All posts tagged: crunch

Lebanon hopes crunch talks in Washington will halt an Israeli invasion | Explainer News

Lebanon hopes crunch talks in Washington will halt an Israeli invasion | Explainer News

Published by Sam Flores

Beirut, Lebanon – On Tuesday, representatives from Lebanon and Israel met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC – the first session of a two-day round of negotiations that Lebanese negotiators hope will end an invasion of their country. The negotiations, which started at 9am local time (13:00 GMT), come as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon pushes deeper than at any point since the year 2000 and as Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade attacks. Israel has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. With the war raging on, what do Lebanon and Israel have to discuss and will the talks lead to an end of the Israeli assault? Here’s everything you need to know. What will Israel and Lebanon discuss? Similar to past meetings, the two sides are ostensibly looking to come to some kind of deal following fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with strong doubts it will be achieved. Lebanon’s government is still pushing for a total ceasefire. However, as talks started, Israel was …

Global Inflation Scare: Chinese Exporters Hike Prices As Iran War Triggers Ethane Shortage, Plastics Crunch

Global Inflation Scare: Chinese Exporters Hike Prices As Iran War Triggers Ethane Shortage, Plastics Crunch

Published by Jenni Sidey

Chinese exporters are finally passing on the pain – right as they’re experiencing a major shortage of a key industrial material. After years of cutting prices amid overcapacity and cutthroat competition, manufacturers are now raising prices on everything from swimsuits and ski suits to medical syringes and air conditioners. The culprit: the Iran war’s energy shock, which has sent oil-linked input costs skyrocketing and is now rippling straight through to global store shelves. Customs data compiled by Trade Data Monitor and analyzed by Bloomberg reveal sharp year-on-year price jumps in March across more than a dozen categories of household goods – the first sustained reversal in a disinflationary trend that had helped keep a lid on inflation from the U.S. to Europe for nearly three years. “I held off raising prices for as long as I could in March, but in the end I had no choice,” said Pang Ling, sales manager at a Shanghai-based medical catheter maker. “I panicked watching plastic costs climb almost every single day.” Products reliant on rubber, plastic, and oil-derived …

Merz convenes Germany’s security council over looming jet fuel crunch – POLITICO

Merz convenes Germany’s security council over looming jet fuel crunch – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

While admitting the current situation is “tense,” Merz said the country had sufficient access to the key fuels at the moment. But, he added, “if conditions worsen, we are prepared to act,” and insisted “all available instruments” would be used to ensure security of supply. Germany’s National Security Council, which is composed of key government ministers and sectoral experts, was set up last year to coordinate rapid responses to major threats. The decision to convene the group signals Berlin believes the jet fuel shortage could become a significant problem. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche last week unveiled contingency plans and is set to meet with fuel suppliers, airline representatives and airport operators on Monday. Germany’s move to prepare for a possible crisis situation contrasts with Brussels’ efforts to downplay concerns. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas on Friday said there was “no indication” of jet fuel shortages — even as airlines including KLM and Lufthansa cut back on flights in response to skyrocketing fuel prices. Industry experts warn that even if shipping flows through the Strait of …

Title up for grabs as Man City and Arsenal prepare for crunch clash

Title up for grabs as Man City and Arsenal prepare for crunch clash

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON, April 16 : This time last month Arsenal were seemingly in the fast lane to their first Premier League title in 22 years, with a stuttering Manchester City leaking points and losing ground. On Sunday, however, a rejuvenated City will know that victory over the north London club in a showdown at the Etihad Stadium would make them favourites to reclaim the crown. Arsenal’s surprise 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth last weekend re-opened the race and City’s subsequent 3-0 win at Chelsea cut the gap to six points with a game in hand. If City prevail and then win at relegation-bound Burnley three days later they would top the table with five games to go and leave Arsenal facing the unedifying prospect of a fourth successive runners-up spot. Should that happen it would be a crushing blow for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose desperation to deliver the title appears to be weighing heavily on his players. “You’re going for your first title, you start to become consumed, and it’s the mental and emotional drain …

Europe’s coming energy crunch – POLITICO

Europe’s coming energy crunch – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Markets are now grappling with a scenario long discussed in theory but rarely thought of as a legitimate possibility — the effective shutdown of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint,” said Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, lead energy analyst for the Europe team at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. While the 1970s crises knocked out 7 percent of global supplies, she said, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz affects 20 percent.  U.S. President Donald Trump exits Air Force One on March 29 at Joint Air Base Andrews, Maryland. | Nathan Howard/Getty Images When the war first broke out, EU officials hoped the bloc would be spared from serious shortages thanks to its relatively low exposure to the Persian Gulf, which it relied on for just 6 percent of its crude oil and under 10 percent of its natural gas. The biggest risk articulated in countless ministerial and technical meetings was higher prices.  Europe’s security of supply was rarely questioned, with officials pointing to the continent’s diversified sources beyond the Persian Gulf: the U.S., …

WTO holds crunch meeting amid growing uncertainty over multilateral system | International Trade News

WTO holds crunch meeting amid growing uncertainty over multilateral system | International Trade News

Published by Sam Flores

Tariff wars smashed old system, but failure to agree on reforms could see ‘some people writing a new rulebook’. Published On 26 Mar 202626 Mar 2026 The embattled World Trade Organization has met against a backdrop of global economic turmoil sparked by conflict in the Middle East and rising protectionism, facing the threat of “disorderly collapse” if it fails to strike a new deal on global rules. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the opening session of the body’s 14th ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Thursday that the old “world order” was not coming back, following a year of turmoil marked by United States President Donald Trump’s smashing of international trade rules with his sweeping tariffs. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “We will not get it back … We must look to the future,” said the WTO chief in what has been billed as a make-or-break moment for the organisation. The global trading system was, she said, experiencing the “worst disruptions in the past 80 years”. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said …

Rachel Reeves humiliated in chaotic U-turn over crunch meeting with UK petrol chiefs | Politics | News

Rachel Reeves humiliated in chaotic U-turn over crunch meeting with UK petrol chiefs | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

A petrol retailer group accused ministers of inciting abuse towards forecourt workers as a meeting with Rachel Reeves was plunged into chaos today. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) hit out at the use of “inflammatory language” as it pulled out of Downing Street talks with the Chancellor and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband on fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict. But the group later said it would attend the meeting after receiving assurances that the media would only be present for the first part. The association had said it wanted talks to be private “to allow a conversation to explain how the fuel market works”. Gordon Balmer, executive director of the PRA, said: “Recently I have heard of incidents from some of our members of retail staff being abused by members of the public, who may have been provoked by the incorrect and inflammatory language emanating from some commentators for example use of the terms ‘rip offs’ and ‘profiteering’. “Our members are working hard in difficult circumstances making sure that motorists and businesses are getting …