US and China’s new battlefield – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 6 August 2026

The world’s two biggest economies are engaged in another battle, this time over global AI dominance. Between the two, we find one market offering better opportunities. We also look at strong manufacturing recovery in ASEAN, some hints for the upcoming US general election, and Wall Street’s renewed cheer over US-Iran talks.

Timestamp:

(00:00) – Episode rundown
(00:20) – Intro
(00:48) – Quick updates
(01:36)- Optimistic July PMI data for ASEAN
(07:59) – US looks to restrict use of Chinese data centre devices
(15:23) – The recent Michigan Democratic primaries
(22:00) – Wall Street celebrates partial opening of Hormuz strait again
(25:16) – Our global outlook
(28:27) – Lundgreen’s Invest – High-Tech Defence Fund secures quadruple exit
(28:57) – Lundgreen’s Capital – Next big step: IPO in 2 years

“Sound Economies with Mel & Peter” is a weekly podcast where our founding CEO Peter Lundgreen and Manila-based Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and China Mel Lopez discuss what’s happening in economies around the world and their views of the global financial markets.

Tune in to this episode on Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen to podcasts.