Financial news, budget and personal finances
# A Tyrannosaurus Skeleton Sold to an Anonymous Buyer at Twice the Estimated Price A tyrannosaurus skeleton has been sold to an anonymous buyer at double its initial estimate. This is more than just an auction record — it is a symptom of a system where the most important paleontological discoveries go to whoever can outbid museums.
The U.S. Mint is minting a $1 gold coin featuring a portrait of Trump — the first since 1926. Most such coins from that era were melted down. This time, 47 coins will be released at $90,000 each.
The United States has resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and conducted fresh strikes against Iran. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — through which every fifth barrel of global oil passes — has effectively come to a halt.
The Verkhovna Rada has expanded sectoral sanctions against Russia's cryptocurrency infrastructure in response to a specific scheme circumventing restrictions through a ruble stablecoin that has already processed over $100 billion.
# Stripe and Advent International Submit Official Offer to Acquire PayPal at $60.50 per Share Stripe and Advent International have submitted a formal bid to purchase PayPal at $60.50 per share. PayPal has not yet responded to the offer. Antitrust regulators have not yet weighed in on the proposed acquisition.
From July 15, postal operators gained the right to transfer currency abroad to pay customs duties — a direct response to the new EU fee, which from July 1 has affected every small parcel from Ukraine to Europe.
The ECB has selected 36 payment companies out of 57 applicants for a 12-month digital euro pilot program launching in 2027. Among the participants are Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank, and BPCE, which recently publicly criticized the project.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada's finance committee has made public specific figures — and this is no longer an abstract discussion about "market salaries," but rather a question of who and how controls the spending of banks that are 100% owned by taxpayers.
In June 2026, China's trade surplus with the EU reached $32.9 billion in a single month. For the year, the bloc's deficit exceeded €360 billion, and for the first time in history, none of the 27 member states achieved a trade surplus with Beijing.
Samsung and SK Hynix earned more than South Korea's entire GDP. Now the government is deciding whether to spend this windfall profit or turn it into a future fund.
# Higher Anti-Corruption Court Convicts Andriy Derkach of State Treason The Higher Anti-Corruption Court has found Andriy Derkach guilty of state treason. According to the verdict, he received payments from the GRU (Russian military intelligence) in exchange for undermining U.S. trust in Ukraine and obstructing the country's accession to NATO and the European Union. The sentence was delivered in absentia, as Derkach is currently a senator in Russia's Federation Council and has been granted the title of Hero of Russia.
# EU Council Allocates Record European Peace Fund Package to Moldova for Air Defense System The EU Council has allocated Moldova the largest single-country package in the history of the European Peace Fund—designated for a medium-range air defense system. For a country with a GDP of $20 billion, this is not merely security assistance, but effectively external military financing.
The Clarity Act is stalled in the Senate due to vote arithmetic and a scandal involving cryptocurrency assets of the Trump family. Graham's death gave the president an emotional argument, but added no votes.
The International Finance Corporation is financing the creation of a digital factoring platform based on Prozorro.Sales. The goal is to provide SMEs with access to money currently frozen in unpaid invoices.
On July 10, the Hungarian government officially submitted a bill on the National Asset Recovery and Protection Authority — the first institutional step toward recovering funds that, over 16 years of Orban's rule, ended up in private pockets according to anti-corruption authorities.
Stock decline of 16% from May highs is just the tip of the iceberg: the real blow was not from investors, but from American regulators, who banned H20 chips for China and wrote off $5.5 billion in inventory.
The strike on Vyshnevoe on July 6 was the most destructive to the residential sector since the start of the full-scale war. The Cabinet allocated 3.04 billion hryvnias — but the funds have not yet been transferred, and winter is already approaching.
# Against Record Debt Burden, Ukraine Scores 45.2 out of 50 in IIF Rating Against the backdrop of record debt burden, Ukraine received 45.2 points out of 50 in the IIF rating — five points above the average indicator and immediately in the top ten after a four-year break. This is not a paradox, but a concrete management bet.
In June, Ukraine recorded deflation for the first time in an extended period — minus 0.1% for the month. Behind this positive development for consumers' wallets lies a structural problem: seasonal price declines in food products mask tariff increases, which are accelerating.
The US President received more money from cryptocurrency than any politician in American history, signed a law on stablecoins — and simultaneously claims he learned about these incomes from newspapers.
# International Booker Prize Renamed in Honor of Bukhmans, Family Behind 1C Entertainment The International Booker Prize is being renamed to honor the Bukhman family, whose company 1C Entertainment serves as the prize's sponsor. A decade of sponsorship has prompted the decision. However, questions remain about whether there are grounds for further changes.
The European Commission has proposed a two-year duty-free window for Armenian goods following Russia's restrictions on imports of fruits, vegetables, and mineral water from Yerevan. Analysts are already warning that this will not be enough to replace the Russian market.
Trump's 2025 Financial Declaration Shows: Most of His Income from Crypto. Meanwhile, He Signed the First Federal Stablecoin Law Directly Related to His Own Projects.
With 307 votes, the 2014 law on internally displaced persons has been archived. It has been replaced by a document that shifts the focus from registration to real human needs — and for the first time ties the size of payments to individual assessment rather than status.
The EBRD transferred the first tranche of $880 million for the SPIRIT project. To receive the rest, Ukraine must break with Soviet logic in social protection — moving away from certificates and diagnoses toward a real assessment of people's needs.
# Sberbank Chief Publicly Discusses Stagnation and Flawed Monetary Policy, Yet Real Rates Remain Among World's Highest Amid 35% Collapse in Kremlin's Oil Revenues The head of Sberbank is openly speaking about stagnation and misguided monetary policy. However, the real interest rate remains among the highest in the world, while the Kremlin's oil revenues have plummeted by 35%.
"GOLD SPLIT" has lost its license following an unscheduled inspection that revealed signs of risky activities. The regulator increasingly rarely settles for fines — and more often immediately revokes the permit.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the rules for spending the defense portion of the Ukraine Support Loan — 60 out of 90 billion euros will go toward weapons, equipment, and contracts with Ukrainian manufacturers. However, the key condition for loan repayment remains without specific timelines.
The financial sector stress indicator has fallen to its lowest point in four and a half years. But stability during wartime is not the same as stability in peacetime.
The investigation claims: the official headed the tender committee and advanced a capital city company despite two cheaper bids. Building materials were overstated by 3.2 million hryvnias in the documents — and he signed off on it.