Baltic
Dry Index. 2028 +56 Brent Crude 103.14
Spot
Gold 5020 Spot Silver 81.34
U
S 2 Year Yield 3.73 -0.03
US
Federal Debt. 38.880 trillion
US
GDP 31.234 trillion
“President Trump threw a hand grenade into the global economic
system a year ago with his erratic tariffs. Now he’s thrown another hand
grenade with this unprovoked war in Iran.”
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz
8:00
AM Update.
As
the Gulf war escalates, a ground war in eight to ten days? Qui bono?
US
hits military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island as war escalates
Published Mar
14, 2026, 07:20 AM Updated Mar 14, 2026, 09:36 AM
WASHINGTON
- President Donald Trump said the US had bombed military targets on a critical
Iranian outpost in the Persian Gulf and threatened additional strikes targeting
oil infrastructure if Tehran continued to block energy flows, in the latest
escalation of the two-week conflict that has upended the region.
He
said the US had “executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History
of the Middle East,” including destroying military targets on Kharg Island.
Mr Trump, writing in a social media post, added that “for reasons of decency, I
have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” though he
warned Iran that he would immediately reconsider that decision if they
interfered with ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
He
also told reporters earlier on March 14 that the US would continue its campaign
as long as necessary, while also insisting “we’re way ahead of schedule”.
He also suggested the US Navy would begin escorting ships through the Strait of
Hormuz “very soon”.
The
14th day of the war marked the largest attacks yet against the Islamic
Republic, with the US and Israel hitting around 15,000 targets since the war
began, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
In
Iran, officials were defiant.
----The
US is also sending the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan to the Middle
East, a voyage that is likely to take at least a week.
The
unit has up to 2,400 troops and its command vessel, the USS Tripoli, carries a
squadron of F-35 fighters, V-22 Ospreys and helicopters.
Brent
crude settled above US$100 a barrel for the second straight session, ending the
day at the highest level in more than three years while US crude futures
settled near the highest since July 2022.
Millions
of barrels of oil remain trapped in the Persian Gulf and traffic through the
vital Strait of Hormuz is effectively at a standstill.
Efforts
by the Trump administration and other governments to tame soaring energy costs
for consumers have so far had little effect.
Asian
countries are grappling with shortages of cooking gas and road fuel. In the US,
gasoline prices at the pump are already at the highest levels in about two
years.
Iran’s
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on March 12 said the Islamic Republic would
seek to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
----The
blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the flow of millions of barrels
of oil a day, causing what the International Energy Agency described as the
biggest hit to global supply on record.
Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE have all had to curb crude output.
The
price surge has also been felt at US gas stations, where the average cost of a
gallon of gas at the US pump has risen to US$3.63, the highest since May 2024,
according to American Automobile Association data.
Several
back channels have opened between Tehran and US allies in recent days about
reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with the matter,
but they were downbeat the attempts would succeed.
An
Italian government official separately denied reports on talks with Iran.
Meanwhile,
CNN reported Iran was considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to
pass through the Strait of Hormuz, provided that the oil cargo is traded in
Chinese yuan.
US
hits military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island as war escalates | The Straits
Times
3:00 AM
update.
Week
three of the war to bring back global inflation to inflate away the US debt
approaching 40 trillion fiat dollars.
Trouble,
it’s said loves company, well it’s here in spades and it’s only going to get
worse with each passing day the Strait of Hormuz is closed.
Wall
Street Warning on Oil and Private Credit
For
investors, it’s bad news all over thanks to the war and private credit.
March
13, 2026 at 10:32 PM GMT
The
US-Israel war with Iran has triggered a major spike in oil prices. Violent
rhetoric from Washington and threats of broader
retaliation by Tehran have left no visible off-ramp in site. {Sight. Ed.] A diving
stock market and worried consumers are facing down grim implications
for unemployment and inflation across America— and indeed around the world.
For
investors, it’s
bad news all over. Throw in a budding private credit crisis, and you might
just have an economic disaster on the horizon. Bank of America’s Michael
Hartnett on Friday zeroed in on two of its potential components—oil and private
credit—when he warned that this current state of affairs reminds him of, you
guessed it, 2008.
The
strategist flagged how oil doubled to $140 a barrel by August 2008 from $70 in
July 2007, accompanied by “subprime tremors” that eventually became a Wall
Street-induced earthquake that nearly broke the global financial system.
For
the moment, the market consensus is the Middle East conflict won’t last too
much longer. And Hartnett said the issues with private credit aren’t systemic.
But this is encouraging continued bullish positioning as investors bank on
their view that policymakers always ride to Wall Street’s rescue. And that’s
the kind of thinking that may
remind one of 2008 as well. —David
E. Rovella
What
You Need to Know Today
Brent
crude settled above $100 a barrel for
the second straight session, ending the day at the highest level of the
international benchmark in more than three years. US crude futures lingered
near their highest point since July 2022. Millions of barrels of oil remain
trapped in the Persian Gulf and traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz is
effectively at a standstill. In the US, gasoline prices are already at
their highest
levels in about two years.
Donald
Trump meanwhile continued to issue threats against Tehran as the US and Israeli
militaries bombed Iran and Lebanon. Almost 2,600 people have died in the war,
most of them in Iran, latest tolls from officials and non-government agencies
show. Almost 700 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israel, where it’s
been targeting Iran-allied Hezbollah. Dozens of others have been killed
across the region in retaliatory strikes by Iran.
Warning
That It’s 2008 All Over Again: Evening Briefing Americas - Bloomberg
Think
Russian oil will calm the Iran conflict’s supply panic? Here’s what the math
reveals.
Russian
oil can reach markets fast. The Iran conflict’s supply fears, however, are much
bigger.
Published: March
13, 2026 at 4:20 p.m. ET
The
U.S. will temporarily allow Russia to sell oil that has already been loaded
onto tankers at sea, freeing up 120 million to 130 million barrels of crude in
an effort to calm markets rattled by the weeks-long conflict with Iran.
The
move could bring some barrels back into circulation relatively quickly as one
of the world’s major maritime passageways, the Strait of Hormuz, remains
effectively shut.
However,
analysts say the amount of oil involved in the brief sanction reprieve is
insufficient to meaningfully ease the supply fears in the Persian Gulf that
have seized global markets for the past two weeks.
“In
global oil terms, that’s just over a day of worldwide demand,” Nigel Green,
chief executive officer of deVere Group, told MarketWatch. “As such, it’s not a
structural shift in supply,” he said of the Russian oil that would be brought
online.
Still,
what makes the Russian oil an intriguing development is speed. “These are
barrels that already exist and in many cases are already at sea,” Green said,
adding that the moment legal restrictions are eased, they can reach refineries
in days or weeks.
The
U.S. imposed sanctions on oil from Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in
late February 2022. On Thursday, the U.S.
Treasury Department said it would authorize until April 11 the
delivery and sale of crude and petroleum products from Russia that have already
been loaded onto vessels at sea.
The
sanctions relief will “rent some time” and ease some of the physical-market
stress the global oil market has been under right now, said Tyler Richey,
co-editor at Sevens Report Research. It will not, however, see an end to the
geopolitical fear bid in energy markets, he added.
“Only
the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will truly eliminate the currently
historic supply-side bid” that’s been leading to higher oil prices, Richey
said.
More
Cracks
emerged in a resilient US economy before war in Iran sent oil prices rocketing
Updated
5:31 PM GMT, March 13, 2026
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The highly resilient U.S. economy was already showing signs of strain
even before the launch of the Iran war, data released
Friday showed, underscoring the risks that rising gasoline and energy
prices may pose.
The
economy barely grew in the final three months of last year, the Commerce
Department said, as it cut its estimate of fourth-quarter growth in half.
Consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, was anemic in January, as
inflation remained sticky-high. Hiring has also ground largely to a standstill.
And Americans’ outlook for the economy tumbled after the U.S. and Israel
attacked Iran, according to a survey of consumer sentiment also released
Friday.
Gasoline
prices have raced closer to $4 per gallon during the war, squeezing many
household budgets that are already under pressure. Many Americans will receive
larger-than-usual tax refunds in March and April because of the passage of
President Donald Trump’s tax cut law last year, but higher gas costs, if they
persist, could soak up much or even all of those gains.
What’s
more, the Dow Jones has now fallen for three weeks straight, possibly impacting
the wealthier U.S. households that have helped prop up overall consumer
spending as lower-income families pull back.
“Underlying
inflation pressures were already rising ahead of the war in the Middle East and
are set to intensify,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, said. Some Federal
Reserve officials could even push for a hike in interest rates at its meeting
next week, she added, though the central bank will probably stand pat.
Mortgage
rates have been rising since the conflict began, likely because investors
expect inflation will remain high. That could further weigh on the U.S. housing
market, which has been
in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb
from pandemic-era lows.
More
The
US economy stumbled as 2025 came to a close, new data shows | AP News
China
orders immediate ban on refined fuel exports. It's Australia's biggest supplier
of jet fuel
13
March 2026
China, Australia's
largest supplier of aviation fuel, has ordered refineries to halt oil exports,
in move that could put further pressure on airfares and will increase concern
about a future shortage.
Australia
mostly relies on imported jet fuel, with Chinese refineries accounting for 32
per cent of imports in 2025. The supply supports airports and planes
across the country.
But
on Thursday, four sources told Reuters that authorities in Beijing had ordered
an immediate ban on refined fuel exports for March.
A
day later, the move was confirmed by Aldric Chew, the head of oil pricing
in Asia Pacific at
data service Argus, according to the Australian
Financial Review.
Mr
Chew said the Chinese government had not issued an official statement but that
emails to traders requested their 'understanding to postpone or cancel' cargo
contracts.
It
is understood the halt would not impact Australians for a few weeks as tankers
travelling from north-east Asia and India can take up
to 25 days to arrive.
The
Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the
Environment and Water (DCCEEW) for comment.
The
news comes 24 hours after Sydney Airport chief executive Scott Charlton
claimed Australia was too reliant on overseas supplies, News
Corp reported.
'(This) means the reliability of that 25-day supply depends on international
shipping lanes, global refining capacity and geopolitical stability,' he told a
conference.
'And
when you look at the world today – with conflict in the Middle East and growing
tension across global energy markets – you start to see why fuel security
matters just as much as emissions.'
Petrol
prices nationwide have surged to over $2 a litre, driven
by the intensifying conflict involving Iran, the US, Israel, and other nations
in the Middle East.
Some
regional areas in the country have reported fuel shortages.
More
China orders
immediate ban on refined fuel exports. It's Australia's biggest supplier of jet
fuel
Naval
escorts would cap tanker transits at under 10% of normal volumes
By Richard Meade11 Mar 2026
NAVAL
escorts for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would effectively cap the
flow of tanker movements at just under 10% of normal volumes.
That
figure could be significantly lower depending on Iran’s response and
availability of naval assets. It would also be heavily contingent on any
potential minesweeping operations should Iran deliver on previous threats to
mine the strait.
While
the US has repeatedly refused requests from the shipping industry to provide
naval escorts since the Iranian conflict began on February 28, both US and
European Union naval operations are being assessed.
Neither
the US nor EU plans are yet at the stage of committing to a deployment of
assets, however, a basic naval escort operation would need between eight to 10
destroyers to protect convoys of between five to 10 commercial vessels in each
transit.
While
the precise number of transits per day will be contingent on the capacity of
available naval assets, multiple security agencies and experts consulted by
Lloyd’s List have confirmed that a convoy scheme that clusters up to around
five to 10 vessels moving under protection is the only viable option to
meaningfully resume transits.
Given
the length of the transit and that it will be difficult to simultaneously
operate convoys in both directions given the narrowness of the strait, any
escort system would severely restrict the volume of ships passing through.
Estimates
vary, but the consensus across eight well-placed security experts from both
naval and commercial operations indicate that a best-case scenario would see
just under 10% of the normal flow of 45-50 tankers daily transiting the Strait
of Hormuz.
Any
scheme will almost certainly first prioritise outbound transits, not least
because the willingness to take the risk of transiting with US support is
likely higher among owners and operators with vessels trapped in the MEG.
Protection for inbound vessels would likely only be introduced gradually.
It
is also likely that tankers will be given priority over all other vessels and,
depending on the detail of who is running the escort service, affiliation to
the countries involved in any escorts by flag, ownership, operator, management,
chartering arrangements will likely play a part in prioritisation.
Whether
such escorts emerge, however, remains unclear.
While
US President Donald Trump’s first stated on March 3 that the US was prepared to
provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular shipments along the
key waterway, no such escorts have materialised.
Chris
Wright, the US energy secretary, on Tuesday afternoon declared that the US Navy
had “successfully escorted” an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, only to
delete that announcement, forcing the White House to confirm that no escort had
happened.
The
response from US navy officials continues to be that escorts would only be
possible once the risk of attack was reduced.
Deutsche
bank highlights private credit risks as portfolio grows
Posted
on March 12, 2026 Last updated: March 13, 2026
FRANKFURT,
March 12 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank said on Thursday that its private credit
portfolio grew around 6% to nearly 26 billion euros ($30.05 billion) in 2025 as
it highlighted risks to the headline-grabbing sector.
Annual
Report Disclosure
The
disclosure, made in the bank's annual report, comes as investor worries mount
for the $2 trillion industry over deteriorating credit quality.
Investor
Concerns and Sector Risks
"Failures
of a select number of sub-prime lenders in the U.S. increased investor focus on
risks associated with private credit and raised wider concerns around
underwriting standards and fraud risk," Deutsche Bank said.
Deutsche
said it applies "conservative underwriting standards" to its
portfolio, which rose from 24.5 billion euros in 2024.
Risk
Exposure and Regulatory Oversight
Germany's
largest lender said it was not exposed to significant risks but "the bank
could face potential indirect credit risks through interconnected portfolios
and counterparties".
Regulatory
Concerns
Regulators
have flagged concerns about banks' exposure to private credit in part because
disclosures are scant.
Sector-Specific
Risks
Private
credit has been marred by concerns about deteriorating credit quality and
exposure to the software sector - an industry seen as ripe for disruption by
advances in artificial intelligence.
In
other news, with no Persian Gulf aluminium supply reaching the global economy,
price rationing of available supply has taken hold.
Aluminium:
Middle East risks keep market tight – ING
03/12/2026
11:30:28 GMT
ING
strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey report LME Aluminium trading near
four-year highs as Middle East conflict-driven supply risks support prices.
Rising cancelled warrants and accelerating stock withdrawals point to growing
physical tightness, particularly at Port Klang. They argue Aluminium remains
structurally tight versus other base metals, suggesting limited downside
despite broader macro headwinds.
Supply
risks and tight stocks support prices
"LME
aluminium prices edged higher, trading around four-year highs, as supply
disruption risks linked to the Middle East conflict support the market. The
situation remains unstable, leaving aluminium highly sensitive to geopolitical
headlines and keeping volatility elevated."
"Signs
of physical tightness are becoming increasingly pronounced. Cancelled warrants
jumped by 96,050t to 178,600t earlier this week, the largest
daily increase since May 2024."
"This
lifts cancellations to around 40% of total LME aluminium inventories, up
sharply from just 9% at the start of the month."
"Aluminium
remains structurally tight relative to other base metals. Accelerating stock withdrawals suggest the
downside should remain limited despite broader macro headwinds."
(This
article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and
reviewed by an editor.)
Aluminium: Middle
East risks keep market tight – ING
Mercuria
to withdraw nearly 100,000 tonnes of aluminium from LME as Middle East supply
disrupted, sources say
By Pratima Desai March 11,
20263:49 PM GMT Updated March 11, 2026
LONDON,
March 11 (Reuters) - Commodity trader Mercuria plans to withdraw large volumes
of aluminium from LME warehouses, according to three sources, as the shutdown
of the Strait of Hormuz freezes Middle East shipments and further strains
supplies in Europe and the United States.
The
Middle East produces about seven million metric tons of primary aluminium
annually, or around 9% of the global total.
The
Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest
developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.
The
closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has stalled
aluminium shipments since last week.
More,
subscription required.
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Fourth-quarter
GDP revised down to just 0.7% growth; January core inflation was 3.1%
March
13, 2026
Economic
growth was much slower than expected in the final three months of 2025 while
core inflation rose to start 2026, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Gross
domestic product,
a measure of all the goods and services produced across the sprawling U.S.
economy, rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate of just 0.7%
in the fourth quarter, according to the department's Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
The
first revision of the GDP reading was a sharp step down from the previous
estimate of 1.4% and well below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 1.5%. It
also marked a considerable slowdown from the 4.4% gain in the prior period.
For
the full year, GDP posted a 2.1% increase, or one-tenth of a percentage point
lower than the previous reading. In 2024, the economy rose at a 2.8% pace.
According
to the BEA, the downward revision came due to adjustments in consumer and
government spending and exports. A decline in imports, which technically
subtract from GDP, also was less than the previous estimate.
On
the inflation side, readings for January were mostly in line with estimates,
though they showed price increases running well ahead of where the Federal
Reserve would like.
The
personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's primary forecasting
tool for inflation, posted a seasonally adjusted gain of 0.3% for the month,
putting the annual rate at 2.8%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been
looking for respective readings of 0.3% and 2.9%.
Stripping
out volatile food and energy costs, core PCE inflation rose 0.4% in January and
3.1% on a 12-month basis. Fed officials focus more closely on the core reading
as a better indication of longer-run trends. The core reading was 0.1
percentage point higher than December.
Though
the numbers are dated, they nonetheless provide a snapshot of inflation
pressures heading into the Supreme Court decision that voided many of President
Donald Trump's tariffs that he exercised under provisions in the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act. Economists generally assumed that tariffs had
added about half a percentage point or a bit more to inflation trends.
The
report also predates the early March attacks that the U.S. and Israel launched
against Iran. Energy prices have surged in the nearly two weeks since the
conflict began, with the Brent crude international benchmark touching $100 a
barrel Thursday.
Fourth-quarter GDP
revised down to just 0.7% growth; January core inflation was 3.1%
Mortgage rates rise on global concerns: Mortgage
and refinance interest rates today
Updated Thu, March
12, 2026 at 4:00 PM GMT
Mortgage rates rose this
week to above 6%, mirroring market concerns about war, volatile gas prices, the
possibility of renewed inflation, and delayed Federal Reserve interest rate
cuts.
The Federal Reserve meets
next week to announce its decision on short-term interest rates. Currently,
Wall Street traders expect the Fed to remain on hold through at least
September.
According to Freddie Mac,
the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose 11 basis points to 6.11% for the week
ending on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 15-year loan rates increased by 7 basis points
to 5.50%.
“The 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage returned to last month’s level of 6.11%,” Sam Khater, chief economist
of Freddie Mac, said in a release. “Despite the modest uptick, buyers are
responding to rates in this range, with existing-home sales increasing 1.7% in
February. Purchase applications also increased this week, a welcome sign as
buyers enter spring homebuying season.”
Even with rising interest
rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association confirmed that home loan activity is
increasing, with a 10% increase in overall purchase volume through March 6.
Refinancing remained flat.
The 10-year Treasury
topped 4.20%, up from nearly 4% at the month's start.
“The result was a round
of lender reprices for the worse that felt larger than usual, not because of a
single headline, but because several market mechanics moved against mortgage
pricing at the same time,” veteran mortgage industry analyst Rob Chrisman said
in a note to clients.
Mortgage rates rise on global concerns:
Mortgage and refinance interest rates today
Trump may claim the war is ‘complete,’ but Wall
Street expects the Fed to stay hawkish long after the conflict has ended
Wed, March 11, 2026 at
4:39 AM PDT
While President Trump
managed to calm markets somewhat this week by saying the U.S. and Israel’s war
with Iran is “very complete, pretty much,” those assurances from the Oval
Office will likely do little to unwind the hawkish stances of the world’s central
banks.
The conflict in the Middle East sent oil prices spiralling to more than $100 a
barrel over the weekend, with consumers in the Western world panic-buying supplies. Oil and energy prices are a key factor in
inflation expectations for households, and the reality of any price surges in
the commodity increases readings for core inflation data.
This is the concern of a
central bank, many of which are mandated to keep prices stable. In countries
like the U.S., the Fed even has an inflation target of 2% to maintain. Already,
sticky inflation is ahead of where the Federal Reserve would like to be: The
latest CPI reading from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was 2.4% over the
past 12 months, with some categories, such as food and energy services, well
above that level.
Any upward pressure
impacting the finances of households and businesses will work against calls for a
lower base rate—an argument President
Trump and his cabinet have been making for the past year.
But Trump is likely to be
disappointed. Macquarie strategists Thierry Wizman and Gareth Berry say that
even if the war in Iran does quickly draw to a close, it will be months
before central banks feel
confident its inflationary impacts have subsided.
“Pres. Trump’s suggestion
that the war will resolve ‘very soon’ may have been merely a reflection of
Iran’s degraded capacity to fight back, rather than a tactical retreat by the
U.S.,” the duo observed in a note to clients this week. “If so, we can still
expect hostilities will wind down, but around month-end, and not now.
----Question marks over
the pass-through of higher oil prices to consumers will loom large at the
Federal Open Market Committee’s rate-setting meeting next week. The factors
contributing to the rise in oil prices are also not easily rectified: Iran
borders the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf through
which exports from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq all flow. Shipmasters are
now nervous to sail through it.
As well as sourcing insurance guarantees for shipmasters, the White House has offered military escorts
to ships along the strait in order to keep the route open. Energy Secretary
Chris Wright claimed on social media yesterday that a U.S. Navy vessel had
escorted an oil tanker down the Strait, though this post was later deleted with
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirming the military had not provided such an escort.
“Almost all [central
banks] will tilt to the hawkish side of the rhetorical spectrum while oil
prices stay high,” added the Macquarie strategists. They continued: “We would
expect that this more ‘hawkish’ disposition persists even after hostilities
end, largely because the data may continue to point to inflationary pressures
(and hence a shift in public expectations) throughout the period in which
inflation may show up in the data—i.e., through the May reporting cycle.”
More
Technology
Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Approx. 4 minutes.
Electric
School Bus Fire in Vermont Destroys Four Buses
Electric School Bus Fire in Vermont Destroys Four Buses
Why are household batteries dangerous in waste?
11 March 2026
Household batteries, including those found
in vapes, toys, headphones and car key fobs, are now one of the biggest and
fastest-growing causes of fire in household waste and recycling in the UK.
The States of Guernsey said about 40
separate fire incidents at island waste facilities had been caused by hazardous
items including batteries in the last four years.
Recently a Guernsey mother
who accidentally threw away toys containing batteries was told she
faced a £11,500 fine, later reduced to £1,000.
Faye Grime, Island Waste's director, has
shared the reasons why batteries should not be put in waste or recycling and
how to dispose of them properly.
Lithium-ion batteries are the growing cause of
fires , external according to the Environmental Services
Association.
When batteries are discarded in general
waste or standard recycling bins, they can be punctured or crushed by heavy
machinery during collection or processing.
A lithium battery mixed in with other
recycling was thought to have caused a large fire which
ripped through a recycling centre in Guernsey in 2018.
A skip fire at
Guernsey's Household Waste & Recycling Centre in 2025 was also
thought to have been caused by an incorrectly disposed item.
Why are batteries dangerous in waste?
"If a battery comes into the waste,
it's an immediate risk of fire because if a battery is not handled correctly it
can spark and that can cause thermal runway and then create a fire risk,"
said Grime.
"It's obviously imperative that we
safeguard our employees, our customers, any visitors on site, and we want to
minimise any risk to them.
"So throwing batteries in your waste
is never the right thing to do. It's always posing a danger and should always
be disposed of in the correct way.
"It's imperative that everyone
really, really checks their waste carefully to make sure there are no batteries
in their waste."
How should I dispose of batteries safely?
"There are collection points for
batteries at the Household Waste & Recycling Centre and at our sites,"
said Grime.
"You can call any of our telephone
numbers on our website and we're more than happy to help the public dispose of
their batteries in the correct way.
"Once we have the batteries... we can
properly make sure they are recycled in the correct way and they're exported
off island for careful recycling in the UK."
What should I do with items that have
hidden batteries?
"Vapes have become a really, really
big problem that's arisen in recent years," said Grime.
"Vapes have got batteries in them,
and people aren't always aware of that.
"Batteries are in all sorts of things
you wouldn't necessarily expect, car keys, toys, anything that you would plug
in and recharge at home, or your small household electrical appliances, they
usually have batteries in them as well.
"So it's really important that the
general public check everything before they throw it away.
"Usually there'll be a symbol on the
item to show that there's a battery inside.
"Double check before you throw your
rubbish away, really try hard to make sure that there are no batteries in your
rubbish at all."
More
The hidden fire risk of throwing batteries in your bin - BBC News
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
Exponent
Calculator
Enter
values into any two of the input fields to solve for the third.
This
weekend’s music diversion. Another long forgotten great. Approx. 8 minutes.
J.
D. Heinichen - Seibel 225 - Flute Concerto in D major
J. D. Heinichen -
Seibel 225 - Flute Concerto in D major
Next,
Iran’s latest missile. Approx.8 minutes.
This
Iranian missile exploded in the sky - and 80 smaller ones fell out
This Iranian
missile exploded in the sky - and 80 smaller ones fell out | Watch
Finally, the Chagos islands, and Diego Garcia.
Approx. 14 minutes.
Why Britain Still Owns This Island
Why Britain Still
Owns This Island
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz has spelt out a dire warning: the war against Iran will usher in the four horsemen of economic apocalypse, namely “higher oil prices, higher food prices, economic downturn and chaos. The negatives are very clear.”
