The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
By Katrina Hamlin
HONG KONG, Dec 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It has been a tumultuous year for the world, and for Breakingviews. As they tried to make sense of it all, our readers found themselves with familiar subjects, led by returning President Donald Trump. But there were plenty of other protagonists to grab their attention, from King Dollar to Chinese carmaker BYD 002594.SZ.
For readers accessing Breakingviews through LSEG’s platforms, geopolitics ruled. There, the best-read column of the year examined how continuing strife in the Middle East could tilt the global balance of power, after Trump joined the war on Israel’s side. Another column analysed how Russia’s economy would cope with peace. U.S.-China decoupling and trade relations also featured, but the health of U.S. markets and the economy were an obsession, accounting for almost half of the top 10 most-read columns by LSEG’s financial clients. Among them were pieces on the great boomer selloff, the dollar’s defiance of doom-mongers, and an awkward historical precedent for U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The bankers, investors and executives who subscribe to Breakingviews’ website gravitated to corporate yarns. A rare speed bump in BYD’s meteoric rise grabbed eyeballs. Fantasy dealmaking at Glencore GLEN.L and Rio Tinto RIO.AX, Hong Kong’s fallen property star New World Development 0017.HK, artificial intelligence startup Databricks and a governance meltdown at China’s Sinovac Biotech added to the drama. Meanwhile the sale of a stake in Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management offered a window into hedge fund woes. British banking boutique Robey Warshaw drew attention following its sale to Evercore EVR.N. Even so, politics was hard to ignore: the Trump family’s business dealings, the Gulf and the ramifications of “America First” all appear.
Readers of Reuters.com revisited multiple themes: the U.S. president’s weaknesses, his dealmaking in Ukraine, and the implications of his policies for companies like Chinese shipping giant Cosco, for instance. But a column exploring the potential for a tie-up between Barclays BARC.L and Santander UK took top spot, while columns about the Los Angeles fires, China’s U.S. bond holdings, and obesity drugs all did well. Readers also warmed to a column arguing electric carmaker Tesla’s TSLA.O future might be more GM than OMG, while an analysis of the big prospects for tiny nuclear reactors rounded off the leader board.
Breakingviews podcasts gave listeners a chance to go even deeper. In the Big View series – where thoughtful guests discuss their views on the biggest questions in business and finance – an interview with Nissan 7201.T CFO Jérémie Papin nabbed the top spot. Authors including Philip Coggan and Felix Martin were favourites, as were episodes discussing the U.S. dollar and stablecoins. Over on the Viewsroom, where Breakingviews columnists and editors spar, China’s AI catchup, German elections, and world trade fascinated listeners.
Many of those themes look set to rumble on into 2026. Breakingviews will be ready to guide its audiences through another year of turmoil and tension.
The following headlines were our best-read stories and most downloaded podcasts in 2025.
LSEG
Iran conflict could tilt global balance of power
Donald Trump’s boomerang will hit the US hard
US-China decoupling is crossing a Rubicon
Russia’s economy would struggle to cope with peace
US-China trade deal would be tricky and tenuous
Stock market frenzy is a louder echo of the 1990s
There’s no easy escape from the US bubble economy
King Dollar’s long reign is set to continue
Scott Bessent debt plan has awkward historic echo
The great boomer selloff may overwhelm US stocks
Breakingviews.com
BYD gives an inch to Beijing on production glut
Millennium stake sale hints at hedge fund woes
Why ‘America First’ could end the age of arbitrage
Trump Mobile sends big business a chilling message
Evercore’s Robey Warshaw deal sums up key-man risk
Glencore and Rio’s smartest move: merge then split
Databricks becomes private markets’ AI lynchpin
Hong Kong is not New World’s lender of last resort
Gulf risk goes beyond a blocked Strait of Hormuz
Biotech nears cure for Chinese corporate epidemic
Reuters.com
Barclays-Santander UK is a matter of when, and how
Los Angeles fires expose inflated US home prices
Russia’s economy would struggle to cope with peace
China’s US bond holdings are going nowhere fast
Obesity drug boom has a new pecking order
China Cosco may be shipping war’s first casualty
Donald Trump is weaker than he looks
Trump’s minerals deal may play in Ukraine’s favor long-term
Tesla’s future may be more GM than OMG
Mini nuclear reactor rush has a short half-life
PODCASTS
The Big View series
Lessons from Nissan on surviving carmageddon
The coming battle over the future of money
The lost lessons from history’s economic mistakes
The wobbly foundations of the stablecoin boom
What could knock King Dollar off its throne
Viewsroom series
China’s AI catch-up begins to look inevitable
German elections chart course for a lonely Europe
How Trump’s tariff turmoil scarred global markets
The China-US trade war is set to keep spiraling
US tariff mania keeps everyone on edge
(Editing by Peter Thal Larsen; Production by Aditya Srivastav)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on HAMLIN/katrina.hamlin@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: katrina.hamlin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))