A tentative truce, a weakening ocean current and a parched river. Plus, the Justice Department tries to stop a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company. Today, we’re catching up on several consequential stories we’ve been monitoring. Energy What happens if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened? A preliminary agreement between the United States and…
Oil prices jumped on Thursday after the United States and Iran exchanged fire for a second straight day, heightening fears that the two countries could slide back into open conflict. The United States said it had struck multiple targets across Iran after President Trump vowed to maintain military pressure because negotiations with Iranian leaders over…
Inflation accelerated for a third straight month in May amid a stalemate in negotiations to end a war with Iran that has pushed up energy prices, adding to the burden on already strained consumers. The Consumer Price Index rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday,…
SHENZHEN, CHINA – MAY 1: The Chinese national flag is seen in front of stacked shipping containers bearing MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), Maersk, and Hamburg Süd branding at Yantian Port on May 1, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images China’s trade growth held up better than…
Sinology | Moment | Getty Images Tech stocks in Asia and Europe extended their sell-off Monday, as investors soured on global AI-linked plays after the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq declined more than 4.5% last week. Memory chip behemoths and heavyweights on South Korea’s Kospi Index, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, ended Monday’s trading session down 10.18%…
The conflict in the Middle East, which is significantly disrupting the world’s supply of energy and other critical commodities like fertilizer, will slow economic growth this year and raise inflation through 2027, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Wednesday. The global economy’s growth will slow to 2.8 percent this year from 3.4…
Global markets convulsed on Monday after a report in Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, stated that Iran would stop engaging in negotiations because of Israel’s actions in Lebanon. The report could not immediately be confirmed and did not cite its sources. Still, oil prices moved…
Sun Haoyu, a hog farmer in Dalian, in northern China’s Liaoning Province, first noticed pork prices beginning to tumble late last year. With 3,000 hogs to care for, Mr. Sun said, he had “no choice but to tough it out,” relying entirely on loans and borrowed money to keep his operation afloat. But prices kept…
Fifa is under investigation over its ticket pricing ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey are investigating the association over allegations of “artificially inflating prices” and “misleading fans” over the sale of tickets. Fans have reportedly been “misled” about the location of seats, including through the creation…
The British energy giant Shell reported robust profits following the surge in oil prices prompted by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The company, based in London, said Thursday that its adjusted profit soared 24 percent, to $6.92 billion, in the first three months of the year from the same time last year, higher than analysts…
