
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to intensify economic pressure on Iran by targeting its oil exports to China, which account for more than 80% of Tehran’s sales. The coordinated effort is intended to force Tehran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear program as the United States readies possible military options. By cutting off Chinese‑bound oil, the duo hopes to weaken Iran’s revenue stream and increase diplomatic leverage. The plan signals a deeper U.S.–Israel alignment on Middle‑East security.

China’s ice and snow tourism sector surpassed 1 trillion yuan in 2025, a fourfold increase over the past decade. The industry is projected to reach 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, fueled by 360 million domestic winter trips generating...

The CBO projects publicly held U.S. debt will surpass 106% of GDP by 2030 and reach 120% by 2036. Average Treasury interest rates are expected to climb to 3.9% by the end of the forecast, outpacing nominal GDP growth that...
Saudi Arabia has appointed Fahad Al‑Saif as the new investment minister, replacing Khalid Al‑Falih who moves to a minister‑of‑state role. Al‑Saif previously led the Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division at the Public Investment Fund, shaping long‑term capital allocation. The...

Saudi Water Partnership Company has rebranded as Sharakat to underscore its expanding public‑private partnership (PPP) role in the kingdom’s water sector. The change aligns with Saudi Arabia’s National Privatisation Strategy, which aims to secure more than $64 bn in private‑capital water...
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved highway projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana. Maharashtra will upgrade a 154.6‑km stretch of NH‑160A for Rs 3,320.38 crore, Gujarat will build a 107.67‑km 4‑lane segment of NH‑56 for Rs 4,583.64 crore, and Telangana...

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) says the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) will not erode cargo volumes at its flagship Mundra Port. The company cites Mundra’s deep draft, faster vessel turnaround and integrated logistics ecosystem as structural advantages...
Japanese and British automakers Honda and Toyota have warned that the European Union’s proposed “Made in Europe” plan could limit their market access. The initiative, driven by EU Executive Vice‑President Stephane Sejourne, seeks to curb cheap Chinese imports and boost...
The Indian cabinet approved a Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) to drive market‑led urban infrastructure over the next five years. The fund offers 25% central assistance, requiring cities to raise at least 50% of project costs from bonds, loans or...
Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund (UTF) received a Buy rating, while abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund (ASGI) was placed on Hold due to its premium valuation. UTF trades at a 6 % discount to NAV and carries 29.7 % leverage, positioning it to...

KPMG’s new report urges India to move from a scale‑driven growth model to one focused on productivity as it targets a Viksit Bharat by 2047. It outlines ten priority areas, including deepening manufacturing, upskilling a youthful workforce, modernising MSMEs, and...
World Liberty Financial announced that its World Liberty Forum has sold out, with nearly 400 senior executives, investors and policymakers confirmed for the February 18, 2026 gathering at Mar‑a‑Lago. The day‑long event will feature high‑profile speakers from finance, technology, sports and government,...
Oil prices closed Friday largely unchanged after a session marked by sharp swings between macro‑economic headwinds and geopolitical support. Traders weighed the prospect of OPEC‑plus expanding output against lingering demand concerns. The market’s equilibrium suggests that supply‑side expectations have not...
Ocean Alliance and Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced a major overhaul of their trans‑Atlantic service network, removing several vessels and consolidating U.S. port calls. The redesign follows a year of uneven trade, with U.S. exports to Europe rising sharply while...
U.S. corn prices remain buoyed by robust export demand that persisted into early 2025, according to Compeer Financial economist Megan Roberts. While prices are still below target levels, the export momentum offsets downward pressure. Roberts noted that a nationwide E15...

India’s 13th Milan naval exercise, Milan‑26, will run Feb 18‑25 in Visakhapatnam, coinciding with the International Fleet Review and the IONS summit, forming the “Vizag trifecta.” The biennial drill has grown from four regional navies in 1995 to 70 confirmed participants...

The U.S. Supreme Court announced three decision days—Feb. 20, 24, and 25—when it will issue opinions, though it has not disclosed which cases will be decided. Lawmakers in the House have voted against new tariffs and the Senate is expected...
FedEx will shut more than 475 stations, roughly 30% of its U.S. and Canada footprint, as part of its Network 2.0 consolidation. The initiative merges Ground and Express operations, shifting focus to large metros such as San Francisco. Already, over 200 sites...

President Trump released the White House Maritime Action Plan (MAP), the most ambitious U.S. shipbuilding strategy since the 1936 Merchant Marine Act. The 35‑page document proposes a fee on foreign‑built vessels, a dedicated Maritime Security Trust Fund, Maritime Prosperity Zones,...

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee highlighted a mixed CPI report, noting a modest 0.2% month‑over‑month rise in headline inflation and a steady 2.5% year‑over‑year rate. While core inflation matched expectations, services inflation remains elevated, keeping overall inflation around 3% and...
Cameroon’s Ministry of Transport announced a suspension of its international ship registry after uncovering multiple fraudulent registrations. The halt, effective immediately, follows pressure from the EU, IMO and U.S. authorities concerned about the flag’s role in the shadow fleet and...
President Donald Trump addressed troops at Fort Bragg, warning that fear may be necessary to compel Iran in stalled nuclear negotiations. He highlighted the recent deployment of a second U.S. aircraft carrier to the Middle East as a contingency if...
British Gas chief executive Chris O’Shea warned that UK electricity bills will exceed the 2022 peak by 2030 as the country scrambles to fund massive grid upgrades. He attributed the surge to years of under‑investment, with two‑thirds of future costs...
Ford Motor Co. reported a roughly $2 billion tariff hit in 2025, double the amount projected just months earlier, after a miscommunication about the effective date of auto‑part tariff offsets. A fire at Novelis’ Oswego aluminum plant added another $2 billion headwind,...

Elon Musk’s X platform has granted blue‑checkmark Premium subscriptions to more than two dozen Iranian government officials and state‑run media outlets that are subject to U.S. sanctions, according to a Tech Transparency Project report cited by Wired. The blue checkmark,...
India’s decade‑long reform agenda, highlighted by UPI, GST and digital payment schemes, is now bearing fruit, according to Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan. New free‑trade agreements, especially the pending pact with the United States, are expected to unlock fresh export...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al‑Shibani and Kurdish‑led Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Kobane on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The talks came two weeks after a Jan. 30 cease‑fire that promises to...
Lithuania warned it may negotiate a stand‑alone critical minerals agreement with the United States if the European Union fails to deliver a bloc‑wide pact promptly. The move aims to secure rare‑earths, battery metals and other strategic inputs for its defense...

Russia announced a second phase of Northern Sea Route development, planning to build ten additional nuclear icebreakers and 46 salvage vessels by 2035, supported by three new Arctic rescue‑fleet bases. The current fleet includes eight nuclear icebreakers, with the latest...

India’s PFRDA is piloting pension plans that bundle health insurance, allowing up to 30% of the retirement corpus to be earmarked for medical expenses. ICICI, Axis and Tata‑backed funds are testing the “Swasthya” product, which could leverage pooled investors to...
The U.S. rig count held steady at 551 this week, with oil rigs slipping by three to 409 while gas rigs rose by three to 133. Crude output climbed to 13.713 million barrels per day, edging close to an all‑time high....
Political scrutiny of the EU emissions trading system intensified in mid‑February, pushing the front‑year EU ETS contract down almost 6% on Feb 5 and a further 7% after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s comments. EU officials denied reports of extending free‑allowance allocations beyond...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met exiled Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The two discussed the need to tighten sanctions on Iran and other authoritarian regimes, and jointly condemned the growing military cooperation between...

Employment in France’s automotive sector dropped from 425,500 in 2010 to 286,800 in 2023, a loss of nearly 139,000 jobs or 33 %. The decline was driven primarily by car manufacturers, which shed 46,000 positions, while parts suppliers lost 31.5 % of...
TC Energy reported fourth‑quarter earnings per share of US $0.72, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68, driven by record natural‑gas deliveries in both the United States and Canada. U.S. pipeline flows rose 9.5% YoY to 29.6 Bcf/d, while Canadian deliveries hit a...

Indian equities broke their recent rally as a broad technology sell‑off combined with mixed earnings commentary and profit‑taking pressured the benchmark indices. The IT sector led the decline, slipping sharply amid global chip‑maker weakness. Meanwhile, consumer‑focused stocks and a handful...

The medical device sector is grappling with a wave of new and proposed tariffs that have lifted costs for metals, electronics, and finished components throughout global supply chains. Manufacturers must decide whether to absorb these higher expenses, pass them to...

Economists spot early signs of recovery in the US labor market, with private payrolls accelerating, yet underlying job quality remains thin. The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver two 25‑basis‑point cuts, likely in June and September, as inflation stays modest....

U.S. consumer price inflation in January eased to 0.2% month‑on‑month, with core CPI matching expectations at 0.3% and both headline and core year‑on‑year rates falling to four‑year lows of 2.4% and 2.5%. Goods prices excluding food and energy were flat,...
Eurozone preliminary GDP showed a 0.3 % QoQ rise in Q4 2025, matching expectations and nudging annual growth to 1.4 %. The United Kingdom posted a weaker 0.1 % QoQ increase, missing forecasts and pulling annual growth to 1 %. The data lifted the...

Singapore’s port recorded a historic 3.22 billion gross tonnes of vessel arrivals and 44.66 million TEUs in 2025, marking 3.5% and 8.6% growth respectively over 2024. The hub remains second only to Shanghai, with Ningbo‑Zhoushan closing the gap, while contributing roughly 7%...
U.S. consumer price index data for January showed annual inflation easing to 2.4% from 2.7% in December, missing the 2.5% market forecast. Monthly CPI rose 0.2% and core CPI remained at 2.5% year‑over‑year, matching expectations. The softer headline number nudged...
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France’s new energy planning law (PPE) sets a decarbonised electricity goal of 650‑693 TWh by 2035, up from 540 TWh today, and aims for 70% of total energy consumption to come from clean power. The decree trims wind and solar targets by...

European pulp markets are seeing divergent trends as bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) prices jumped $120 per tonne for January, while northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) only posted modest gains. The BEK surge is driven by supply constraints from Iberian strikes,...
Rabobank analysts Molly Schwartz and Christian Lawrence project the USD/CAD pair to remain largely sideways throughout 2026, confined to a 1.36‑1.41 band. The outlook is driven by persistent US‑Canada trade tensions, a looming USMCA review, and a weakening U.S. dollar...

Poland’s January flash CPI showed headline inflation at 2.2% YoY, modestly above the 1.9% consensus but still under the NBP’s 2.5% ± 1‑point target. The decline was driven by a 7.1% drop in gasoline prices, while food prices held steady at 2.4%...
India’s rupee ended Friday essentially unchanged, closing at 90.6350 per dollar, a slight dip from the prior session. The currency faced pressure from weak domestic equities, elevated interbank dollar demand, and maturing non‑deliverable forward contracts, while the Reserve Bank of...

Romania’s economy entered recession in early 2024 and posted a 1.9% quarterly contraction in Q4 2025, the steepest drop since 2012. Revised data also turned Q1 2025 growth negative, prompting analysts to slash the 2026 GDP outlook from 1.4% to 0.6%. The...

Cameroon’s ship registry, now Africa’s third‑largest, surged 126% in the past year, largely due to Russian‑linked vessels adopting its flag. The fleet’s average age has risen to 32.7 years, prompting safety concerns after several high‑profile incidents. Under pressure from the EU...

Poland’s economy posted a 4.0% year‑on‑year increase in the fourth quarter of 2025, outpacing the 3.8% growth recorded in Q3. Quarterly expansion accelerated to 1.0% from 0.9% in the prior period, driven primarily by a surge in private consumption that...