Quirino Mealha
Markets
IEA and OPEC split on oil demand estimates as Hormuz closure drags
The world's two most watched oil forecasters published sharply conflicting views of 2026 on Wednesday, with the IEA deepening its call for the first annual demand decline since the pandemic while OPEC still sees consumption growing, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drags on.
Economy
US inflation eases to 3.4% in July as Fed's next call stays uncertain
US inflation eased for a second month in July, with consumer prices rising 3.4% from a year earlier, down from 3.5% in June, exactly as economists had forecast, a reading that hands neither side of a divided Federal Reserve fresh ammunition before next month's rate decision.
Economy
Extreme heat threatens Italy's Parmigiano-backed loans
Extreme heat is squeezing Italy's "cheese banks", the climate-controlled vaults in Emilia-Romagna where hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano Reggiano wheels sit as collateral for farm loans, pushing up energy bills and thinning the milk supply that fills them.
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Markets
Oil prices rise as Trump and Iran trade reparations demands
Oil prices and US government bond yields both climbed on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump answered Iran's demand for war reparations with a sweeping counterclaim of his own, pushing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz further out of reach.
Economy
ECB holds rates at 2.25% as reignited Iran war boosts inflation fears
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, pausing after June's first hike in three years as easing inflation bought policymakers time, while renewed fighting in the Middle East caused a new rise in energy prices, keeping another hike firmly on the table for autumn.
Economy
Oil producers race to build alternatives to Hormuz as oil hits $100
Gulf oil producers are spending billions of dollars on pipelines designed to route crude around the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran's grip on the waterway drags on causing oil prices to hit $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
Economy
New UK PM touts 'cost of living government' with tax cut and £2 buses
Andy Burnham has used his first days in Downing Street to scrap the 5% VAT charged on household electricity bills and cap single bus fares in England at £2, telling his new cabinet that Britain now has a "cost of living government".
Economy
One in five EU jobs classed as vulnerable and Spain tops the list
Close to one in five jobs in the European Union qualifies as vulnerable on at least one of three counts, inadequate pay, insecure employment or a lack of workplace rights, according to a new report from Eurofound, which places Spain at the top of the table.
Economy
Eurozone inflation at 2.8%: Will it be enough for the ECB to pause?
Eurozone inflation was confirmed at 2.8% for June on Friday, marking the first decline this year and giving the European Central Bank a timely argument to keep its deposit facility rate unchanged at 2.25% when it meets this week.
Business
The world's most profitable airlines: Record earnings collide with war
The nine most profitable airlines on the planet earned a combined $25.11 billion (€22bn) in their latest annual results, with Emirates keeping its crown. However, the numbers largely reflect an industry snapshot moments before the Iran war changed everything.
Business
TSMC posts record profit and pledges $100bn to expand US manufacturing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday with a record second-quarter net profit, up 77% from a year earlier, while pledging a further $100bn (€87.4bn) to expand its chipmaking capacity in the US.
Economy
ECB selects 36 payment providers for digital euro pilot
The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment service providers to help test the digital euro in a year-long pilot from 2027, marking the latest milestone in the EU's effort to create a digital form of central bank money while reducing reliance on foreign payment networks.
Business
France and Spain meet in the most expensive World Cup semi-final ever
Tuesday's clash between France and Spain in Texas is not just a footballing spectacle, it is also, by market value, the costliest semi-final the World Cup has staged, with the two squads worth a combined $3.2 billion (€2.8bn).
Business
TSMC's June sales drive revenue surge of 68% ahead of earnings report
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a 35.6% increase in revenue during the first-half of 2026, and of 68% in June, highlighting continued strong demand for AI chips ahead of the firm's full second-quarter earnings report later this week.
Economy
Global oil demand set for first annual drop since COVID, IEA says
Global oil consumption is on course to shrink this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Energy Agency has said, as the war between the US and Iran throttled Gulf exports, though the IEA also noted supply increased in June.
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