U.S. refineries are producing the most gasoline and diesel since before the pandemic lockdowns, refining margins are running at record highs, but the world is still short on fuels. And it would take a while—and maybe a peace deal in the Middle East—before the situation changes. Fuel shortages are the more important oil crisis because it is fuels that the world consumes, not unrefined crude oil. Yet ever since the U.S. and Israel launched their first strikes on Iran at the end of February, it is crude oil prices that have been hogging…

Crude oil prices ticked lower today on reports that oil tankers were still passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, despite information about renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran, and a drone attack on a tanker in an Egyptian port. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $89.46 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $83.54 per barrel, both down by about 1% since Wednesday’s close. Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command announced renewed strikes on targets in Iran on Wednesday, saying “The strikes are a powerful response…

The Pentagon’s investment in MP Materials marked the biggest U.S. intervention in the rare earth industry in decades. The deal established a domestic champion for one of the world’s most strategically important supply chains and demonstrated that Washington is prepared to commit federal financial resources to critical mineral production. Mountain Pass is the only large-scale rare earth mine operating in the United States and one of the world’s largest producers of light rare earths. Its ore is rich in neodymium and praseodymium…

The Trump administration has opened another front in the global rare earths race, backing a new project in Madagascar as Washington accelerates efforts to break China’s grip on the critical minerals that power everything from advanced weapons and AI infrastructure to oil refining and electric vehicles. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed up to $4.84 million to Harena Rare Earths’ (OTCQB: CRMNF) Ampasindava project in northern Madagascar. The funding will support pilot plant operations, metallurgical…

Tightening global supply of oil and gas is putting Europe on course for a difficult winter this year due to the continent’s significant dependence on energy imports, despite energy transition ambitions. Gas in storage is much lower than it should be, and a diesel crunch is threatening fuel oil supply security for the heating season. It could turn into a perfect storm. The first warning signs emerged as early as March, as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran crippled Qatar’s LNG export infrastructure, forcing the Gulf state to declare…

Air conditioning has become a hot-button geopolitical issue as rising temperatures create dangerous conditions around the globe. Air-conditioning units are increasingly being considered as “essential infrastructure” as summer heat waves turn into a deadly and increasingly regular occurrence. But while air conditioning inarguably saves lives, in the short term, they are simultaneously contributing to global warming and distracting from other, more important approaches to managing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change.…

The U.S. Department of Energy has picked five states led by Republican governors to potentially host nuclear fuel waste in exchange for billions of dollars of support to advance manufacturing in the full nuclear fuel cycle. These so-called Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses are an ambitious project by the Trump Administration to store and repurpose spent nuclear fuel, support advanced reactor deployment, expand domestic manufacturing, and potentially co-host data centers. The campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in capital…

BMW shares in Germany are down 36% so far this year, as the automaker's latest forecast downgrade was described by JPMorgan analyst Jose Asumendi as a "wake-up call for the auto industry." The outlook for BMW continues to deteriorate, with Bloomberg reporting that the automaker will begin a sweeping workforce restructuring in Germany this fall. Voluntary departures in Germany are expected to account for most of the roughly 8,000 positions BMW plans to eliminate globally, equivalent to about 5% of its workforce. The restructuring…

Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea marks the first direct link between the wars in Ukraine and Iran. While details of the July 25 incident are murky, Ukraine’s intelligence agency the SBU said its drones hit an oil platform in the Caspian Sea along with a Russian missile boat and “cargo ships that are under international sanctions.” President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday announced that Ukrainian forces had achieved “very good results” in long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea,…