The signs are multiplying that Vladimir Putin’s powers of coercion are rapidly fading, and his chief instruments of regional leverage are dissolving. Not only have Ukrainian drones put Russian forces on their heels in the two countries’ long-running conflict, but they are also threatening to tear apart the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Moscow’s version of NATO. Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s failure to prevent the reelection of Putin’s nemesis in Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, is helping to expose…

Global investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire EDF Power Solutions North America in a landmark $4.2-billion deal, marking the largest single renewable energy investment in the company’s history. The purchase gives KKR immediate control of one of North America’s largest clean power portfolios, adding more than 5.6 gigawatts of operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets as investors race to secure electricity generation for AI data centers and other fast-growing sources of power demand. The acquisition instantly makes KKR one…

Global investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire EDF Power Solutions North America in a landmark $4.2-billion deal, marking the largest single renewable energy investment in the company’s history. The purchase gives KKR immediate control of one of North America’s largest clean power portfolios, adding more than 5.6 gigawatts of operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets as investors race to secure electricity generation for AI data centers and other fast-growing sources of power demand. The acquisition instantly makes KKR one…

Russia has confirmed its government is currently in negotiations with other countries to purchase gasoline while desperately seeking to stabilize its domestic market after months drone mayhem out of Ukraine. "Discussions are actively being held," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing Tuesday, though without specifying which countries. "If agreements can be reached at acceptable price points, then [imports] will move forward," he added. The development is surprising given that Russia remains the world's second-largest crude oil…

Russia has started importing refined fuel from India by sea in a bid to mitigate critical domestic fuel shortages triggered by sustained Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure. In an exclusive Reuters report, industry sources revealed that an initial shipment of at least 60,000 metric tons (510,000 barrels) of gasoline has been dispatched from India via two tankers destined for Russian ports.  Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked offline roughly 30% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, pushing domestic refining throughput…

Russia has started importing refined fuel from India by sea in a bid to mitigate critical domestic fuel shortages triggered by sustained Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure. In an exclusive Reuters report, industry sources revealed that an initial shipment of at least 60,000 metric tons (510,000 barrels) of gasoline has been dispatched from India via two tankers destined for Russian ports.  Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked offline roughly 30% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, pushing domestic refining throughput…

Russia has started importing refined fuel from India by sea in a bid to mitigate critical domestic fuel shortages triggered by sustained Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure. In an exclusive Reuters report, industry sources revealed that an initial shipment of at least 60,000 metric tons (510,000 barrels) of gasoline has been dispatched from India via two tankers destined for Russian ports.  Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked offline roughly 30% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, pushing domestic refining throughput…

Saudi Arabia and Algeria have officially cut selling prices for liquefied petroleum ‌gas (LPG) for the month of July amid increased global market supply. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, has lowered its official selling prices (OSPs) for a metric ton of propane by $180 to $580 per ton and by $220 to $600 per ton for butane while Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil producer, has lowered July OSPs for propane by $57/ton to $518 and and for butane by $10/ton to $600, according to Reuters reporting on Wednesday.…

A firm planning to mine uranium in northern Italy has drawn up plans for a London float as it seeks to capitalise on renewed interest in nuclear technology. Reveille Resources, which will be operated by Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo alongside his father, Andrea Cattaneo, is preparing to join London’s small-cap Aquis exchange as soon as this week. The firm said its initial focus will be on two historical uranium deposits in Lombardy, northern Italy, known as Novazza and Val Vedello, for which licence applications were submitted last year. Evidence…

Renewable energy accounted for a record-high 58% of Germany’s electricity consumption in the first half of 2026, up from 55.8% for the same period last year, the latest estimates by industry associations ZSW and BDEW showed on Wednesday. Germany is looking to boost its solar and wind power generation sectors with ambitious goals and legislative changes to ease and streamline the permitting processes. Europe’s biggest economy has a target to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity every year to have renewables account for 80%…

Renewable energy accounted for a record-high 58% of Germany’s electricity consumption in the first half of 2026, up from 55.8% for the same period last year, the latest estimates by industry associations ZSW and BDEW showed on Wednesday. Germany is looking to boost its solar and wind power generation sectors with ambitious goals and legislative changes to ease and streamline the permitting processes. Europe’s biggest economy has a target to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity every year to have renewables account for 80%…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.8 million barrels during the week ending June 26, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 408.4 million barrels, according to government data, which is now 7% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 6.072 million barrels in the period.…

Japan’s JERA is creating a wholly-owned subsidiary to develop and manage its LNG, upstream, low-carbon fuels, and shipping businesses, the biggest Japanese LNG importer and largest power producer said on Wednesday. The new company, JERA Global Energy Solutions (JERA GES), will be the Japanese utility giant’s response to increasingly volatile and complex energy markets. JERA GES will be a vertically integrated LNG company which can quickly respond to the market needs while maintaining security of supply for Japan as its highest priority,…

US Vice President JD Vance has again signaled that the White House is prepared to use force against Iran if diplomacy fails, raising the stakes around a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has halted open hostilities but left the core disputes unresolved. In an interview on The Michael Knowles Show released on June 30, Vance cast the US approach toward Iran as a stark choice: a longer-term agreement anchored in permanent, verifiable nuclear inspections, or renewed military action to preserve what Washington sees as gains already secured.…

European companies are concerned – in various ways – about the upcoming revamping of the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS), the key instrument the bloc has been implementing since 2005 to curb emissions from heavy-polluting sectors including the cement, steel-making, and chemicals industries. As the European Commission is expected to propose an amended ETS plan on July 15, European companies that have invested in low-carbon operations fear a weakening of the scheme. Others, such as some chemicals and steelmaking giants, call for a…

European companies are concerned – in various ways – about the upcoming revamping of the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS), the key instrument the bloc has been implementing since 2005 to curb emissions from heavy-polluting sectors including the cement, steel-making, and chemicals industries. As the European Commission is expected to propose an amended ETS plan on July 15, European companies that have invested in low-carbon operations fear a weakening of the scheme. Others, such as some chemicals and steelmaking giants, call for a…

No generation in human history has experienced an infrastructure buildout of this speed and scale. Over the next several years, trillions of dollars will be poured into what industry leaders increasingly describe as AI factories: sprawling campuses filled with advanced processors, networking equipment, cooling systems, and enough electrical demand to rival major cities. McKinsey estimates AI-related infrastructure spending could exceed $5 trillion by 2030, while JLL projects developers may require roughly 100 gigawatts of new data-center capacity…

Indian crude imports set several records in June. Total inflows reached about 5 million b/d, the highest level ever recorded for the month. Of that, 2.6 million b/d came from Russia, equivalent to 54% of India’s total crude imports and a historic record for Russian-Indian trade. Russian supplies, which had fallen to around 1.1 million b/d in February under sanctions pressure from Washington, more than doubled within four months and became a key pillar of India’s energy-security strategy. India’s overall import volume suggests…

  Oil and gas companies operating in Australia are lining up plans to boost oil and gas exploration as activity picks up amid the energy crisis in the wake of the Iran war. Australia, which has had to cope with a fuel supply crisis since the Middle East conflict began, is one of the world’s top LNG exporters. Still, it assesses its domestic gas availability every quarter, and the regulators have often raised an alarm over potential gas supply shortages in some parts of the country. Energy Security Woes Prompt Renewed Exploration Efforts…

There have recently been many warnings about near-term oil shortages stemming from the conflict in Iran. Most analysts assume that shortages mean higher prices. As I will explain, the dynamics of a self-organizing economy suggest the opposite outcome — lower prices, deepening recession, and shortages of goods and services that have little to do with price. A cartoon scene featuring a bluebird on a cliff, looking confidently at a surprised coyote who is about to fall off the edge, with a yellow sky in the background. Figure 1. Wile E. Coyote…