%) sustained rapid expansion.
Steel and Basic Metals 51 cited records 8 min read 2025–July 2026; research cut-off September 2026
Capacity Overhang, Regional Divergence, and Trade Pressures
Global crude steel production reached 149.2 million tonnes in July 2026, marking a slight 0.3% year-on-year contraction amid sharp regional divergence: while China's ongoing property rebalancing softened output (-2.7% in May 2026), India (+1.9%) and the US (+9.2%) sustained robust domestic momentum. Meanwhile, a structural global excess capacity overhang estimated at 640 million tonnes by the OECD and AISI has propelled Chinese exports to record highs (131 million tonnes in 2025, or 14% of domestic production), escalating international trade tensions. In the United States, finished steel import market penetration stood at 18%, with foreign shipments expanding 7.4% in July 2026 led by South Korea and North American suppliers.
Pharmaceuticals 31 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
A flat pipeline in the middle of a scientific turn
Two anti-amyloid antibodies are now approved, yet the number of new Alzheimer's drug trials has not grown in five years. Activity is shifting to brain-shuttle antibodies, tau, earlier (preclinical) disease and neuropsychiatric symptoms. For founders the bar is high: biomarker-driven trials are expensive, and the failure rate on efficacy is higher than in any other track in this series.
Pharmaceuticals 41 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
China now hosts more new ADC trials than the United States
ADCs are the busiest drug class in this series. More than half of the ADC studies started since 2023 have a site in China, and HER2 and TROP2 assets dominate. The next round of value is in new targets, new payloads and bispecific ADCs, and much of it is being licensed out of China.
Pharmaceuticals 35 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
The fastest-growing trial category, and China runs most of it
Autoimmune cell-therapy trials went from a handful a year to more than a hundred in 2025, and most have a site in China. Almost all are still Phase 1. The field is testing whether deep B-cell depletion can reset the immune system in lupus, systemic sclerosis and neurological autoimmunity, and whether cheaper formats can make that affordable.
Pharmaceuticals 31 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
Lp(a), APOC3 and oral PCSK9
Twice-yearly siRNA injections and once-daily oral pills are converging on the same cardiovascular patients. The category is almost entirely run by large companies, with large outcome trials. Lp(a) is the biggest open bet: several drugs lower it dramatically, but no outcome trial has yet proven that doing so prevents heart attacks.
Pharmaceuticals 33 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
From ex vivo cures to one-time in vivo treatments
Gene-editing trial starts have more than doubled since 2020, and China now starts about as many as the United States. The first approved CRISPR medicine treats blood disorders by editing cells outside the body. The next wave edits genes directly in the liver with lipid nanoparticles, and base editing is the fastest-growing technique.
Pharmaceuticals 39 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
Where the next generation is being tested
Trial starts for GLP-1 and multi-agonist incretin drugs have more than tripled since 2020, and two companies run most of the late-stage work. With oral orforglipron and oral semaglutide both approved, the open questions for a newcomer are weight-loss quality, dosing interval and indications beyond obesity and diabetes.
Pharmaceuticals 33 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
TL1A, oral peptides and combinations reshape a steady market
The number of IBD drug trials has barely changed in five years, but what is being tested has. IL-23 antibodies now lead, TL1A antibodies drew two large acquisitions and a major partnership and have moved into Phase 3, and oral options are arriving. The unsolved problem is that most patients still stop responding, which makes combinations and biomarkers the main frontier.
Pharmaceuticals 35 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
After G12C, the race moves to G12D and pan-RAS
Two KRAS G12C inhibitors are approved in the United States and more in China, but G12C covers only a minority of KRAS-driven cancers. New trials are moving to G12D-selective drugs and to pan-RAS inhibitors, and to pancreatic cancer, where KRAS mutations are almost universal. The category is industry-led and expensive, and suits well-funded, chemistry-heavy teams.
Pharmaceuticals 39 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
PD-(L)1 x VEGF drugs lead a China-driven boom
Bispecific antibody trials in cancer grew more than fivefold between 2020 and 2025, and studies with a China site now outnumber those with a US site. PD-(L)1 x VEGF bispecifics that originated in China are the biggest single cluster, while T-cell engagers keep expanding in blood cancers and are now entering solid tumours.
Pharmaceuticals 35 cited records 6 min read Registry snapshot 2026-09-27; trial starts 2020 to September 2026
From lutetium-177 to alpha emitters
Radioligand therapy trial starts have more than doubled since 2020, and a series of acquisitions by Novartis, Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca has made it a big-pharma category. Lutetium-177 and PSMA still dominate. Alpha emitters and new targets are where the next generation is being built, and isotope supply is as important as biology.
Software and IT Services 87 cited records 7 min read EU 2025 · US to 20 September 2026
87 sourced numbers
23.8% of US employer businesses used AI in the two weeks to 20 September 2026; 19.95% of EU enterprises used it in 2025, from 5.21% in Romania to 42.03% in Denmark. 87 sourced AI adoption statistics for businesses and people, each traced to its publisher.
Electricity and Gas Utilities 23 cited records 8 min read 2018–2025 evidence · scenarios to 2030
The IEA estimates 485 TWh of global data-centre electricity use in 2025 and projects 950 TWh in 2030. This report separates measured local concentration from modeled demand and tests what the evidence means for grid access, onsite supply and investment commitments.
Semiconductors 24 cited records 7 min read 2026 to July · forecasts to 2028
Sales, memory and equipment
Chip sales and equipment billings point to expansion, but memory dominates the product outlook. This report separates reported results from forecasts and revenue from physical capacity to support more disciplined planning.
Chess 52 cited records 14 min read September 2026
The September 2026 FIDE standard rating list is a 566,829-player census of competitive chess. This briefing reads it from six angles: scale and activity, geography, the rating pyramid, titles and elite density, gender, and the junior pipeline — with sortable league tables behind every claim.