Category: Highlights

Despite the drop-off in European spot prices, the cost of natural gas remains prohibitively high, paving the way for global gas-to-oil switching in the power generation industry. Inflation is rearing its ugly head again, with U.S. consumer prices gaining 0.1% month-on-month in August, just when the analytical community and US Federal Reserve alike expected a month-on-month dip. This will only bring grist to the mill of the Fed, meeting next week to discuss further interest rate hikes. With ICE Brent dropping to $93 per barrel after several consecutive daily increases,…

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Europe felt the chill of soaring energy prices on Monday, with France saying it could not foot all of the extra costs for consumers, while Britain faces a rising risk of recession. The European Union and Britain are battling to mitigate the shock of what some politicians have dubbed an “energy war” with Russia, which has slashed gas exports to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission is set to unveil a package of proposed emergency measures on Wednesday for the 27-nation EU,…

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Major Gulf stock markets tracked global equities higher on Monday as risk appetite picked up and investors hoped rising oil prices would continue pumping more dollars into the region. Oil prices were higher for a third consecutive trading day as Iran’s nuclear deal with the West appeared to hit obstacles and an embargo on Russian oil shipments loomed, stoking supply-side worries. Banking shares drove the Abu Dhabi index to a buoyant weekly start with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank each gaining more than 1.6%. The 1.4%…

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Saudi authorities have arrested a man who claimed to have travelled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca to perform an umrah pilgrimage on behalf of Queen Elizabeth The man, a Yemeni national, published a video clip of himself on social media on Monday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, where non-Muslims are forbidden. In the clip, he held up a banner saying: “Umrah for the soul of Queen Elizabeth II, we ask God to accept her in heaven and among the righteous.” Revealed: jailed Saudi woman…

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Heat pumps are becoming all the rage around a world that has to slash carbon emissions rapidly while cutting energy costs. In buildings, they replace space heating and water heating – and provide cooling as a bonus. A heat pump extracts heat from outside, concentrates it (using an electric compressor) to raise the temperature, and pumps the heat to where it is needed. Indeed, millions of Australian homes already have heat pumps in the form of refrigerators and reverse-cycle air conditioners bought for cooling. They can heat as well, and…

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