The assumptions that have shaped the global economy for decades are becoming less reliable. For companies, investors, and boards, understanding what is changing and why is becoming increasingly important.

In this episode, Rock Center Fellow Kimathi Marangu welcomes Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-host of The Spillover, for a conversation on three shifts worth watching closely:

• Canada: its efforts to reduce economic dependence on the United States and build a broader network of relationships.
• China: its emphasis on resilience over efficiency as it navigates energy shocks on its imports and tariff shocks on its exports.
• The United States: the evolving Treasury market, including who is selling government bonds, who is buying them, the growing role of stablecoins, and whether markets are beginning to guide the Fed rather than the other way around.

Each of these shifts is still unfolding. That uncertainty is exactly what makes them worth watching now.

About Rock Center 50 Minutes

Rock Center 50 Minutes is a recurring series from the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, hosted by Kimathi Marangu. Each 50-minute conversation brings together leading voices in business, technology, markets, and global affairs to examine timely developments through a corporate governance lens, with a focus on what corporate directors and senior leaders should understand, question, and watch next.