Western Europe

Bahrain circulated a revised draft U.N. Security Council resolution on protecting commercial ships?in and around Strait of Hormuz. The language was retained, authorising "all necessary measures" but removing a reference to 'binding enforcement. The shipping through this waterway has already been slowed down to a near halt, after Iran attacked vessels during its conflict with Israel and the United States. Bahrain's first draft was seen and supported by other Gulf Arab countries and Washington. It explicitly invoked Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) which allows the Security Council authorise measures from sanctions to military power. Diplomats stated that adoption of...

The German Bahn has seen more bookings that 'expected' as Easter approaches, and the fuel price increases are attracting people to train travel. However, it still faces a steep uphill battle in reviving 'its ageing network' and restoring the public trust after a long decline. Inga Nielsen says she has had bad experiences for years. In 2021, the six-hour trip from Amsterdam to Berlin was turned into a long odyssey involving regional trains and buses. Her train broke down two weeks ago and was delayed for two hours. She said that the main reason for using Deutsche Bahn was to...

The Iran War has disrupted the global trade via the Strait of Hormuz. This vital waterway is normally used by a fifth of all?oil & liquefied gas in the world. Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that vessels passing through the narrow Strait would be "targeted" after the U.S. launched attacks on the country on 28 February. Here is a list with reported attacks. MARK 1 V.Ships, the manager of V.Ships, said that a crew member died on the Marshall Islands flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM after it was struck by a projectile while the vessel was sailing off the coast of...

Siemens will dissolve its digital 'industries' and smart infrastructure segments in a upcoming reorganisation. The reorganisation aims to eliminate "silo-structures" as part of CEO Roland Busch’s "One Tech Company” strategy. This combines infrastructure, transportation and software with AI. Smart infrastructure is a business area that focuses on building technology, energy management, and motion control. Source: The two divisions would be divided into six or seven smaller units, with a reorganisation to the executive board following. Each unit will report directly to board. The exact nature of the plan is not yet known, but it will be discussed with the employee...

Tanger Med in Morocco, Africa's biggest container port, is planning to increase calls from ships due to escalating tensions around the Middle East, said the port's managing director on Monday. Container carriers such as Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and CMA CGM have announced this month that they will reroute vessels around Cape of Good Hope. Idriss Aarabi, the managing director of Tanger Med told me by email that rerouting would increase transit time from 10 to 14 extra days for vessels diverted via Cape of Good Hope in order to reach Tanger Med. Aarabi stated that the port of Tanger Med in...

Oman's Foreign Ministry?said Sunday that it?"condemns" attacks on its land, adn that no one has claimed responsibility. Authorities are investigating "sources and motivations" of the attacks, without giving any further details or naming a specific attack. Oman reported on Saturday that a worker had been injured in a drone attack at the Salalah port of the Gulf nation. Danish container shipping company Maersk later announced it temporarily halted operations?at the Salalah port?after the attack. Iranian media reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed on Saturday they had targeted a U.S. Support vessel "considerably" away from Salalah Port. The statement continued, "As...

Jean-Noel Barrot, France's Foreign Minister, said Friday that the U.S. Secretary of State Marco?Rubio?suggested Washington's goal was to destroy Iran’s ballistic capability and that Paris had the same objective of restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Barrot, speaking on the sidelines of the G7 in France, said: "I will not speak for Marco Rubio, but I will happily refer to his 'public statements,' which correspond to our conversations today about the stated U.S. objectives. These include the neutralization Iran's missile capabilities. Barrot responded that France shares the same goals as the U.S. regarding the Hormuz region and...

Here are some company news and stories from France and Benelux that could have an impact on a region's market or individual stocks. EIFFAGE: Eiffage, a French construction and concessions company, increased its stake to 29.40% in Getlink through an investment of 166.7 million euros ($192.37 millions) financed by cash reserves. This investment strengthened its position as Getlink's largest shareholder. SYENSQO N.V. Belgian'specialty chemicals' company Syensqo is redeeming all of its senior bonds of 500 million euro 2.750% fixed rates on March 31, 2026. MEDINCELL S.A. Pan-European market data: European Equities?speed guide................... FTSE Eurotop 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX?index................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Top 10?STOXX...

The European powers accused Russia on Thursday of assisting Iran in targeting U.S. troops in the Middle East War and said that they would bring the matter up with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a G7 meeting of 'foreign' ministers in France. Rubio will attend the second day gathering of Western Democracies ministers. This is taking place in the midst of wars with Iran and Ukraine, uncertainty over the economy and growing unease about the unpredictable U.S. Foreign Policy under Donald Trump. Two Western security officials and a regional official near Tehran have confirmed that Russia provided...

Two sources who have direct knowledge of this matter confirmed that the Italian tax police had searched the offices of several state-linked organizations and 'companies as well as an executive's office in Rome, as part of an investigation into the public IT procurement contracts. Sources said that the investigation is an extension of the 2024 probe, which was launched into Sogei (the Treasury's IT firm) in order to investigate a alleged scheme of rigging IT procurement contracts by creating slush fund. The company, Polo Strategico Nazionale, manages cloud infrastructures for the public sector. Sources said that police had also entered...

Nigeria's Minister of Trade and Investment,?Jumoke. Oduwole, said that the country will launch an important digital platform to streamline imports and exports on Friday. This is a "game changer for trade in West Africa". The first phase of Nigeria's National Single Window, a centralised platform for electronic trade that aims to reduce red tape and save time for both importers and exported, is set to launch on Friday. The first phase will consist of one shipping line and a single port. * "These are game changers?in terms?of trade facilitation?that we need," Oduwole stated, adding that this is a priority project?for...

Aer Lingus' chief executive warned on Wednesday that there is a "serious" risk the U.S. could take retaliation and limit its number of transatlantic flights, if the Dublin Airport passenger cap was not?quickly?removed. The Irish government pledged that it would pass a new law before the summer, lifting the 32 million passengers-per-year limit currently suspended in anticipation of a European Court decision. Last year, the airport exceeded its limit by four million passengers. Airlines for America, a U.S. trade group for the industry, filed a complaint in January with the U.S. Department of Transportation accusing Ireland of violating the EU-U.S....

On Tuesday, the European Union's top diplomatic representative Kaja 'Kallas' and a number of EU foreign ministers visited Bucha to mark the fourth anniversary since a massacre. They expressed their support for Ukraine in its demand for Russian accountability for the atrocities that were 'committed' there. Ukrainian officials claim that Russian forces killed hundreds of people in Bucha soon after the beginning of the 2022 invasion. Kallas, along with around a dozen EU Foreign Ministers and other senior European Officials made the trip to Bucha amid tensions in the EU over EU Aid for Ukraine. Kallas, who returned to Kyiv...

Nestle, a Swiss food giant, said that thieves stole the truck carrying 12 tons of KitKat bars in Europe. Nestle's KitKat said that the truck carrying 413 793 bars of their new chocolate range set out from central Italy to distribute the chocolate across Europe but never arrived at its final destination, Poland. The vehicle as well as the merchandise are still missing. Nestle has not revealed where the truck went missing. In a separate announcement, KitKat said that the bars missing can be traced via a unique batch code. Anyone who scans the batch numbers of?the stolen bars will...

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy installations as peace talks failed to make progress. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Ukraine used long-range attacks on?energy to maintain pressure on Russia following the lifting of international oil sanctions against Moscow in the aftermath of the Iran war. Here is a summary of the attacks. KIRISHI REFINERY The ?Kirishinefteorgsintez ?oil refinery in northwest Russia, one of the largest in the country, halted processing on Thursday following Ukrainian drone attacks that caused fires in some parts of the plant, two industry sources said. SARATOV REFINERY According...

Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said that the U.S. was seeking to control the Nord Stream pipelines in 'the Baltic Sea' which were allegedly damaged by a mysterious blast in September 2022. The explosions that destroyed pipelines in Europe more than three year ago have largely halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe. This has squeezed energy supplies across the continent, even though?Russia already stopped most deliveries. Both Russia and Western countries have said that the incident was a sabotage. Investigators have spent years trying to solve the mystery behind the attack. Last year, a Ukrainian was arrested in...

Prime Minister Keir starmer announced on Thursday that he had authorized the military to board and arrest Russian vessels in British waters. This was to disrupt what his government claims is a network of vessels which enables Moscow to continue to export oil, despite Western sanctions. Other European nations such as France, Belgium, and Sweden have increased efforts to arrest Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers that Moscow uses to fund its four year war against Ukraine. Starmer said he had approved of the more aggressive actions against the vessels, because Russian President Vladimir Putin "rubbed his hands" at the...

H&M, the Swedish fashion retailer, reported a slightly higher?rise in operating profit than expected for 'December-February. '?and forecasted that March sales would rise by 1%. In a press release, CEO Daniel Erver stated that "at the end of the third quarter, our well-received Spring collections contributed to positive sales trends which continued into March." H&M’s operating?profit, which includes Christmas shopping, increased for a third quarter in a row to 1.51 billion crowns (about 162 million dollars) from a year earlier 1.20 billion. The average forecast of an LSEG survey of analysts was 1.39 billion. This is despite a 1% decline...

Keir starmer, the British prime minister, said that he had 'given permission for military personnel to board and hold Russian ships. His government believes they are part of an alleged network of vessels which allows Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions. The decision comes as other European nations are intensifying their efforts to disrupt Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers that Moscow uses to fund its four year war against Ukraine. Starmer said he had approved more aggressive actions against the vessels, because Russian President Vladimir Putin would likely be "rubbing his hand" at the sharp rise in oil...

Tecpetrol CEO Ricardo Markous stated on Wednesday that Bolivia's natural gas?producer may have to start importing gas from its neighboring countries within five - or six years - in order to?meet a local /demand. Markous, speaking at the CERAWeek energy summit in Houston, said that Bolivia's gas production has dropped to 35 million cubic metres per?day compared with 65 million cubic metres per?day the previous year. Tecpetrol is TotalEnergies’ partner in the Ipati Aquio block in Bolivia. This block is a?contract with the state energy company YPFB. Markous stated that the area currently produces 6 million cubic metres per day....

The Finance Ministry reported that Uganda's economy grew by 8.5% in the December quarter, up from 5.4% in the same period last year. This was due to strong consumer demand, high construction activity and other sectors. In a late-night post on 'the X platform,' the ministry said that construction on a $5 billion pipeline that will help Uganda export crude oil to 'international markets has reached 80%. The 1,443 km (897 miles) long (EACOP), will begin from the oilfields in western Uganda and end at the port of Tanga, on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coastline. After a long delay, the 'east...

Ukraine increased its attacks on Russian energy installations in recent weeks, as peace talks failed to progress. The following is a brief summary of the attacks and their impact. SARATOV RIFFINERY Sources claim that the Saratov oil refining plant, controlled by Rosneft was 'hit by a drone' on March 21. Its crude?distillation? unit has been closed since then. The refinery will process 5.8 million tons of oil in 2024, which is 2.2% of the total Russian oil refining. ILSKY REFINERY On February 17, a fire broke out in the Ilsky Oil Refinery, located in southern Russia. The cause was drone...

TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier said that the disruption?to global liquefied gas?supplies caused?by the?Iran 'war?will make it more likely for a second phase of Canada's massive LNG Canada to be built. He made this prediction in Houston, Texas on Monday. While only a few weeks ago market watchers were predicting a glut of LNG worldwide, the 'Iran war' has highlighted the importance of LNG which can be delivered directly to Asia without having to transit the Strait of Hormuz. TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier stated. TC's Coastal GasLink pipe supplies natural?gas for the Shell-led LNG Canada plant located near Kitimat...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said on Monday that Ukraine was interested in importing Mozambican liquefied gas, because it "struggles" to meet its energy requirements after years of Russian attacks against its production infrastructure. Prior to the war, Ukraine produced almost all its own gas. Andriy Pyshnyi, Central Bank governor of Ukraine, said that the Russian attacks have caused Ukraine to lose about half of its gas production. In the?autumn of last year, Russia intensified their attacks on Ukrainian gas facilities. Most are located in the?frontline areas in northeast and central Ukraine. Zelenskiy, who met with the President of...