According to Serbian Economist, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić published an op-ed for the American television network Fox News, in which he presented Serbia as a country ready for a closer partnership with the US, and stated that Donald Trump’s policies are viewed in Belgrade not as a threat, but as an opportunity for stability and economic development.
In the column, Vučić contrasted the attitude of some European elites toward Trump with the mood in Serbia. He wrote that “contempt” for the America First philosophy has spread from Brussels to Berlin, whereas Serbia sees it as an opportunity for a more pragmatic policy focused on results, security, and economic growth.
Vucic emphasized that Serbia, despite the painful memory of the 1999 NATO bombings, has in recent years become one of the few corners of Europe where sympathy for the U.S. has grown. According to him, reflexive anti-Americanism—which he believes has spread throughout much of Europe—is rarely found in the country today.
Separately, the Serbian president described his experience interacting with Trump and his team during his first presidential term. According to Vučić, his meetings at the White House following difficult negotiations left him with the impression that Serbia’s position was listened to without prejudice or arrogance. He also wrote that the image of Trump as an “aggressive bully” did not match his personal experience of interacting with him.
The column’s key political thesis is that Serbia’s European path should not mean distancing itself from the U.S. Vucic stated that for Belgrade, the path to Brussels “does not require distancing from Washington,” and that Serbia’s special relationship with the U.S. could be an asset for the stability and growth of the entire European continent.
The economic section of the text was built around the idea of Serbia as a modern and strategically important partner for the West. Vučić noted that Serbia is one of Europe’s most dynamic economies, with GDP growth exceeding that of the Eurozone, and is becoming a hub for future technologies—from data centers to supply chains for electric vehicles.
He gave special attention to the lithium agenda. According to the president, Serbia has the second-largest lithium reserves in Europe, and this resource is key to Western industrial independence. Vucic also emphasized that Serbia is not seeking aid, but rather “deals” that secure supply chains, accelerate energy independence, and create jobs.
This is an important signal for the Serbian economy. Belgrade is attempting to position the country not only as an EU candidate and a regional player in the Western Balkans, but also as a potential component of American and European industrial strategy. In this context, lithium, energy, infrastructure, IT, data centers, and manufacturing for the electric vehicle industry are not separate projects but part of Serbia’s broader geo-economic agenda.
Vucic also effectively urged Washington to reconsider its view of the region. He stated that it is time for the U.S. to stop viewing the Balkans through the lens of the 1990s and to pay attention to Serbia as the largest economy in the Western Balkans, an “anchor of stability,” and a country that remembers its friends.
The most striking part of the column was the invitation to Trump to visit Belgrade. Vucic noted that no American president has visited the Serbian capital in over half a century since Richard Nixon’s visit in 1970, and stated that if Trump were to come to Belgrade, he would receive “a welcome the likes of which Europe hasn’t seen since Nixon.”
The average price of a single-family home in the U.S. resale market exceeded $400,000 in the first quarter of 2026, despite weak demand and reduced mortgage availability, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
According to NAR, the median price of an existing single-family home in the U.S. rose by 0.5% year-over-year to $404,300. Price increases were recorded in 71% of urban markets, or in 167 of the 235 metropolitan areas tracked. At the same time, the pace of price increases has slowed: in the fourth quarter of 2025, annual growth stood at 1.2%.
Regional trends remain mixed. In the Northeast, the median price reached $506,500, up 4.9% over the year. In the Midwest, homes cost an average of $308,100, with a 3.6% increase. In the South, prices remained virtually unchanged at $362,300, while in the West, the most expensive region, they fell by 2.9% to $607,600.
The rise in single-family home prices is occurring against a backdrop of weak buyer activity. According to NAR, existing home sales in March 2026 fell by 3.6% from the previous month, with declines recorded in all regions. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that the market remains sluggish due to declining consumer confidence and weaker job growth.
High mortgage rates remain one of the main constraints on demand. Even with slowing price growth, buying a home is becoming less affordable for many American families: monthly mortgage payments remain high, and sellers are in no hurry to lower prices due to limited supply of quality housing.
The new-home market, however, looks softer. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the median price of a new home sold in March 2026 was $387,400, down 6.2% year-over-year. This is due to a high inventory of new homes on the market and developers’ efforts to stimulate demand.
The potential cost of a hypothetical deal on the purchase of Greenland by the United States could be up to $700 billion, a number of media outlets reported, citing NBC News. The publications claim that the assessment was prepared by experts and former U.S. officials, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was allegedly tasked to draft a proposal for the purchase of the island in the coming weeks.
At the same time, it is emphasized that this is not an official price position of the US government, but a calculation within the framework of discussions around the initiative of President Donald Trump. According to NBC News’ retelling of the story, the $700 billion amount is comparable to more than half of the Pentagon’s annual budget, illustrating the scale of the financial and political hurdles to any such “deal.”
The reaction from Copenhagen and Nuuk remains negative. Denmark and Greenland authorities have publicly stated that the island is not for sale and that the issue of the autonomous territory’s status is related to sovereignty and the right to self-determination. Reuters reported this week that after a meeting in Washington between Rubio and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, the Danish and Greenlandic sides, while not changing their “no-sale” position, agreed to set up a working group to discuss a wide range of issues related to security and cooperation around the island.
The new $700 billion estimate falls in line with a number of previous, highly divergent “paper” estimates that have appeared in recent years. For example, The Washington Post in 2019 within the hypothetical valuation called a very wide range of possible price – from hundreds of millions of dollars to $1.7 trillion.
U.S. interest in Greenland is usually explained by a combination of security and resource factors. The island occupies a key position in the Arctic and North Atlantic, and is also seen as a potentially significant territory in terms of access to minerals and strategic infrastructure.
At the same time, even if there is political will in Washington, the “purchase” scenario is constrained by basic legal and political limitations: Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and its status and future, according to the position of local and Danish authorities, cannot be subject to external “bargaining”. Against this background, analysts call the most realistic continuation of the plot not a change of sovereignty, but bargaining around increased U.S. cooperation with Denmark and Greenland – on defense, infrastructure and investment – without formally changing the island’s status.
Japan’s exports in August decreased by 0.1% compared to the same month last year, according to the report of the country’s Ministry of Finance. The decline in exports was the fourth consecutive month of decline, but its pace was the weakest in the period. The volume of Japanese imports last month fell by 5.2% year-on-year.
Experts on average predicted a decrease in exports in August by 1.9% and a decrease in imports by 4.2%.
Japan’s trade deficit last month amounted to 242.5 billion yen ($1.66 billion) compared to 711.4 billion yen a year earlier. A deficit of 118.4 billion yen was recorded in July.
Exports to the U.S. fell 13.8% in August amid the imposition of U.S. duties on automobiles and microprocessors. Shipments to China fell by 0.5% and to ASEAN countries by 2.8%, while exports to the European Union rose by 5.5% and to Russia by 11.8%.
Imports from the US jumped by 11.6% and from China by 2.1%. At the same time, purchases of goods from South Korea fell 16.3%, from the EU 18.2%, from Russia 21.1%, from the Middle East 20.3%, and from ASEAN 4.6%.
South Korea and the United States began major joint military drills on Monday to bolster military readiness amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s missile tests and tougher rhetoric toward allies, Renhap news agency reported.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, “based on a total war scenario,” will include “contingency” drills, computer simulation-based command post drills, parallel field exercises and civil defense drills. They will continue until August 31.
According to a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean Armed Forces, about 30 joint allied field training exercises are planned during the exercise period.
He stressed that the exercise is “designed as a tough and realistic training to strengthen the alliance’s joint defense posture and response capabilities based on scenarios reflecting various security threats.”
In addition to South Korean and U.S. participants, personnel from nine member countries of the United Nations Command (UNC), (a joint multinational military command established in 1950 to support South Korea): Australia, Canada, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand, will join the exercise, Renhap reported.
The agency noted that the South Korean military is stepping up its preparedness for possible military action by Pyongyang during the drills, as the DPRK has consistently called the U.S.-South Korean exercises a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korea.
South Korean intelligence agencies told parliamentarians last week that “the North is preparing various provocations during the joint drills, such as launching an intercontinental ballistic missile,” according to the report.
The agency said the CTAC report that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the 2nd Guards Division of surface ships of the Korean People’s Army Navy’s Eastern Fleet Eastern Fleet and observed missile launches was “a clear expression of protest against the drills.”
The United States has added Alfa Bank’s co-owners to the sanctions list.
Thus, Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev have fallen under the restrictions.
