Month: March 2026
Op-ed: Why my interview with Russia’s ambassador to the U.K. reflected a stark global picture
“A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” That was how Winston Churchill famously described Russia (the Soviet Union as it then was), back in 1939. To this day, I can’t think of a better way to describe the complications when trying to decipher Russia, its leadership and its motives. A conundrum reinforced to […]
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Ships stranded at Hormuz, energy crunch at home: How India’s U.S.-Israel tilt is testing ties with Iran
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The United Arab Emirates’ President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a family photo during the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. Maxim Shipenkov | Afp | Getty Images While millions of barrels of oil flow to China via the Strait of […]
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CNBC Daily Open: Strait talk from Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One on March 13, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Nathan Howard | Getty Images Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open. A lot of developments to digest from the war in […]
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European markets set to start the week higher but oil prices remain in focus
Oil prices headed for weekly gains as of Friday, despite the U.S. issuing a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products at sea. Bloomberg Creative Photos | Bloomberg Creative Photos | Getty Images LONDON — European stocks are expected to start the new trading week in positive territory despite the ongoing […]
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Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
The AI boom may be having a side effect: a surge in Big Tech buying carbon credits to offset emissions generated by its energy-hungry buildout. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have ramped up purchases of permanent carbon credits since the launch of ChatGPT sparked the AI race in 2022, according to data compiled for CNBC […]
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China talks up oil sufficiency as Trump seeks Beijing’s help on securing Hormuz energy route
An oil tanker unloads crude oil at a terminal at the port in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province on March 11, 2026. – | Afp | Getty Images BEIJING — China on Monday stressed that it had enough energy resources as the Iran war restricts oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. […]
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‘One Battle After Another’ takes best picture at the Oscars
Hollywood star and founder of CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) Sean Penn holds a press conference at a building housing refugees from Ukraine after signing an agreement with authorities to help refugees from Ukraine on March 25, 2022 in Rzeszow, Poland. Darek Puchala/ | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The darkly comic thriller “One Battle After Another” won best picture at […]
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Why Trump has his sights on Iran’s Kharg Island — and what it means for the oil market
A general view of the Port of Kharg Island Oil Terminal, 25 km from the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf and 483 km northwest of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iran on March 12, 2017. Fatemeh Bahrami | Anadolu | Getty Images President Donald Trump’s order to strike Iranian military assets on Kharg Island […]
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Trump signals possible delay to Beijing summit as U.S. pressures China to help reopen Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said his planned trip to China later this month could be delayed as Washington sought to pressure Beijing […]
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China’s factory output and consumption beat forecasts, while property investment contraction slows
Key Points Retail sales for the first two months of the year rose 2.8% from a year earlier. Industrial output climbed 6.3%, also exceeding expectations for a 5% jump. Investment in fixed assets, which includes property, advanced 1.8% from a year earlier. Urban unemployment rate edged up to 5.3% in the first two months this […]
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