All posts tagged: reserves

Trust posts £3.4m deficit after raiding reserves

Trust posts £3.4m deficit after raiding reserves

Published by skeptic

The bosses of a cash-strapped academy trust have blamed its £3.4 million deficit on a strategy that considered hoarding reserves “inappropriate” and saw them plough resources into securing ‘good’ Ofsteds. The ailing Brooke Weston Trust in the east Midlands has slashed “non-educational” budgets and green-lit dozens of voluntary redundancies in a bid to balance the books. Stephen Morales, the chief executive of the Institute of School Business, warns that the case shows that “anything” can tip trusts “over the edge” if they’re already close to their “fiscal limit”. Source link

As France Yanks Last US-Based Gold Reserves, UBS Expects Demand From China To Persist

As France Yanks Last US-Based Gold Reserves, UBS Expects Demand From China To Persist

Published by Jenni Sidey

When France repatriates its gold, it has historically been worth paying attention to (think De Gaulle’s demands culminating in the ‘Nixon Shock’). However, then (as now), there was no cliff-like event, it was a slow-building crisis and perhaps the news that Gold has officially emptied its US-stored gold reserves (held in New York) is another straw on the back of the fiat standard to keep an eye on. RFI reports that The Banque de France (BdF) announced last week that it generated a capital gain of €12.8 billion after upgrading 129 tonnes of gold – about 5% of France’s total reserves – between July 2025 and January 2026. The gold was the last of the French reserves held in New York. It was replaced with the equivalent amount bought in Europe and held in Paris.  The BdF has been gradually replacing older, non‑standard gold with bars that meet ​modern international standards since 2005. It moved the majority of its gold reserves out of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England between 1963 and …

Japan says beginning release of state oil reserves

Japan says beginning release of state oil reserves

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO: Japan said it had started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves on Thursday (Mar 26) as it looks to temper the impact on the resource-poor nation from the surge in prices caused by the Middle East war. Iran has virtually closed the vital Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of global crude and gas flows – since the United States and Israel began striking the country on Feb 28. Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90 per cent of it from the Middle East. “The release (of national stockpile) started at 10.59am to oil refiners,” Kaname Morimoto, an official of the ministry of economy, trade and industry, told AFP. Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said he was aware that the “transfer of oil from half of the reserve stations to four oil refining companies is scheduled to start” on Thursday. The move comes after Tokyo said this week it would release a month’s worth of government stockpiles, as officials started releasing 15 days’ worth of …

Wildlife abounds – even in our cities: readers’ favourite UK nature reserves and national parks | Parks and green spaces

Wildlife abounds – even in our cities: readers’ favourite UK nature reserves and national parks | Parks and green spaces

Published by Sam Flores

Winning tip: Whitebeams and roe deer in Bristol I always take friends on an afternoon walk when they visit Bristol, to experience the swift changes in scenery: starting at the tobacco warehouses of Cumberland Basin before ascending from the muddy banks of the River Avon up into Leigh Woods, a national nature reserve. As well as possible animal sightings like peregrine falcons and roe deer, the woods are an important site for whitebeam trees, with several species only growing here. It’s easy to spend a full afternoon crisscrossing the trails before walking over Brunel’s famous suspension bridge for a well-deserved coffee at the Primrose Café in Clifton village.Tor Hands Profile Readers’ tips: send a tip for a chance to win a £200 voucher for a Coolstays break Show Guardian Travel readers’ tips Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit the readers’ tips homepage – Thank you for your feedback. A seal colony …

IEA members to tap into oil reserves : NPR

IEA members to tap into oil reserves : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol speaks in Brussels on Friday during a media conference regarding recent developments in global energy markets. Omar Havana/AP hide caption toggle caption Omar Havana/AP On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced member nations would release a total of 400 million barrels from their strategic reserves of oil, as the war in Iran continues to cause the worst disruption to energy markets in decades. The unanimous decision by the members of the IEA, which represents some of the world’s biggest oil-consuming nations, is meant to address the acute disruption in oil trade caused by the war. It’s the largest release of crude oil the IEA has ever coordinated, and only the sixth time the group has released oil to balance crude markets. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday that the decision by IEA members, who together control some 1.8 billion barrels of stockpiled oil, is a “major action” meant to alleviate the disruption of oil markets. “But to be clear, the most important thing for a …

Global energy body convenes summit on unlocking emergency oil reserves – POLITICO

Global energy body convenes summit on unlocking emergency oil reserves – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

BRUSSELS — The head of the International Energy Agency on Tuesday summoned an extraordinary meeting to decide whether to tap millions of barrels of emergency oil supplies amid soaring energy costs. The meeting, to be held at an undisclosed time on Tuesday, will “assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market,” the agency’s chief, Fatih Birol, said in an emailed statement. The IEA’s 31 members — mostly advanced Western economies — have grown increasingly panicked as Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition trade airstrikes, imperilling critical supply chains and energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Merchant shipping has also abandoned the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20 percent of the world’s energy trade, prompting fears of price spikes. Source link

Politics Home Article | UK “Stands Ready” To Support Emergency International Energy Reserves

Politics Home Article | UK “Stands Ready” To Support Emergency International Energy Reserves

Published by Sam Flores

Chancellor Rachel Reeves joined a virtual meeting with G7 finance ministers to discuss the situation in the Middle East (Alamy) 3 min read1 hr Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed the UK is ready to back a coordinated release of International Energy Agency oil reserves to help stabilise fuel prices, as the Middle East conflict continues. Reeves gave a statement to the House of Commons after meeting with G7 finance ministers on Monday afternoon, as part of wider efforts to coordinate an international economic response to the Iran conflict’s impact on global energy security and markets. The Chancellor said that in the meeting, she emphasised the need for “immediate de-escalation” of the conflict and a return to the diplomatic process.  She sought to reassure the public as the UK braces for further energy price shocks and market volatility. Oil prices have spiked in the Middle East, and oil shipping routes have been disrupted as the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel continues. “I know that families and businesses will be concerned …

G7 weighs using emergency oil reserves amid soaring prices driven by war – POLITICO

G7 weighs using emergency oil reserves amid soaring prices driven by war – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Policymakers stress that the risk of inflation ripping is smaller now than in 2022, when world supply chains were still recovering from the pandemic, and when consumers had built up savings that allowed them to splash out. The economy today looks weaker: job growth in the U.S. has virtually ground to a halt and the European Central Bank is warning that the eurozone labor market is weaker than a record low jobless rate of 6.1 percent would suggest. In the U.K., unemployment has been rising for over a year. Central banks “shouldn’t be too worried about wage-price spirals, despite the endless overshoot” in inflation, said TS Lombard analyst Dario Perkins on X. “But my worry is that it tips labor markets over — and that risk is bigger than in 2022.” Either way, financial markets are quickly losing hope for a swift resolution. They are now pricing in a bigger and longer supply shock, after a weekend that saw massive attacks on energy installations, and reports suggesting that President Donald Trump has softened his opposition to …

Venezuela’s Gas Potential Could Overshadow Its Famous Oil Reserves

Venezuela’s Gas Potential Could Overshadow Its Famous Oil Reserves

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com, While attention is often on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, many experts believe that exploiting its natural gas fields, which were previously neglected, presents a more immediate opportunity for economic success. Developing Venezuela’s gas industry will likely require an energy partnership with neighboring Trinidad and Tobago, as the island nation possesses the necessary infrastructure for processing and exporting the fuel that Venezuela lacks. Major international companies like Shell and BP are pursuing key Venezuelan gas projects, such as the Dragon and Cocuina fields, a move facilitated by greater leniency on U.S. sanctions. Following the United States intervention in Venezuela on 3rd January, which brought an end to President Nicolás Maduro’s 13-year dictatorship, all eyes have been on the South American country’s oil industry. Once one of the world’s biggest oil producers, output has waned in recent years. However, with U.S. President Trump setting his sights on Venezuelan crude, many are speculating just how quickly its resources can be tapped. While the focus is on Venezuela’s potential as an oil power, others think that …