Numlock News: July 14, 2026 • Fusarium, Headers, Chargebacks

By Walt Hickey

Philippines

Solar exports from China to the Philippines have surged amid a spike in energy costs worldwide, as it becomes the single largest overseas market for solar panels. Exports from January to May jumped from $228.1 million to $524.03 million, and are now behind only shipments to the Netherlands ($1.51 billion), which is a large transshipment hub for panels that end up in a whole lot of European countries. In March alone – once the situation in the Strait of Hormuz was well and truly a boondoggle — imports increased 262 percent year over year. Power prices in the Philippines increased 14 percent this year from last year.

Sing Yee Ong and Andy Lin, Bloomberg

Bananas

The average person on Earth consumes 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of bananas annually, accounting for a total of 216 billion pounds consumed, and despite 1,000 more flavorful species, those eaten are predominantly Cavendish bananas. That said, the threats to this particular cultivar are stacking up: The Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), specifically Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4), is a fungicide-resistant fungus ripping through banana plantations, bringing back memories of the plague that wiped out the Gros Michel cultivar — which was dominant until it was wiped out by FWB in the 50s. Furthermore, by 2080, the prime land suitable for banana production in Latin America could shrink by 60 percent due to climate change.

Ethan Gilsdorf, WBUR

Headers

A new study has found that while headers have accounted for fewer and fewer World Cup goals, assists by means of headers are up. In fact, headers that are intended for the goal are getting more accurate, a sign that players have become more disciplined at using their heads during matches. Headers accounted for 17.9 percent of World Cup goals through the round of 16 this year, compared to 18.4 percent of goals in 2022 and 23.7 percent in 2018. And header goals tend to be acts of desperation: 33 percent happened late in the game — after minute 76 — and overall, 57 percent happened toward the end of either half.

Greg St. Martin, Northwestern University

Green Great Wall

China’s efforts to push the desert back have achieved some serious success after a half century of effort. The bulk of these efforts come in the form of straw checkerboards constructed across the desert by inserting sticks into the sand and then planting a sapling at the center of the squares that form. The initiative is named the Three-North Protective Forest Program, or “Green Great Wall.” The amount of desertified land peaked in 2000 and has decreased by over 1,000 square kilometers each year since then, with the overall desertified land down 10 percent, and forests planted by the program cover 500,000 square kilometers. Forest cover in the program area has increased from five percent in 1978 to 14 percent in 2022.

The Associated Press

Chargebacks

Consumers have begun to use credit card chargebacks more liberally than in the past, and it’s changing the math for both merchants and credit card companies alike. American consumers filed 158 million transaction disputes in 2025, up 29 percent from 2021. That spike well outpaces any change in overall transaction volume.

Amanda Mull, Bloomberg

Mathematician

Archaeologists believe they have identified the name of a Maya mathematician-astronomer who is credited next to a unique mathematical formula inscribed on the wall of a building at the ancient city of Xultun. The person was named Sak Tahn Waax, which meant White-chested Fox, and it’s thought that the person lived 1,250 years ago, serving in a role that observed natural cycles of time and produced calculations that might be used later to decide the timing of events. The formula next to their name takes a new approach at recording the movement of the planets Venus and Mars. In total, about 52 mathematical and astronomical microtexts were written on the wall.

Garry Shaw, The Art Newspaper

Foie Gras

China now produces about 11,000 tons of foie gras annually, accounting for about 45 percent of the global supply. As China has grown more affluent, tastes have grown with that affluence, and the country has sought to domestically produce the luxury goods that it once imported. This was likewise observed in the caviar business, which has seen the central thrust of the supply chain move out of Russia and Iran and into China, as well as truffles, of which China’s exports have tripled since 2022.

Katrina Northrop and Chuqin Jiang, The Wall Street Journal

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Numlock News is written each day by Walt Hickey. Email me with numbers, tips or feedback at walt@numlock.news. Every post is entirely by a human; SEN corrections or typos to the copy desk at copy@numlock.news. If you enjoy Numlock, tell a friend, word of mouth is the only way that independent publications like this one grow.

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