Small Russian oil drilling companies are increasingly facing bankruptcy pressures as Urals crude prices fall sharply, according to reporting cited below, while Western sanctions continue to strain the sector’s finances. The average Urals price dropped to $44.87 per barrel in November 2025, down from $53.68 in October, while separate reporting says some Russian oil has…

Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley of California introduced federal legislation on Feb. 18 that would bar states from imposing retroactive taxes on the assets of former residents, a direct strike at the core enforcement mechanism of a proposed California ballot measure that would levy a one-time tax on billionaires. The bill, called the Keep Jobs in…

Japanese companies are set to pour $36 billion into newly announced energy and industrial projects tied to a U.S.-Japan trade agreement, with major, itemized projects in Ohio and Texas and Georgia mentioned as part of the broader three-state push. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the investment figure, which covers a natural gas mega-plant, a deepwater…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026 cancels the planned hiring of 5,000 new NYPD officers, redirecting those funds toward an expanded racial equity apparatus that includes hundreds of new positions under the Commission on Racial Equity. The decision scraps a hiring timeline set by former Mayor Eric Adams just…

Gold has set new records beyond $5,000 per ounce, and a growing chorus of institutional voices and industry executives now argues that the metal’s run is far from over. The case for a $10,000 price target rests not on short-term speculation but on structural forces: constrained mine supply, accelerating central bank purchases, and a breakdown…

Investor anxiety over the artificial intelligence spending binge has reached its highest point on record, according to Bank of America’s latest Fund Manager Survey. A record share of roughly 35% of fund managers now say corporations are overinvesting in capital expenditures, while about 25% label an “AI bubble” as the single biggest tail risk facing…

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on February 17, 2026, that Canada will pour hundreds of billions of dollars into defense spending, with a deliberate emphasis on building domestic manufacturing capacity and reducing the country’s deep reliance on American military suppliers. The plan represents one of the most significant defense procurement shifts in Canadian history, aiming…

A wave of U.S. Treasury sanctions targeting Russia’s largest oil producers is squeezing the country’s energy sector from every direction, and the firms least equipped to absorb the blow are its smaller, independent operators. With Urals crude trading near $45 per barrel and buyers in Asia pulling back, the financial pressure on companies that lack…