The United States looks to replace the deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the second-in-command role in the agency that is usually reserved for a U.S. representative, POLITICO’s E&E News reported on Thursday, quoting former U.S. officials and energy industry insiders familiar with the plan.  American Mary Burce Warlick is currently the Deputy Executive Director of the IEA. Warlick is a retired career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia. Warlick has held a variety of senior leadership positions…

President Donald Trump has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India after the country’s government imported Russian Federation Oil. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, the White House said it would slap Indian imports with the fresh levy taking their overall rate to 50 per cent. The President warned on Tuesday he would raise India’s tariff rate “very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fuelling the war machine”. “If they’re going to do…

Reliance Industries, the top private refiner in India, has warned in its annual report that tariff uncertainties and geopolitical events could affect global crude oil flows and oil market balances.  “Continuing geopolitical and tariff-related uncertainties may affect trade flows and demand-supply balance,” the conglomerate Reliance Industries, owned and chaired by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, said in its annual 2024-2025 report. “Global crude oil prices continue to remain volatile on the back of dynamic interplay of…

Oil prices ticked higher in early Thursday trading in Asia, buoyed by renewed trade tensions and a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories. The modest rebound follows a rough week for crude, which had slumped to two-month lows on concerns over rising OPEC+ output and faltering global demand. At the time of writing, Brent crude futures for October delivery rose 0.88% to $67.48 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures climbed by 0.98% to $64.98. The upward momentum was driven in part by a new wave of geopolitical uncertainty after President…

President Trump declared on Wednesday that the United States will impose a 100% tariff on imported semiconductor chips—unless the companies have formally committed to building or expanding manufacturing within the U.S. The tariff would aim to reshape the global semiconductor supply chain by incentivizing onshore production. Notable companies such as Apple, already committing over $100 billion in additional U.S. investments (bringing their total pledge to $500 billion), are being touted as major beneficiaries of this carve?out. Major…

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to slap India with extra tariffs because, "They're fueling the war machine," by buying Russian oil. Well, Trump made good on his threat on Wednesday, signing an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India. The new tariff stacks on top of the existing 25% on Indian exports to the United States, and will come into effect in 21 days. Last year, India leapfrogged China to become the biggest buyer of Russian oil, purchasing up to 2 million barrels of discounted barrels per day, good for ~2%…

Last month, President Trump took the trade world by surprise yet again by announcing a 50% tariff on imports of copper. The imports covered by the tariff were worth $15 billion last year, per Bloomberg. There are exemptions, but not many. The point of the tariffs is to bring copper processing back home. The problem: it may be a bit too late for that. The U.S. president has made no secret of how he feels about the massive outsourcing of manufacturing to Asia, and more specifically, China. Trump recently urged Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook,…

China's biggest solar firms fired nearly one-third of their workforces last year, a Reuters analysis of company filings shows, as one of the industries hand-picked by Beijing to drive economic growth grapples with falling prices and steep losses. Longi Green Energy, Trina Solar, Jinko Solar, JA Solar, and Tongwei collectively shed some 87,000 staff, or 31% of their workforces on average last year, according to a Reuters review of employment figures in public filings. The job cuts illustrate the pain from the vicious price…

The discovery of the massive Vaca Muerta shale play was a game changer for the economically troubled South American nation of Argentina. The country, which with 2024 gross domestic product of $632 billion ranks as the second largest economy in South America and third largest in the broader region of Latin America, is rapidly becoming one of the region’s leading hydrocarbon producers. The latest data from Argentina’s Ministry of Economy shows shale oil production hit an all-time high for June 2025, although overall petroleum output dipped…

Last month, the European Union (EU) pledged to buy $750 billion worth of energy from the United States in an apparent win for Donald Trump. Experts, however, have argued that the plan is a tall order at best, and “impossible” and “delusional” and at worst. But even if the EU doesn’t manage to buy $250 billion in oil, gas, and nuclear from the United States each year of President Trump’s term, the deal could still go a long way toward weaning Europe off of Russian energy sources. "We still have too much Russian…

Via Metal Miner Australia may well emerge as one of the few non-China sources for the supply of gallium metal, a valuable mineral used in electronics, LEDs and semiconductors. In a move toward critical mineral diversification, Alcoa of Australia recently reported that it had signed a Joint Development Agreement with Japan Australia Gallium Associates Pty Ltd (JAGA) to explore gallium recovery at one of its alumina refineries in Western Australia. JAGA is itself a collaboration between Sojitz Corporation and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy…

Wall Street’s top six banks have sharply reduced fossil fuel financing in 2025, cutting total oil, gas, and coal lending by 25% year-to-date to $73 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg through August 1. The largest cut came from Morgan Stanley, which slashed lending by 54%, while JPMorgan Chase posted the smallest reduction at around 7%. Wells Fargo, despite paring back by 17%, remained the largest lender with $19.1 billion in fossil financing. The downturn comes amid the first projected decline in global upstream investment since…

Glencore has scrapped plans to move its primary listing from London as part of a major overhaul to reverse its declining share price and stuttering production. Boss Gary Nagle confirmed on Wednesday the Anglo-Swiss commodities juggernaut was no longer assessing whether to move its main listing to New York, telling reporters it decided the move would not be “value accretive”. Glencore revealed earlier this year that alongside an root-and-branch operational review to root out inefficiencies, it was also reassessing its financial home,…

Russia is preparing to sharply increase crude oil exports this month after Ukrainian drone strikes disabled two major refineries, leaving excess unprocessed crude with no domestic outlet and prompting a shift toward western port shipments. According to Reuters, crude shipments from Russia’s western ports could increase to 2 million barrels per day in August, about 200,000 bpd more than previously planned. Spot traders have begun locking in Aframax tankers to handle the sudden increase, as onshore refining options collapse and terminal inventories…

Russia is preparing to sharply increase crude oil exports this month after Ukrainian drone strikes disabled two major refineries, leaving excess unprocessed crude with no domestic outlet and prompting a shift toward western port shipments. According to Reuters, crude shipments from Russia’s western ports could increase to 2 million barrels per day in August, about 200,000 bpd more than previously planned. Spot traders have begun locking in Aframax tankers to handle the sudden increase, as onshore refining options collapse and terminal inventories…

Russia is preparing to sharply increase crude oil exports this month after Ukrainian drone strikes disabled two major refineries, leaving excess unprocessed crude with no domestic outlet and prompting a shift toward western port shipments. According to Reuters, crude shipments from Russia’s western ports could increase to 2 million barrels per day in August, about 200,000 bpd more than previously planned. Spot traders have begun locking in Aframax tankers to handle the sudden increase, as onshore refining options collapse and terminal inventories…

Russia is preparing to sharply increase crude oil exports this month after Ukrainian drone strikes disabled two major refineries, leaving excess unprocessed crude with no domestic outlet and prompting a shift toward western port shipments. According to Reuters, crude shipments from Russia’s western ports could increase to 2 million barrels per day in August, about 200,000 bpd more than previously planned. Spot traders have begun locking in Aframax tankers to handle the sudden increase, as onshore refining options collapse and terminal inventories…

As delegates from 184 countries begin talks in Geneva on a global treaty to curb plastic waste and pollution, the negotiations that began in 2022 are nowhere close to an agreement. Geneva hosts the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, after the first part failed to reach a deal in South Korea late last year. This year, chances of a comprehensive global treaty are not high, either. Major petrostates and oil and petrochemical lobbies…

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order enacting an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, explicitly targeting India’s ongoing imports of Russian crude oil. This order increases the total tariff rate on Indian exports to the United States to 50%, the highest level for any country under current U.S. policy. According to the executive order (effective 21 days after signing, beginning at 12:01?a.m. ET), duties will apply to goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses on or after that time.  In an accompanying…

Farmland is one of the oldest asset classes, rivaling precious metals in its ability to preserve generational wealth. Unlike stocks or fiat currencies, farmland and cropland are tangible, finite, and highly productive. As the global population continues to grow and demand for healthier food intensifies, arable land per capita is shrinking due to urban sprawl and environmental degradation. This makes farmland not just a low-volatility store of value, but also a necessary hedge against rising global instability and inflationary pressures.  The…