Five weeks into the US-Israel air campaign against Iran, the world is tallying the economic wreckage: Brent crude at $114 a barrel, the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to commercial traffic, and the International Energy Agency calling it the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Beijing is watching all of it. And not just the energy markets. Operation Epic Fury, launched Feb. 28, has given China’s military planners an unprecedented real-time window into how the United States wages high-end warfare, according…

The growing share of electric vehicles and the expected increase in EV sales this year amid soaring gasoline prices are reducing the revenues for the U.S. Highway Trust Fund, which pays for America’s roads. Most of the revenue for the fund comes from the 18.4% per gallon federal gas tax, which hasn’t been changed since 1993.   Yet, over the past 30 years, the funding for the trust fund has been declining, due to inflation and the fact that EVs now represent 2.5% of total light-duty vehicles in operation in America, and the market…

The United States is rapidly becoming a major international battery manufacturing power, as it works to compete with other producers, such as China. The battery manufacturing industry is forecast to grow so much in the coming years that supply may soon outstrip demand. Demand for batteries in the United States has grown significantly in recent years, with demand for energy storage expected to increase by 21 percent this year. This has been driven primarily by the increase in the deployment of renewable energy capacity across the U.S., which requires…

The familiar assumption used by markets remains in place, at least according to financial analysts: what has been priced is what matters. Oil is still elevated but not yet showing a disorderly pattern. LNG is tightening but still trading within a recognizable or conventional range. Freight rates are rising, insurers are repricing risk, and policymakers continue to signal control. On the surface, all these signs are showing a stressed but functioning system. The coming weeks will reveal which systemic risks-such as chain desynchronization or supply…

England has introduced a new Land Use Framework, a 56-page report that has been under development since 2022. The aim of the researchers was to assess the effectiveness of the existing land use in England and develop a more optimal plan based on human and environmental needs, considering the future energy and water outlook and potential risks the country might face, such as increased flooding and other climate challenges. Under the new framework, roughly 7 percent of England’s land must be devoted to nature, forests, and renewable energy…

President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday that he is considering withdrawing the United States from the 76-year-old alliance after European allies declined to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping. "Wouldn't you if you were me?" he asked. Earlier this week, in an interview with Britain's The Telegraph, he called NATO a "paper tiger" and said Russian President Vladimir Putin shared the assessment. The spat has a straightforward trigger. The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which…

Europe is making a push for a robust homegrown offshore wind sector at the same time that the United States is gutting its own. The world's largest wind farm, currently under construction in the North Sea, made major progress on March 26 when it successfully connected its first export cable from the seabed to the coast of the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, France plans to auction off 10 offshore and floating wind projects with a combined capacity of 12 gigawatts by 2027 as part of a ‘Made in Europe’ initiative. In the UK, the connection…

President Donald Trump said Friday the United States could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and “take the oil and make a fortune,” framing control of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint as both a strategic and economic opportunity. The Strait carries roughly 20% of global oil supply. Traffic through the waterway has been severely disrupted as Iranian threats, vessel attacks, and collapsing insurance coverage have curtailed tanker movements. Tanker flows have stalled, and crude and product markets have repriced sharply higher…

In one sense it’s a baptism of fire – in another, hardly at all. Meg O’Neill’s arrival as the first female chief executive of BP comes, in a sense, at an auspicious moment.  Oil majors’ earnings are set for a significant windfall from the conflict in Iran, with those of BP and Shell forecast to see a combined £5bn this year – and that’s if the war is limited in timeframe. That cannot mask, though, the scale of the task facing O’Neill, who arrives from Australia’s Woodside Petroleum…

Cuba will release 2,010 prisoners as U.S. pressure on the island intensifies, with fuel shortages and economic strain mounting under tightened restrictions. The Cuban government described the move as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.” Those eligible for release include foreign nationals, young people, women, and inmates over 60. Officials said the decision follows a review of conduct, time served, and health conditions. The release comes as the U.S. escalates pressure on Havana. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump…

Cuba will release 2,010 prisoners as U.S. pressure on the island intensifies, with fuel shortages and economic strain mounting under tightened restrictions. The Cuban government described the move as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.” Those eligible for release include foreign nationals, young people, women, and inmates over 60. Officials said the decision follows a review of conduct, time served, and health conditions. The release comes as the U.S. escalates pressure on Havana. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump…

Cuba will release 2,010 prisoners as U.S. pressure on the island intensifies, with fuel shortages and economic strain mounting under tightened restrictions. The Cuban government described the move as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.” Those eligible for release include foreign nationals, young people, women, and inmates over 60. Officials said the decision follows a review of conduct, time served, and health conditions. The release comes as the U.S. escalates pressure on Havana. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump…

A container ship owned by French shipping giant CMA CGM, has just transited the Strait of Hormuz in what appears to be the first vessel linked to Western Europe to have successfully braved the critical chokepoint since the war in the Middle East began. The Malta-flagged CMA CGM Kribi, which openly broadcasts its French ownership, transited the Strait of Hormuz between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, according to vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg. Data on MarineTraffic showed that CMA CGM Kribi was in the Oman Gulf as of 12 p.m.…

As I will explain, the outcome that looks like losing may actually be the best path forward for the world’s remaining economies. The fighting today is with respect to which parts of the world will get which energy resources, and at what prices. Even before the current conflict, there was a shortage of jet fuel and diesel. The only reasonable outcome I can think of is that the US will only be able to tap its own energy resources, plus those of its nearby neighbors (Figure 1). Consequently, the economy will gradually reorganize in ways that…

For the first time in weeks, Donald Trump failed to cool oil markets, as escalating tensions with Iran crushed ceasefire hopes and reignited bullish momentum. Friday, April 03, 2026 For the first time in many weeks, US President Trump couldn’t contain a late-week price surge as escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran dulled market bears’ expectations of a ceasefire anytime soon. WTI soared this week and is on par with ICE Brent (even if they trade different months), physical benchmarks above $140 per barrel bring back memories…

India's imports of Russian crude oil jumped by 90% in March versus February, following the major supply disruption in the Middle East and the U.S. waiver of purchases of Russian crude already loaded on tankers. Following subdued purchases between November and February, India's imports of Russian crude soared last month by 90%, although overall Indian crude imports slumped by 15% due to the de facto closed Strait of Hormuz, The Times of India reported on Friday, citing data from Kpler. While crude supply to India from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the…

Operations at the Habshan gas facilities, the biggest gas processing site in the United Arab Emirates, were suspended early on Friday following a fire that erupted after an attack, Abu Dhabi Media Office said. The Habshan onshore facilities are part of one of the world's largest gas processing plants, which is operated by Abu Dhabi's national oil company ADNOC. The five plants of the vast Habshan Complex have 14 processing trains and 6.1 bscfd capacity, according to the company. This is the second time operations at Habshan have been suspended…

President Donald Trump said the US military "hasn't even started" to destroy what is left of Iran after a month of devastating air attacks and he threatened to strike electrical power plants and more bridges in his latest warning to the regime in Tehran. "Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!," Trump wrote on Truth Social late…

A sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude has abruptly changed destination from a port on India's west coast to an import terminal in China, in a move suggesting that India would not be imminently importing its first crude from Iran in seven years. The crude tanker Ping Shun, which the United States sanctioned last year for dealing with Iranian crude, signaled earlier this week that it was headed to the port of Vadinar on the west coast of India. However, the latest positioning of the Ping Shun, at least according to its AIS tracker, signals it…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The Sharara pipeline was hit in Libya’s southwest, and that location explains the attack. This is not territory firmly controlled by either Khalifa Haftar or Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Haftar’s forces are anchored in the east, Dbeibah’s authority is in and around Tripoli, and the northwest. The corridor linking Sharara to Zawiya runs through the Murzuq basin, where control is fragmented. Local militias and tribal groups handle security around the National Oil Corporation infrastructure but operate…