Evidence. Context. Perspective.
Research for a world in motion.
Business and technology research that explains the forces reshaping economics, markets, industry and global trade.
Trimline Research
Understanding what happened is only the beginning. The more important question is why.
We examine the systems behind the headlines—the incentives, constraints, technologies and decisions that shape real-world outcomes. Our research is written to be understood, questioned and put to practical use.
New and noteworthy
Latest articles
08
Currencies & Macroeconomics
The Dollar Is Eroding. Nothing Is Replacing It.
The dollar’s share of global reserves has fallen for twenty-five years, yet no single challenger has taken its place. The shift is real—but it is spreading across many smaller alternatives rather than producing a successor.
07
Currencies & Macroeconomics
Rethinking Gold’s Rally
Gold can rise during both inflation scares and recession fears. The connection lies in real interest rates, while central-bank buying reflects a deeper shift in how reserve managers think about financial security and diversification.
06
Technology & Artificial Intelligence
The Chip Only Three Companies Can Build
Every phone, car and AI model runs on technology that only three companies can manufacture—and on machines that only one company can build. Here is how that concentration happened and why it matters.
01
Currencies & Macroeconomics
The Yen Paradox
Japan has one of the world’s strongest industrial economies, yet its currency has fallen to its weakest level in decades. These two facts do not contradict each other—they help explain each other.
02
Currencies & Macroeconomics
Burgernomics
How one everyday product became a surprisingly useful way to examine purchasing power, exchange rates, wages and local living costs.
03
Energy & Infrastructure
The Price of Cheap Power
A low retail electricity price does not necessarily reflect the full cost of generating, maintaining and delivering power across an economy.
04
Commodities & Global Trade
Why Coffee Costs More Than Tea
The difference is not simply about taste. Labour, processing, climate exposure, trade history and the distribution of value across each supply chain all influence what consumers ultimately pay.
Infrastructure & Global Trade
Airports Don’t Just Make Money From Airplanes
The modern airport is part transport infrastructure, part landlord, retailer and freight node. Flights create the traffic; much of the commercial value is built around it.
Areas of research
Complex questions rarely belong to a single field.
Our research connects industry knowledge, economic analysis and technological change to explain how the world produces, trades, invests and grows.
Explore all research areasBusiness & Economics
Understanding change where markets and decisions meet.
We examine how prices, investment, productivity, trade, technology and policy shape businesses and the wider economy. The aim is to make large economic shifts understandable at the level where real decisions are made.