US Stock Futures Steady as Oil Prices Ease, Iran Talks Boost Market Sentiment 
Sino Biopharm Stock Rises After AstraZeneca Licensing Deal, GSK Partnership Expansion 
Asian Stocks Rise as AI Chip Rally Offsets Middle East Tensions 
Bernstein Names IAG, Ryanair as Top European Airline Stocks Ahead of Earnings 
Gold Price Rebounds as U.S.-Iran Tensions and Fed Minutes Keep Markets on Edge 
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Launches Task Forces to Overhaul U.S. Monetary Policy Framework 
SK Hynix Prices Record U.S. ADR Offering at $149 After $200 Billion Investor Demand 
US Back-to-School Spending Seen Falling as Families Focus on Essentials 
Deutsche Bank Sees Global Capital Shifts Reshaping Long-Term U.S. Dollar Outlook 
Netflix, Disney, YouTube Eye FIFA World Cup TV Rights in Multi-Billion Dollar Battle 
China Inflation Cools in June as Producer Prices Hit Four-Year High 
Fed Reaffirms 2% Inflation Goal, Vows Forceful Action to Anchor Price Expectations 
Asian Stocks Slip as Iran Tensions, Samsung Weakness and Fed Caution Weigh on Markets 
Levi Strauss Raises 2026 Outlook After Q2 Earnings Beat, Shares Drop Despite Strong Results 
Bernstein Raises 2026 Nickel Price Forecast as Indonesia Tightens Supply 
Wall Street Rises as SK Hynix’s Record Nasdaq Debut Steals Spotlight Ahead of U.S. CPI Data 
Wolfspeed Sues Navitas Over GaN and SiC Patent Infringement 
Russia’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1999, with only 599,600 children born in the first half of 2024. This 6% decrease from 2023 presents a major demographic challenge as the nation also faces rising mortality and the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Birth Rate Drops to 25-Year Low, Posing Major Challenge Amid War and Population Decline
Official data released on September 9 indicated that Russia's birth rate was at its lowest since 1999 in the first six months of this year. The first monthly decline was observed in June when births fell below 100,000, per Reuters.
A decline in Russia's population has resulted from increasing mortality and declining pregnancies. This presents a challenge for the Kremlin as it continues to wage a protracted war in Ukraine, which Moscow initiated with a full-scale invasion in 2022.
In July, the Kremlin declared that Russia's low fertility rates were a catastrophe for the nation.
The statistics service Rosstat reported that 599,600 children were born in Russia during the first half of 2024, a 16,000 decrease from the same period in 2023 and the lowest number since 1999.
Russia’s Population Decline Worsens with Birth Rate Drop and Rising Fatalities, Kremlin Calls Crisis Catastrophic
Russian media reported that the number of infants decreased by 6% to 98,600 in June, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 100,000.
This year, the natural decline of the Russian population was accelerated, with 325,100 fatalities recorded between January and June, which is 49,000 more than the corresponding period of the previous year.
The data indicated that the population decline was somewhat mitigated by a 20.1% increase in migrants between January and June.
According to Russian state news agencies, "This is catastrophic for the future of the nation," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in July.
Nina Ostanina, the Chair of the Committee for the Protection of Families at the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, stated to the state-owned RIA news agency that a "special demographic operation" is required to enhance the birth rate.
"We must organise ourselves and conduct another special operation," Ostanina said. "Just like a special military operation - a special demographic operation."
Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine "a special military operation," while Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked aggression to grab land.
