Baltic
Dry Index. 2028 +56
Brent Crude 106.24
Spot Gold 4999 Spot Silver 79.44
US 2 Year Yield 3.73 +0.03
US Federal Debt. 38.888 trillion
US GDP 31.240 trillion.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
Adam Smith
8:00 AM Updates oil price higher, gold and silver lower.
5:00
AM Update.
In the week ahead, global disaster if President Trump starts attacking Iran’s main oil export terminal on Kharg Island.
A slower global disaster if the US Navy can’t get the Strait of Hormuz reopened to shipping.
Last week President Trump boasted he didn’t need Britain’s naval help, “joining after the war is won.”
This week President Trump is begging for naval help from Britain, NATO, India, China, Japan, Australia and others, to help try to get the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping.
If the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened to shipping soon, stagflation looms for most, if not all of the G-7 economies.
In
the financial markets, several important central banks led by the Fed, will
announce their latest key interest rates. In the Gulf war circumstances most,
if not all are expected to hold rates unchanged.
Asia-Pacific markets fall as oil prices stay
elevated amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions
Published Sun, Mar 15 2026 7:57 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday as
investors assess elevated oil prices and the latest developments in the
escalating U.S.-Iran conflict.
U.S. crude prices topped $100 per barrel
as the Trump administration weighs military strikes on Tehran’s Kharg Island, a
strategically vital hub often referred to as Iran’s “oil
lifeline.”
U.S. crude oil was
trading flat at $98.7 per barrel by 8:10 p.m. ET. Brent prices, the
international benchmark, were up 0.48% to $103.7 per barrel.
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered
strikes against Iranian
military assets on Kharg Island and warned of further attacks on crude
facilities located there. Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations, repeated
the warning Sunday.
Goldman Sachs estimates that the surge in
energy prices stemming from the war in Iran could shave about 0.3% off global
GDP over the next year, while pushing headline inflation higher by roughly 0.5%
to 0.6%.
Higher natural gas prices are expected to
add further inflationary pressure and growth headwinds, particularly in Europe
and Asia, with risks skewed toward larger impacts if the Strait of Hormuz
remains closed, the bank wrote in a note on Sunday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.3%,
while the CSI 300 was down 0.31% even as China’s
consumption and production both beat expectations on holiday spending
and strong foreign demand.
Retail sales for the first two months of
the year rose 2.8% from a year earlier, beating economists’ forecast for a 2.5%
growth, but a notable slowdown from the 4% growth in the January-February period in 2025.
Industrial output climbed 6.3%, also
exceeding expectations for a 5% jump in a Reuters poll. Industrial
production has been a relative bright spot in the world’s second-largest
economy, thanks to resilient external demand, particularly from European and
Southeast Asian nations.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.07%, while
the Topix slid 0.98%. South Korea’s Kospi was unchanged, while the Kosdaq fell
1.72%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined
0.44%.
Stock futures rose slightly as Wall Street
tried to recover from another losing week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added
153 points, or 0.3%. S&P
500 futures rose 0.3% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained
0.3%.
Last Friday, the three major U.S. averages
fell. The S&P 500 shed
0.61%, putting it 5% below its recent high and closing at 6,632.19. The Nasdaq Composite declined
0.93% to end at 22,105.36. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average shed 119.38 points, or 0.26%, and settled at
46,558.47.
Asia-Pacific markets: Nikkei
225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index
Global week ahead: Price pressure in the pipeline
Published Sun, Mar 15 2026 8:41 AM EDT
U.S. political strategist James Carville
famously said he would like to be reincarnated as the bond market because “you
can intimidate everyone.” So when bond yields start signaling a problem, the
whole market listens.
The escalatory rhetoric around the war in
the Middle East has led to what Deutsche Bank is calling “the most hawkish
central bank pricing of the year so far for both the [European Central Bank]
and the Fed.”
Last week, sovereign bonds sold off across
the board, with Europe as the epicenter. 10 year bunds hit their
highest level since October 2023, while France’s 10 year OAT yield rose
to highs not seen since the European debt crisis of 2011. U.K. gilts followed the
same path, with the 10-year yield reaching its highest level in at least six
months, driving markets to price in an 82% probability of a Bank of England
rate hike this year. That’s right — a hike!
Across the Atlantic, predictions for the
Federal Reserve’s ability to cut rates has dropped dramatically, with just 20
basis points of cuts priced in by the end of the year. That means — that for
the first time — a 2026 rate cut from the Fed is now no longer fully priced in,
according to Deutsche Bank.
Altaf Kassam from State Street Investment
Management told CNBC that “central banks can look through temporary energy
shocks, but persistent inflation risks will delay easing,” adding that in the
event of an extreme shock, there could be a renewed tightening bias.
First up, the Fed
President Donald Trump has renewed his
attacks on the Federal Reserve, taking to Truth Social to ask, “Where is the
Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome “Too Late” Powell, today? He should be
dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY.”
However, in recent days traders have
abandoned hope of
easing from the Fed, with reducing odds of a cut this year. EY-Parthenon Chief
Economist Gregory Daco said in a recent note that there is now an elevated
chance that Powell “could continue leading the FOMC even after May”, due to the
current market conditions. The Fed begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday.
Wait and see for the ECB?
ECB President Christine Lagarde said the
European economy was in a better position to absorb an inflation shock, telling
France 2: “We will do all that is necessary to ensure inflation is under
control.”
Analysts are less convinced, with BNP
Paribas saying the uncertainty around Iran will “rattle the ECB’s ‘good place’
narrative.” The consensus expectation is for the central bank to hold rates on
Thursday, however, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, Governing Council
member Peter Kazimir suggested policymakers could opt for hike rates sooner
than expected.
Keep it boring, BOE
The Bank of England is expected to keep
interest rates on hold at 3.75% when it meets on Thursday. In a recent note,
Oxford Economics outlined a worst-case scenario where oil rises to $140 a
barrel, which could drive inflation much higher and send the U.K. economy into
a mild recession.
Global Central Bank meetings this week
Monday: Reserve Bank of Australia Day 1
Tuesday: Reserve Bank of Australia Day 2,
Federal Reserve FOMC Day 1
Wednesday: Federal Reserve FOMC Day 2,
Bank of Canada
Thursday: Bank of England, European
Central Bank, Swiss National Bank, Sweden’s Riksbank
Global week ahead:
Price pressure in the pipeline
CNBC Daily Open: Oil infrastructure under threat
as Iran war rages on?
Published Sun, Mar 15 2026 9:29 PM EDT
What you need to know today
Iran’s critical oil export hub Kharg
Island is now in U.S. President Donald Trump’s sights, with Trump threatening
strikes on the island’s oil infrastructure after hitting military
targets on Friday.
That definitely won’t calm the oil markets
that have seen U.S.
crude futures topping $100 a barrel, despite plans for the largest
coordinated release of crude from global stockpiles. On Monday, the
U.S. president said to reporters on Air Force One that oil prices
will come “tumbling down once its all over.”
The White House, meanwhile, plans to
announce as soon as this week that multiple countries have agreed to help
escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. About a week back, Trump told CBS that he “couldn’t care less” when asked if he
would want U.S. allies to offer him greater support.
Investors will also be focusing on key
economic data out from China on Monday, with the world’s second-largest economy
announcing retail sales, industrial output and urban investment data.
But even in China, Trump looms large. The U.S. president could reportedly delay his meeting with Chinese President Xi
Jinping, as he urges Beijing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Away from the war and energy supply worries, the Oscars are currently underway,
with KPop Demon Hunters winning the award for the best animated feature film. Netflix’s most-watched
film ever is getting a sequel, it was confirmed on Friday.
CNBC Daily Open: Oil infrastructure under threat as Iran war rages on?
Food prices could spike as fertiliser supplies at
risk due to Iran war
14 March 2026
The blockade on fossil fuels through the
strait is driving a spike in the cost of nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers –
used for growing cereals and vegetables – and means farms now face a twin
threat of higher fuel prices for machinery as well as for fertiliser as the
conflict in Iran disrupts global supply chains.
Over the past month, the price of urea – a
nitrogen fertiliser – has risen by 33.7 per
cent, and is up 54.9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Meanwhile, a number of fertiliser plants
in the Middle East have closed because of their inability to obtain the
substances required to manufacture it. Natural gas accounts for between 60-80
per cent of the costs associated with the production of nitrogen
fertilisers, according
to the NFU.
As prices go up, so must what farmers
charge. Richard Heady, who farms 700 acres in Buckinghamshire, told
The Telegraph:
“prices for fertiliser have shot up, but the fact is we need it." He said
he will have to increase the price of a ton of grain from £170 to £220 (a 30
per cent increase) after harvest, in order to cover his costs.
Without fertilisers, farmers will face
soil nutrient shortages that threaten lower-yield harvests.
Around 30–35 per cent of the world’s
nitrogen fertiliser supply passes through the strait, along with roughly 40–45
per cent of sulphur exports from the Gulf, highlighting just how exposed the
market is to regional turmoil.
Key producers such as Qatar Fertiliser
Company, Saudi Arabia’s Sabic and the UAE’s Fertiglobe usually play a major
role in keeping global supplies moving, making the sudden disruption in the
area rapidly felt on agricultural operations far beyond the Middle East.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said this week
he had met with Defra Secretary of State Emma Reynolds to outline how
"volatility in the global energy market has a huge impact on our food
supply chains here", and he said the government is "watching this
very closely".
----Oxford Economics warned
last week that
rising oil prices are set to push up farmers’ transport costs, feeding directly
into the price of staples such as rice and wheat, with higher oil and
fertiliser costs translating into more expensive food globally.
----“As a result of higher natural gas
prices and the importance of the strait for fertiliser trade, we have raised
our fertiliser price forecast by around 20 per cent for the second quarter of
2026,” Oxford Economics said. “Risks are skewed to the upside due to the real
risk of disruption to production in the region and trade through the strait.”
More
Food prices could
spike as fertiliser supplies at risk due to Iran war
Food prices could rise within weeks - but the 'big
worry' is that they won't come back down
The Iran conflict is creating supply
issues that could lead to consumers paying more for their groceries in the
short and long term - here's why.
Wednesday 11 March 2026 08:52, UK
Food prices could rise within weeks if the
Iran war continues and there is a "big worry" that they won't come
back down, a trade expert has warned.
Rising shipping, insurance, fuel and
energy costs, combined with cancelled flights, could lead to consumers paying
more in stores, James Mills, head of trade policy for Logistics UK, said.
Despite the country having resilient
supply chains, the Iran conflict has caused suppliers to re-route their stock,
which makes the journey more expensive and causes delays.
Instead of going through main shipping
channels, some suppliers are rerouting about 6,000km around Africa's Cape of
Good Hope, causing two-week delays and higher costs, Mills said.
Why impact could last months
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a
leading trade association for UK retailers, has warned that goods being
redirected via longer routes could have potential knock-on effects on
availability and prices due to higher shipping costs.
At the same time, fuel prices have been
going up, with a barrel of Brent crude oil hitting more than $100 at the start
of this week before falling back.
"If the conflict continues, people
may notice that energy price rises continue and that feeds into higher
transport and production costs and that gradually feeds into higher food
prices," Mills said.
"It will be weeks or months before
things feed through."
This is because most supermarket suppliers
buy goods in advance, and will bulk-buy fuel to try to mitigate the risk of
prices rising.
Perishable goods would be impacted the
quickest, Mills said.
"I'd say fresh produce and those
areas will probably be more sensitive to air cargo capacity being constrained.
Anything that's sensitive to energy markets will obviously be impacted by that
as well."
Andrew Opie, director of food and
sustainability at the BRC, said: "There are also concerns about the effect
on inflation and overall pricing if energy costs remain elevated for an
extended period.
"We saw this following the Russian
invasion of Ukraine when higher energy prices drove up manufacturing costs.
Since energy is a significant component of our production costs, sustained
increases directly impact the prices of the goods we sell."
'The bigger problem'
War risk insurance premiums have also
risen, with Mills saying insurance for a $100m oil tanker has gone from
$250,000 to $3m per trip.
And transporting goods via plane has also
become more difficult due to the number of commercial flights that have been
cancelled.
Mills said around 10,000 passenger
flights, which can carry food and supplies in the belly of the plane, have been
cancelled so far, reducing the overall cargo capacity.
While all of this is a concern, Mills said
the "big worry" is how long the price increases last, and whether
they will create a "new normal" price level for goods.
"Most people see prices going up, but
are they going to stay the same and not come down? That's the bigger
problem," he said.
"What we have seen in the past,
especially since COVID, is they go up like a stone and come down like a
feather."
Opie said retailers and their suppliers
are adept at managing this type of disruption and are working hard to minimise
the impact on customers.
---- What does
all of this mean for British farming?
It's not just imported food products that
are affected by the conflict - British farmers are also feeling the effects of
rising prices.
At a time when farmers are usually at
their busiest planting spring crops, some may have to halt their plans due to
the volatile fertiliser and red diesel costs.
President of the National Farmers Union
Tom Bradshaw told Money: "It takes us back to the Ukraine situation where
we saw this huge volatility and massive inflationary pressure in the energy
markets."
He said that fertiliser and fuel prices
have been withdrawn from the market, meaning farmers don't know how much they
will be expected to pay, or if they'll be able to place an order.
Around 35% of key fertilisers, like urea
and ammonia nitrate, come through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been
effectively shut by the war in Iran.
"The pure economics of crop
production today are incredibly difficult," Bradshaw said.
"This is going to be an incredibly
challenging time for farmers, and without a shadow of a doubt, it's massively
inflationary.
More
In other news, poor Iranians. Like the Syrian Kurds before them and, largely betrayed by Biden, now Trump’s America is betraying the Iranians Trump promised to protect. Moral of the modern world don’t be a patsy and get involved as proxies in other’s duplicitous wars.
‘You are all worse than each other’: anti-regime
Iranians turn on Trump
Mood among some in Iran shifts from hope
of being rescued to dismay at destruction of infrastructure, culture and lives
Sat 14 Mar 2026 08.00 GMT
After years of arrests, disappearances and
mass killings of protesters, the hatred in Iran from some quarters for the
hardline, oppressive governing regime had boiled into such a desperate rage
that many believed Donald Trump’s promise that the US would “come to their
rescue”.
Now, after a fortnight of war, with US and
Israeli airstrikes killing hundreds as they hit residential blocks, shops, fuel
depots and even a school, the mood is changing.
“They are also lying! Like the regime has
been lying to us,” said Amir*, a student at the University of Tehran. “You are
all worse than each other.”
The anti-regime protester has let himself
hope for more from the US and Israel, which on the first day of the war had
swiftly killed Iran’s most
feared and powerful man, the supreme leader.
Yet the regime lives on, with Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei’s son quickly appointed to replace him, while Israel has widened
and intensified its attacks on the country of more than 90 million people.
“We’re tense. We are really tense,” said
Amir. “I feel worse when I am alone. Khamenei’s death has left us with this
weird sense of emptiness. Like I am now forced to think about the future, which
seems so chaotic right now. We never got to look at him in the eye. He died
just like that? Without facing justice for what he did to us?”
The turning point for Amir was the Israeli strikes on
fuel depots in Tehran last
week, with one attack on the Shahran oil depot overshadowing the capital with
black smoke. A rain shower later covered trees, homes and cars with layers of
toxic oil.
“I genuinely believe now they [the US and
Israel] didn’t have a plan. I was still hoping I was wrong, but the Shahran
attack changed the way I look at this war right now,” he said. “If the regime
is what you want to hit, even if you think these depots were used by the
regime, where do you draw the line? What about us, the ordinary Iranians? We
rely on this civil infrastructure. Why take away our ability to govern in the
future? Who can rebuild utter ruins?”
Amir said he now had constant anxiety
about Iran “turning into another Iraq”, a country the US invaded in 2003,
promising freedom but delivering a civil war. Israeli leaders have also
previously called on Palestinians in Gaza and the Lebanese people to rise up
against oppression, only to later kill them in large numbers.
“My heart is so heavy,” said Amir. “I
don’t even have tears left. Only anger and more anger. At this regime, and
them,” he added, referring to the US and Israel.
Others who spoke to the Guardian this week
also had a shift in their attitudes towards the war, especially after the
attack on oil depots, but also after seeing images of the country’s heritage
sites damaged.
Among those that took the worst
hits were Tehran’s
Golestan Palace, dating to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon
Palace in Isfahan.
“How will they rebuild … a priceless part
of history?” asked a Tehran-based student. “And how will we bring back people
who are dying? Is that it? Is the message from abroad that just because the
regime doesn’t care, the world shouldn’t? Is the goal to erase our culture and
history?”
More
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.
Stagflation
was the curse of the ‘70s. High oil prices could bring it on again.
March
14, 2026
Stagflation—it’s
a term that strikes fear into the hearts of those who lived through the 1970s.
A
withering combination of low growth and high inflation, stagflation is back in
the news as the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran puts pressure on the world’s oil
supply.
The
many industrial uses of petroleum make it indispensable to the economy. That
was even more true in the 1970s, when two oil crises helped turn stagflation
into the curse of the decade.
“Stagflation:
THE Problem,” the Niles, Mich., Daily Star wrote on Oct. 25, 1974.
How
bad was it? The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05% for the entire decade,
opening at 800.36 on Jan. 1, 1970, and closing at 838.74 10 years later.
And,
over the longer period of 1968 to ‘83, the Consumer
Price Index soared
186.4%, rising an average of 7.3% annually, with energy jumping 9.9% a year.
Yet
the only thing worse than stagflation is its cure.
“Find
me an economist who can explain the causes of the current surge of inflation
and cure it without massive unemployment, and I’d like to meet him,” economist
Robert Gordon told The Wall Street Journal on Sept. 6, 1974.
Economist,
and Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker did cure inflation, but not without
the massive unemployment predicted by Gordon. The remedy also included the
“double-dip” recessions of 1980-82 that crushed many American families.
The
recent fluctuations in crude prices, hitting $100 for the first time in four
years, so far aren’t as destructive as those of the ‘70s.
But
with inflation running persistently hotter than Fed targets, and signs that the
economy may be slowing, stagflation’s chief components are in place. They just
need a catalyst—something like higher oil prices.
---- All this set the
stage for real trouble: the Oil Crisis of 1973.
Following
the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting
Countries implemented an oil embargo against countries that had supported
Israel, including the U.S. Crude prices jumped 300% in months.
In
America, the lasting image of the time is of cars and exasperated drivers
waiting for hours in fuel lines.
“Gasoline-Seekers
Clog Highways,” the Hartford Courant reported on Dec. 22, 1973, as the
Christmas holiday approached.
“People
are panicking,” the owner of one service station told the Courant. “They’re all
running around like animals.”
Petroleum
is an essential element in modern industry, whether used as a fuel, a lubricant
or an ingredient in plastics and chemicals. The supply shock rippled through
the economy, forcing businesses to cut hours, trim orders and lay off workers.
More
Stagflation was
the curse of the ‘70s. High oil prices could bring it on again.
EXCLUSIVE:
Hormuz disruption risks spreading beyond oil to petrochemicals, aluminium and
container trade, UNCTAD says
UN
trade agency tells Arabian Business that disruption in the Strait of Hormuz
could raise costs for petrochemicals, aluminium and container cargo while
forcing markets to monitor freight rates, insurance premiums and shipping
traffic
Fri
13 Mar 2026
Petrochemicals,
aluminium and containerised consumer goods moving through Gulf shipping hubs
could face higher costs and delays if disruption in the Strait of Hormuz
persists, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) told Arabian
Business. The UN trade body told Arabian Business that
sectors beyond oil and gas could feel the impact of tensions
affecting the critical maritime corridor linking Gulf exporters with global
markets.
“Petrochemicals
and polymers, aluminium and containerised automotive and consumer goods moving
via Gulf region transhipment hubs may face higher freight costs, insurance
premiums and schedule disruptions,” UNCTAD said.
The
Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints,
handling large volumes of energy exports alongside industrial commodities and
manufactured goods.
Disruption
in the waterway can therefore affect a wide range of sectors that depend on
maritime supply chains.
Industrial
exports at risk
The
Gulf region hosts major petrochemical complexes and aluminium smelters that
rely heavily on maritime trade.
Countries
including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain are among the world’s
significant producers of aluminium, while petrochemical producers across the
region export plastics and industrial chemicals used in manufacturing.
UNCTAD
said disruption to shipping routes could increase transport costs and create
uncertainty for exporters and manufacturers relying on Gulf supply chains.
Containerised
goods may also be affected.
Automotive
components, consumer products and industrial materials frequently move through
Gulf transhipment hubs before reaching markets in Asia, Europe and Africa.
If
shipping networks are disrupted, cargo flows could face longer transit times
and higher freight costs.
UNCTAD
said container shipping may also experience surcharges or longer routes if
vessels are forced to divert around affected areas.
“Containerised
cargo overall may see surcharges and longer routings which absorb effective
capacity and lift spot rates,” the organisation told Arabian Business.
Key
indicators to watch
UNCTAD
said markets and governments should closely monitor several indicators to
assess the economic impact of disruption in the strait.
These
include freight rates, marine fuel costs and war-risk insurance premiums for
vessels operating in the region.
Rising
insurance costs can
quickly translate into higher shipping prices and may influence whether
shipowners continue to operate through affected waters.
Shipping
traffic levels and maritime trade flows are also key indicators of how the
crisis is affecting global supply chains.
Changes
in liner shipping connectivity, port call patterns and vessel deployment may
signal disruption spreading across international logistics networks.
Operational
indicators such as port congestion, transit times and delays can also reveal
stress within supply chains.
“Tracking
energy prices, freight rates, insurance war risk premiums, shipping traffic,
maritime trade flows and liner shipping connectivity will help assess the scope
and magnitude of the impacts,” UNCTAD told Arabian Business.
Higher
transport costs can eventually feed into inflation across multiple sectors by
raising the cost of moving goods between markets.
Developing
economies may be particularly vulnerable.
More
Global
shipping disruption from Middle East tensions may divert cargo from West Africa
to Europe
12
March 2026
Rising
tensions in the Middle East are beginning to ripple through Nigeria’s maritime
sector, with shipping companies warning that prolonged disruption could push
cargo costs higher, reduce vessel calls to West Africa, and add pressure to
inflation in Africa’s largest economy.
・Rising tensions in the Middle East are
pushing shipping costs higher for Nigerian ports, with insurance premiums and
longer routes driving up operational expenses.
・War Risk Insurance fees of up to $4,000
per container could exacerbate inflation in Africa’s largest economy.
・Analysts warn that shipping companies may
shift focus to higher-paying European routes, bypassing West Africa.
・Nigerian importers are already reviewing
logistics strategies as uncertainty threatens global supply chains.
Industry
stakeholders say the escalating security situation around key global trade
corridors, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal, is
already affecting shipping operations serving Nigerian ports.
Chairman
of theShipping
Association of Nigeria, Boma Alabi, said the crisis has
triggered rising operational costs for shipping companies, largely driven by
higher insurance premiums and longer sailing routes.
“It
has definitely impacted already and will continue to impact,” Alabi said, noting
that insurance and security expenses have surged amid fears of instability in
the region. “Ships now incur additional bunker costs because they have
to take longer routes, and War Risk Insurance has also been imposed.”
The
additional insurance charges alone could significantly raise the cost of
importing goods into Nigeria. According to Kayode Farinto,shipping
companies may soon impose war risk fees of between $3,000 and $4,000 per
container, a
development that could quickly feed into consumer prices in a country already
battling persistent inflation.
“These
charges could be as much as $3,000–$4,000 per container, and you know what that
means to an economy like ours,” Farinto said.
Beyond
rising costs, maritime analysts warn that Nigeria could also face a reduction
in shipping services if the conflict persists. Maritime consultant Daniel Odibe
said global shipping companies may prioritise more profitable routes to Europe
rather than West Africa.
More
Global shipping
disruption from Middle East tensions may divert cargo from West Africa to
Europe
Technology
Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this
section Updates as they get reported.
Meta
planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount: Reuters
Published
Sat, Mar 14 2026 6:19 AM EDT Updated Sat, Mar 14 2026 6:49 AM EDT
Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect
20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told
Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure
bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.
No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has
not been finalized, the people said.
Top executives have recently signaled the plans to
other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back,
two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not
authorized to disclose the cuts.
“This is speculative reporting about theoretical
approaches,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in response to questions about
the plan.
If Meta settles on the 20% figure, the layoffs will be
the company’s most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early
2023 that it dubbed the “year of efficiency.” It employed nearly 79,000 people
as of December 31, according to its latest filing.
The company laid off 11,000 staffers in November 2022,
or around 13% of its workforce at the time. Around four months later, it
announced it was cutting another 10,000 jobs.
More
Meta planning
sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount: Reuters
PepsiCo installs major rooftop solar system at Leicester
distribution centre
13th March 2026 Updated: 13th March 2026
PepsiCo UK has committed £3.6 million to install a rooftop solar
power system at its Southern Region Distribution Centre in Leicester, expanding
the company’s use of on-site renewable energy within its UK logistics network.
The project covers around 30,000 square metres of roof space,
roughly equivalent to four football pitches. Energy infrastructure company
Ineco Energy is delivering the installation.
Andy Smethurst, UK Warehousing & Logistics Director at PepsiCo
said: “Leicester is already home to one of the world’s largest crisp factories,
and now we’re delivering one of the most complex solar power systems, right
here in the East Midlands. It’s a major milestone for PepsiCo UK and shows how
we’re continuing to find new ways to power our sites and operate more
sustainably.”
The system will have a capacity of 3.56 MWp and is expected to
generate about 2.84 GWh of electricity each year. Over a full year, this output
is projected to supply the distribution centre’s electricity needs and reduce
reliance on grid power.
Any surplus electricity produced by the system will be redirected
to the neighbouring Walkers crisps manufacturing plant in Leicester.
The investment forms part of broader efficiency and
decarbonisation upgrades across PepsiCo’s UK operations. Previous improvements
include electric ovens at the Leicester manufacturing site, upgraded production
machinery in Coventry, and higher-efficiency fryers at the Brigg facility,
where Pipers crisps are produced. These measures have collectively reduced the
company’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 2,400 tonnes annually.
The Leicester distribution centre is a central hub in PepsiCo’s UK
supply chain. The site employs around 240 staff and distributes products
produced at six manufacturing facilities across the country.
The solar installation follows a £14 million upgrade completed at
the site in 2021, which introduced new logistics technology and equipment.
Construction of the rooftop solar system is underway and is
scheduled for completion by September 2026.
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far
greater part of the members are poor and miserable.
Adam Smith
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