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Chinese energy‑storage giants are signing multi‑GWh deals worldwide, signalling a rapid international expansion in 2026. Cornex will deliver 5.5 GWh to Saudi Arabia, while CATL, together with Schroders Greencoat and Lochpine Capital, targets up to 10 GWh of European battery‑storage projects. Tianneng Group is backing a 1 GWh AI‑data‑center PV‑plus‑storage plant in Malaysia, Zhiguang Electric is installing containerised microgrids for DRC mining, and SolaX has secured a 1 GWh residential‑storage supply agreement in Australia.
Elevra Lithium has signed a non‑binding MOU with Canada’s Mangrove Lithium to off‑take up to 144,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year from the North American Lithium (NAL) project in Quebec. The supply would begin in 2028, scaling to full...
The Trump administration’s 2025 trade strategy oscillated between aggressive, unpredictable tariff threats and a quieter push for long‑standing trade objectives. While high tariffs and threats destabilized markets, the administration began issuing exemptions and rolled back many threats, stabilizing tariff levels...
Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called a snap election that delivered a historic super‑majority for the Liberal Democratic Party, winning 316 of 465 lower‑house seats. The result gives the LDP unprecedented legislative power to push Takaichi’s agenda without...
Imported solar panels are no longer subject to Section 201 tariffs after they expired on February 6, 2026, ending an eight‑year protection regime that began under the Trump administration. The tariffs, which started at 30 % and gradually declined to 14 % by 2025, were...
Hapag‑Lloyd posted a Q4 2025 EBIT of $200 million, a 75% drop from the same quarter a year earlier, yet still managed a full‑year profit of $1.1 billion despite plunging spot rates. Container volumes rose modestly, adding 200,000 TEU in Q4 and...
In a February 9, 2026 speech to the European Parliament, ECB President Christine Lagarde reaffirmed the central bank’s independence while emphasizing its accountability to elected officials. She reported that headline inflation has fallen to 1.7% in January and is expected...
In April 2025 President Trump issued an executive order authorizing U.S. companies to mine critical minerals in international waters, directly contravening the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The move aims to secure rare‑earth supplies amid...
The European Union announced plans to replace its $44.10‑per‑barrel Russian oil price cap with a comprehensive ban on maritime services for Russian crude, pending member‑state approval. The ban would block hull, machinery, and insurance services, pushing Russia toward the uninsured...
Altona Rare Earths announced that the U.S. Trade & Development Agency will support its Monte Muambe project in Mozambique, prompting a 76% surge in the company's London‑listed shares. The backing aims to map technical and financial routes for extracting rare‑earth...
Shippers are grappling with mixed signals from carriers about returning to the Suez Canal route. Maersk said peace in the Middle East is required, yet announced two services will resume via the Red Sea with military escort. CMA CGM has shifted...
Chinese electric‑vehicle makers are eyeing Canada as a strategic foothold into North America, with a government‑approved quota of 49,000 units annually – roughly 3.8% of the market. BYD is projected to dominate the allocation, taking about 30% of the quota,...
Turkey recorded a historic tourism peak in 2025, welcoming roughly 63.9 million visitors and generating $65.2 billion in revenue. Visitor numbers rose 2.7% year‑over‑year, while tourism earnings climbed 6.8%, surpassing government targets. The market mix featured 52.8 million foreign tourists and 11.1 million Turkish...
President Donald Trump has turned to senior military officials to spearhead high‑stakes diplomatic talks on Iran’s nuclear program and the Russia‑Ukraine war. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, joined indirect Iran negotiations in Oman, while Army Secretary Dan...
The U.S. Geological Survey’s 2026 mineral commodities summary shows the United States now imports 100% of 16 of the 90 non‑fuel minerals it tracks, up from 15 a year earlier, and relies on foreign sources for more than half of...
Iran’s inflation, hovering around 20% and spiking above 40% during sanctions, has become a structural feature of its macro‑economy. The country’s fragmented exchange‑rate system, fiscal deficits financed by the central bank, and dominant state‑linked enterprises perpetuate price pressures. Analysts argue...
Heliostar Metals announced the first gold pour from its newly restarted San Agustin mine in Durango, marking its second operating asset after La Colorada. The open‑pit mine is projected to deliver roughly 45,000 ounces of gold from existing reserves, prompting...
DPM Metals announced a 20% increase in measured and indicated resources at its Chelopech gold‑copper mine, boosting total reserves to 1.6 million ounces of gold and 6.23 million ounces of silver. The update extends the mine’s projected life to ten years, up...
In his second term, President Donald Trump pushed average U.S. import tariffs to about 18%, the highest level since the Great Depression. The higher duties widened the trade deficit and contributed to persistent inflation, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut...
Former Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg pursued a $260 billion merger with Rio Tinto that could have reshaped the mining sector. Talks collapsed within 24 hours after Rio announced it would not pursue a deal that failed to deliver sufficient shareholder value....
The FAO Food Price Index slipped to 123.9 points in January, marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline and a 0.4% drop from December. Prices fell sharply for dairy (‑5%) and sugar (‑1%), while the cereal price index edged up 0.2%...
India’s 2026‑27 Union Budget allocates a record ₹7.85 trillion (≈$87 billion) to defence, a 15 percent rise over the previous year. The surge is driven by Operation Sindoor, a series of retaliatory air strikes that heightened focus on modernisation. Capital outlay jumps to ₹2.31 trillion,...
Germany is spearheading a “two‑speed” European Union defence initiative by forming an E6 group of the bloc’s six largest economies – Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The format aims to bypass consensus‑driven decision‑making to accelerate defence investment,...
France is redirecting its African security policy from the faltering Sahel model to a partnership with Kenya, formalized through the first France‑Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA). The DCA shifts focus to joint training, maritime security, intelligence sharing, and peace‑support operations,...
The UK‑China Financial Working Group held its inaugural meeting on 31 January 2026 in Beijing, bringing together senior officials from HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the PRA, the FCA and their Chinese counterparts from the People’s Bank of China, the Ministry...
Haropa Port, Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Group, Bureau Veritas, MSC and TiL signed an agreement in Shanghai to launch the first green shipping corridor between France’s Haropa Port and China’s Ningbo Zhoushan Port. The corridor aligns with IMO’s 2050 carbon‑neutral target...
International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) and PSA International’s joint venture, Sociedad Puerto Industrial de Aguadulce, has received two super post‑Panamax quay cranes and three hybrid rubber‑tired gantry (RTG) cranes for the Aguadulce terminal in Buenaventura, Colombia. The quay cranes can...
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) inaugurated a representative office in Doha, managed by its subsidiary China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC). The office, staffed with marketing, technical and service experts from Hudong‑Zhonghua Shipbuilding and CSSC Power/WinGD, is positioned as a hub for...
Everllence secured its 2,000th dual‑fuel two‑stroke engine contract, a deal placed by Cosco Shipping Lines for a 12‑ship order of 18,000‑TEU container vessels built at Jiangnan Shipyard in China. The order features the B&W 8G95ME‑GI Mk. 10.5 engine, which incorporates exhaust‑gas recirculation and...
Kongsberg Maritime secured a contract to design and equip four 15,600 dwt handy‑size tankers for Transpetro, Brazil’s Petrobras transport arm. The vessels will be constructed at Consórcio Marenova, a joint venture between Ecovix and MacLaren, and are engineered for future methanol...
U.S. authorities have seized at least seven tankers linked to Venezuela’s shadow fleet, part of a broader push to disrupt illicit oil flows from Iran, Russia and Venezuela. The seizures rely on civil forfeiture statutes rather than wartime prize law,...
European investors hold roughly $8 trillion of U.S. Treasury debt, a quarter of the Treasury market, and recent geopolitical friction with the Trump administration has sparked talk of using those holdings as leverage. A Danish pension fund’s $100 million Treasury sell‑off highlighted...
United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) is urging the United States and Malaysia to crack down on ship‑to‑ship (STS) transfers of sanctioned Iranian crude off Malaysia’s East Outer Port Limits. UANI identified about 60 dark‑fleet tankers waiting for STS operations,...
European Union member states have reached a breakthrough agreement to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion support package for 2026‑2027, of which roughly €60 billion is allocated to military aid and €30 billion to budget stabilization and reforms. The financing will be sourced...
Manufacturers that fled China during the 2018 US trade war are now reversing course, with up to half of re‑shored production expected to return to Chinese factories. Logistics bottlenecks and limited capacity in Southeast Asian ports are prompting exporters of...
A CE Delft study commissioned by Nabu reveals a compatibility issue between on‑shore power supply (OPS) and LNG‑powered vessels. Ships with membrane or Type B tanks, which have lower pressure tolerance, may struggle to manage boil‑off gas (BOG) when connected to...
China retained its shipbuilding leadership in 2025, delivering 53.69 million deadweight tonnes—a 11.4% increase year‑on‑year—and capturing 56.1% of global output. New orders fell 4.6% to 107.82 million dwt but still accounted for 69% of worldwide demand, while the order backlog surged 31.5%...
Wärtsilä will invest roughly €140 million to expand its Sustainable Technology Hub in Vaasa, boosting production capacity by 35% and adding an 11,000 sq m extension. The upgraded facility, slated for completion in Q1 2028, supports the company’s record‑high 2025 operating profit of €833 million...
The article argues that the United States now enjoys a unique, uncontested sphere of influence across the Western Hemisphere, anchored by overwhelming military spending and deep economic integration. By contrast, China and Russia lack the capacity to establish comparable regional...
Following the January 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro, a memo authored by former U.S. officials outlines a roadmap for Washington to steer Venezuela toward a prosperous, U.S.-aligned future. It calls for immediate benchmarks on human‑rights reforms, dismantling of paramilitary groups, and...
On January 1, 2026 the United States enforced foreign‑entity‑of‑concern (FEOC) restrictions and a 25% Section 301 tariff on Chinese‑origin battery energy storage systems (BESS). The new rules have shifted procurement from a price‑only focus to a comprehensive risk‑management approach that evaluates supply‑chain...
AD Ports Group has signed a Heads of Terms with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Transport to explore developing a multipurpose terminal at Matadi Port, the country’s primary riverine gateway. The agreement outlines a framework for enhancing operational...
The article examines why nations continue to trade even amid armed conflict, highlighting the paradox of wartime commerce. It uses the United States‑China relationship as a case study, noting Washington’s push to “de‑risk” supply chains and the 2025 Chinese embargo...
Iran announced a live‑fire naval drill in the Strait of Hormuz for Sunday and Monday, targeting a lane within the traffic separation scheme that handles roughly one‑fifth of global oil shipments. The United States Central Command warned Tehran that unsafe...
The European Union’s foreign ministers have formally listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, marking a sharp policy shift amid Tehran’s crackdown on protests and regional activities. The move, championed by EU foreign‑policy chief Kaja Kallas,...
Ukraine has launched a series of "kinetic sanctions" targeting Russia's shadow‑fleet oil tankers, using maritime drones and alleged limpet mines. Since November, at least eleven tankers – eight carrying crude – have been damaged, driving Black Sea insurance rates up...
Europe’s battery market is overwhelmingly dependent on China, with 85‑87% of imports sourced from Beijing. The article warns that a Chinese suspension of battery exports would destabilize Poland’s energy transition, logistics, industrial output, and military readiness, and could similarly cripple...
Sanctions and economic pressure have strained Russia’s economy, but the war persists. The article argues that historical cases show economic pain rarely forces a state to abandon a large‑scale conflict unless it triggers military defeat, elite fragmentation, or regime collapse....
Shadow fleets—aging, flag‑hopping tankers that spoof AIS—now move roughly 12% of global maritime trade and account for at least 48% of the world’s large oil tankers. The United States seized a seventh covert tanker in January 2026, while France and...
The Q1 2026 CFO Leadership Confidence Index shows U.S. finance chiefs reacting sharply to Washington’s policy volatility. Before President Trump’s tariff warning, 130 CFOs rated current business conditions at 5.5, a 9% decline from Q4, but after a NATO deal...
