Monday☕️

Earth Intelligence

15 Sep 2025 — 6 min read

Economics & Markets:

Yesterday’s commodify market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

Over the past 24 hours Israeli forces issued multiple evacuation orders for buildings in Gaza City, including neighborhoods east of Wadi Gaza, displacing an estimated 300,000 people amid intensified airstrikes that Gaza's health ministry reported. The orders affected areas now comprising 86% of Gaza City under evacuation or military zones according to UNRWA, following strikes that leveled 16 buildings, including three towers, with limited safe evacuation routes and reports of destroyed infrastructure exacerbating the crisis, where 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million population—nearly 1.9 million people—have been displaced since October 7, 2023, and hundreds of thousands now live in overcrowded tent camps in southern areas like Al-Mawasi. Eyewitness accounts and videos documented panic and civilian casualties during the operations.

The broader conflict has seen over 68 deaths and 346 injuries in northern Gaza in the last day alone, contributing to an official toll exceeding 64,750 Palestinian deaths since October 7, 2023, though damaged health infrastructure and unrecovered bodies under rubble have led experts to estimate significant underreporting. International analysis estimates from airstrikes, violence, famine, and disease pushes death projections to 186,000 or more. On September 12, 2025, the UN General Assembly voted 142-10, with 12 abstentions, to endorse a two-state solution declaration recognizing a Palestinian state; the U.S. and Israel were among the 10 countries that voted no, refusing to support Palestinian statehood, while the majority of nations voted in favor amid calls for de-escalation as famine risks mount.
Votes:

Environment & Weather:

Over the past 24 hours, a large wildfire broke out in the Crimean Peninsula near Feodosia, specifically in the Ordzhonikidze settlement and on Mount Dzhan-Kutaran, fueled by strong gusty winds and dry conditions that caused rapid spread across rugged terrain. Local reports indicate the blaze initially ignited dry grass and has consumed at least 20 hectares, with flames visible from afar and smoke blanketing nearby areas including the turn to Koktebel settlement. Emergency services have been deployed, but challenging topography and weather have complicated containment efforts, prompting warnings for residents in the vicinity to stay alert as the fire edges closer to urban zones.

The incident marks one of several recent fire outbreaks in the region amid heightened dry weather, though no casualties or evacuations have been reported so far; eyewitness videos show intense flames and thick smoke rising over the landscape, visible on satellite fire detection systems like NASA's FIRMS. This wildfire occurs against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where shelling and military activity have historically exacerbated fire risks, but authorities have not linked this event to direct combat actions. International monitoring groups continue to track such environmental incidents in occupied territories, highlighting vulnerabilities to climate and human factors in the area.

Space:

On September 14, 2025, SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman's Cygnus NG-23 spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:11 p.m. EDT. This was the 23rd resupply mission under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract and the first use of the Cygnus XL variant, which offers increased cargo capacity of over 5,000 kg (11,000 pounds) and 36 cubic meters of volume. The spacecraft includes a U.S.-built service module based on the GEOStar platform and a pressurized module from Thales Alenia Space in Europe. Due to delays with the Antares rocket, this marked the third Cygnus launch on Falcon 9. Named S.S. William “Willie” C. McCool after the astronaut lost in the 2003 Columbia disaster, the uncrewed Cygnus separated from the rocket shortly after liftoff and is now en route to the International Space Station.

The mission carries more than 11,000 pounds of crew supplies, hardware, and science experiments for Expedition 73, including materials for semiconductor crystal growth, cryogenic fuel tank improvements, a UV system for water microbial control, and pharmaceutical crystal production for medical applications. NASA astronauts Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman will capture it with the Canadarm2 on September 17 at about 6:35 a.m. EDT, berthing it to the Unity module. It will remain docked until March 2026 for station support, followed by reentry to dispose of waste, with a test of the PALOMINO thruster beforehand.

Statistic:

Largest assets on Earth by market capitalization:

Gold: $24.701T
🇺🇸 NVIDIA: $4.329T
🇺🇸 Microsoft: $3.790T
🇺🇸 Apple: $3.473T
🇺🇸 Alphabet (Google): $2.915T
🇺🇸 Amazon: $2.433T
Silver: $2.402T
Bitcoin: $2.298T
🇺🇸 Meta Platforms (Facebook): $1.898T
🇺🇸 Broadcom: $1.699T
🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco: $1.493T
🇹🇼 TSMC: $1.345T
🇺🇸 Tesla: $1.277T
🇺🇸 Berkshire Hathaway: $1.065T
🇺🇸 JPMorgan Chase: $843.92B
🇺🇸 Oracle: $830.29B
🇺🇸 Walmart: $825.11B
🇨🇳 Tencent: $746.89B
🇺🇸 Eli Lilly: $677.17B
🇺🇸 Visa: $658.81B
SPY: $603.35B
Ethereum: $558.01B
🇺🇸 Mastercard: $524.69B
🇺🇸 Netflix: $504.99B
🇺🇸 Exxon Mobil: $478.16B

History:

Central banks arose in the 17th and 18th centuries as governments realized they could outsource the issuance of currency and war finance to semi-private institutions like the Bank of England. From the start, central banking was inseparable from war: Britain’s wars against France, Napoleonic conflicts, and later colonial expansions were financed with bank-issued credit that governments repaid through taxation. Over time, this model spread, embedding central banks at the core of the global financial system. They control money supply, set interest rates, and dictate the cost of credit—effectively steering the global economy and ensuring governments and citizens alike remain in perpetual debt cycles. Their influence reaches into geopolitics as well: wars, including the World Wars, were sustained by central bank financing, and in some cases banks and their affiliates supplied credit to both sides. Critics argue that this makes central banks less neutral arbiters of stability and more the hidden hand shaping world events, with power that exceeds even many governments.
Not everyone accepted this order. Throughout history, there have been prominent leaders who advocated for government-issued money, independent of private banking cartels. Abraham Lincoln issued “Greenbacks” during the Civil War to finance the Union without leaning on central bankers—shortly before his assassination in 1865. James A. Garfield openly criticized the power of financiers before his assassination in 1881. John F. Kennedy, too, authorized Executive Order 11110 in 1963 to return some currency issuance to the U.S. Treasury; he was assassinated months later. Earlier in Europe, leaders like Napoleon clashed with bankers, and in the 19th century, President Andrew Jackson survived multiple assassination attempts while dismantling the Second Bank of the United States, declaring it a “den of vipers.” These episodes illustrate a recurring pattern: efforts to curtail or bypass central banking systems often met fierce resistance—sometimes lethal—suggesting that the struggle over who controls money has been one of the most consequential, and dangerous, battles in human history.

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