Geopolitics added a constant background hum. Tensions in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and fragile US-China relations – namely on the trade front – regularly unsettled markets.Inflation became the second recurring fault line. Headline pressures eased, but progress was uneven, particularly in services. Every upside surprise reopened the debate about how restrictive policy really needed to be, and each time the result looked familiar: a firmer Dollar and a reminder that the disinflation process was not ...