Energy

• Vice President JD Vance warned that a U.S. exit from the Middle East could trigger a worldwide energy crisis as Iran targets commercial shipping. • Vance referenced the "Straits Taylor Rule," drawing a parallel to the Federal Reserve's systematic monetary policy rules for adjusting interest rates. • Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi countered by praising Iran's resilience and claiming its adversaries have been forced to their knees.

• Suncor Energy shares fell 2.99% today to trade at C$96.99. • The stock price has slipped below its short-term moving averages, which are indicators used to track price trends over a specific period. • This downward trend signals a deepening selloff that may impact short-term investors and market sentiment for the energy company.

• Climate experts are urging the United Nations General Assembly and COP31 to establish trackable commitments following a deadly glacier collapse in Nepal and a global energy crisis. • The current crisis is driven by the Iran war, which has triggered what is described as the worst energy crisis in history. • These events highlight the urgent need to link energy security and electrification with loss and damage finance, which provides funds to countries suffering from climate-driven disasters.

• European Central Bank officials signaled they may implement further interest rate hikes to combat inflation pressures driven by rising energy costs. • Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus of Lithuania identified October as a key window to reassess the inflation outlook. • Higher rates increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers to prevent prices from rising too quickly.

Batteries now meet almost half of the grid’s dispatchable power needs during hours of highest demand Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s dependence on gas for power during the evening, when the grid is under the most pressure, has fallen by almost nearly 70% over the past year as batteries surged in, replacing the fossil fuel.Gas generation during the busy early evening, between 5pm and 8pm, fell by 67% in the year to August, as large-scale batteries continued to come online and half a million home batteries were installed under the government’s subsidy program, analysis by consultancy EnergyEdge found. Continue reading...

• Asia-Pacific stock indices declined on Tuesday as investors reacted to energy supply risks and a changing outlook for the artificial intelligence industry. • South Korea’s KOSPI experienced the steepest drop, slumping 2.57% to 6,732.00, while Hong Kong’s HSI contracted by 0.41% to 24,702.87. • These market shifts reflect investor anxiety over potential energy disruptions and upcoming policy decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

• Moody's Analytics reports that the artificial intelligence boom is acting as an economic cushion for Southeast Asia against risks from tariffs, weather, and energy. • Foreign direct investment is increasing in Malaysia and Vietnam as investors fund data center build-outs, though Singapore still holds the bulk of announced greenfield projects. • China's growing trade surplus with ASEAN is driven by intermediate electronic goods used for final assembly in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

• Scientists analyzed a catalog of nearly 3,000 type Ia supernovas, which occur when white dwarf stars explode after absorbing too much matter from companion stars. • The study found evidence that dark energy may evolve over time rather than remaining fixed, challenging the standard model of cosmology. • This discovery suggests that the fundamental force driving the expansion of the universe is dynamic, which could change how physicists calculate the universe's ultimate fate.

Annualized inflation rate was 3.4%, same as July, and core inflation, which omits energy and food prices, was up to 2.4%US consumer prices remained stubbornly high in August as the end of the ceasefire between the US and Iran pushed energy prices up, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday.The annualized inflation rate was 3.4%, the same as it was in July. The most recent peak was seen in May, when the inflation rate hit a three-year high at 4.2%. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, increased to 2.4% in August. Continue reading...

Businesses, charities and other groups sign letter calling for levies to be paid by the governmentMore than 120 organisations including big businesses and charities have called for the removal of “hidden taxes” added to energy bills to help reduce costs for consumers and prevent businesses closing.In a letter to the chancellor the signatories – including Energy UK, business trade body the CBI, End Fuel Poverty and Age UK – called for levies amounting to 10% of energy bills that fund policies to be paid for by the government. John Healey is to present his first budget on 28 October. Continue reading...

• The European Central Bank raised interest rates by a quarter point on Thursday to combat inflation driven by high oil prices. • The bank based this decision on a stronger-than-expected economy, which suggests businesses can handle higher borrowing costs. • Higher rates increase the cost of loans for businesses and consumers to slow down price increases across the market.

• The European Central Bank raised interest rates to combat inflation driven by rising energy costs. • The bank expects inflation to average 3% while projecting economic growth to rise to 0.9% this year from a previous estimate of 0.8%. • Higher borrowing costs aim to lower price increases, though resilient economic growth may continue to put upward pressure on consumer prices.

• The European Central Bank raised its deposit interest rate by a quarter point to 2.5% on Thursday to combat rising inflation. • This marks the second rate hike in three months following an energy shock driven by the war in Iran. • Higher rates increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers to prevent prices from rising too quickly across the eurozone.

• The European Central Bank raised its deposit rate to 2.5% to combat inflation risks caused by energy shocks. • This rate hike responds to persistent pressure on eurozone prices and financial markets. • Higher borrowing costs may slow economic growth while attempting to stabilize the purchasing power of the euro.

• The European Central Bank raised its economic growth and inflation projections because high inflation is expected to persist as energy price shocks ease slowly. • Consumption, investment, and industrial output are holding up well, showing that firms and households are adapting quickly to the shifting environment. • These updates indicate the European economy is more resilient to energy price shocks than previously predicted.

• Investors committed billions of dollars to startups in artificial intelligence, defense technology, robotics, nuclear energy, and battery storage during August 2026. • Companies like Valar Atomics, Base Power, and Form Energy received funding to develop technologies that increase electricity supply and grid reliability. • This investment trend reflects a growing need for power generation to support rising electricity demands from AI infrastructure and data centers.

• The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum signed a major oil and gas exploration and production agreement with the Saudi company Delta Energy in Kabul. • The deal focuses on the exploration and production of energy resources within Afghanistan. • This agreement highlights the shifting geopolitical influence of Persian Gulf nations and Western powers over Afghanistan's natural resources.

Follow the day’s news liveDigital duty of care bill risks ‘malicious compliance’, say GreensGreens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s digital duty of care legislation is too vague on whether it allows users to opt-in or opt-out of algorithms, and says that risks manipulation or malicious compliance by the platforms.It’s neither opt-in nor opt-out. And what I’m concerned about is how the tech platforms will manipulate that. Unless the rules are tight, unless there’s no gaps, big tech is going to spend a lot of money fighting these laws in the first place and finding every which way to get around them. Malicious compliance at best.I think the fines element is one of those areas that I think is just not good enough … you need to hit them really where it hurts, and that’s their revenue. So it should be a percentage of global revenue.I don’t know whether this is deliberate misinformation by the opposition leader or he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t really spent much time engaging on these issues. Either way, it’s wrong. Continue reading...

• European bond yields rose at the start of the trading week as traders reacted to surging energy prices. • Oil climbed to $98 per barrel and Dutch TTF gas reached €74 per megawatt hour following tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran on regional vessels. • Rising energy costs and the Japanese Yen breaking key support levels create increased volatility for currency and bond markets.

Chris Wright tells ABC there ‘may not’ be an agreement that would prevent Iran from having nuclear weaponsUS energy secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday morning that the US may not be able to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran that would prevent the country from having nuclear weapons.Asked on ABC on Sunday morning about any sign of such a deal, as negotiations appear stalled and the US-Israel war on Iran continues, Wright said: “There may not be a nuclear agreement.” Continue reading...

The efforts are part of an ongoing attempt to cripple the country’s power grid ahead of winterRussia keeps targeting Ukraine’s energy facilities in its latest round of overnight attacks, part of an ongoing attempt to cripple the country’s power grid ahead of winter.Odesa region governor Oleh Kiper said that one was died and at least five were injured in the attack. Continue reading...

• Economies across Asia, including India, Malaysia, and Australia, posted solid growth last quarter, defying worst-case economic scenarios. • Growth was sustained by government interventions to secure energy supplies and the use of fiscal buffers to protect households from energy shocks. • A global boom in artificial intelligence provided a timely economic boost, contributing to the region's overall resilience.

• Italian 10-year government bond yields are rising in tandem with European natural gas prices, creating a feedback loop where high energy costs drive inflation. • The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to hike interest rates at its next meeting and again by December to counter persistent inflation. • This situation is critical because rate hikes do not resolve energy supply shortages and may stifle demand within an already fragile European economy.

• Several Asian economies outperformed growth predictions in the June quarter, with India expanding by 7.8%, Malaysia by 6%, and Singapore by 5.9%. • Growth was driven by strong fiscal buffers that mitigated energy shocks and a surge in AI demand, which significantly boosted technology exports. • Taiwan recorded its fastest first-half growth in approximately 50 years, while South Korea saw its strongest expansion since 2020.

• European shares declined as investors reacted to rising bond yields and growing concerns over energy-driven inflation. • The retail sector was particularly hard hit, falling 2.3%, while Italian betting firm Lottomatica tumbled 7.7% following the announcement of its takeover of Spain’s Cirsa. • Despite the broader market dip, the mid-term outlook for European banks remains positive due to resilient manufacturing investments and steady loan growth.

• Eurozone inflation rose sharply to 3.3% in August, driven primarily by a surge in energy prices which climbed more than 14% year-on-year. • National rates varied across the region, with Spain recording the highest inflation at 4.5%, followed by Italy at 3.2%. • Germany and France remained below the headline average at 2.9% and 2.7% respectively, though France saw an increase from its previous 2.4% rate.

• Geopolitical shocks and global conflicts are severely undermining Africa's climate goals by triggering widespread economic and environmental disruption. • These distant crises drive up inflation and increase the cost of energy, diverting critical funding away from vital climate resilience projects. • The situation is critical because it stalls the continent's ability to adapt to climate change, leaving vulnerable populations more exposed to natural disasters.

In-store inflation rises to an annual 1.5% in August, according to a survey for the British Retail ConsortiumThe pace of price rises in UK shops rose to its highest level in two years in August, a trade body index shows, with higher energy costs pushing up the price of food and AI chip demand making technology more expensive.In-store inflation stepped up to 1.5% year on year in August, up from 0.9% in July, led by prices for tinned and packaged food which increased by 2.5% against 1.1% in the prior month, according to data from the research company NIQ for the British Retail Consortium. Continue reading...