Biggest rises were in vegetable oil and sugar prices, which increased by 5% and 7% respectivelyVisual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockadeFood prices rose sharply in March as war in the Middle East drove up energy prices and freight costs around the world, a UN report says.An index of food commodity prices by the UN’s food and agriculture organisation increased by 2.4% in March, its second consecutive monthly rise. Continue reading...
Former government adviser Polly Billington urges bigger steps to shield people in UK from effects of Iran warMiddle East crisis – live updatesKeir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...
• Brazil and Paraguay finalized a bilateral agreement on Thursday to jointly develop and operate expanded hydroelectric capacity along the Paraná River, addressing critical energy shortages affecting both nations and the broader South American grid.
• The $8.7 billion infrastructure project aims to increase regional electricity output by 28% within five years and includes provisions for technology transfer and workforce development across both countries.
• The agreement emerged from emergency regional meetings convened by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) following cascading power grid failures that left 85 million people without electricity across South America in early March.
• Energy stocks like Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Valero Energy topped S&P 500 performers for the month and quarter due to oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel.
• Exxon Mobil recorded its largest quarterly gain, benefiting from sustained high crude demand.
• Sector strength highlights vulnerability of broader market to geopolitical risks and inflation.
The argument for transitioning to renewables seems stronger than ever – and yet, attacks mount on the carbon price scheme that underpins the EU’s success at cutting pollution• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereOn the one hand, experts say, Europe is better prepared for this energy crisis than the last. On the other, it is still waging a culture war against the most obvious path out.Fuel prices have soared to ruinous levels since the Iran war left ships of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) stranded in the Gulf. The pain is most acute in Asia, but high energy prices are already causing panic in Europe. Shortages could hit the continent this month, oil company Shell warned last week. Donald Trump’s “go get your own oil” comments on Tuesday sent prices to their highest level since the start of the US-Israel attack on Iran. They briefly dipped below $100-a-barrel on Wednesday amid hopes that the war may soon end. Continue reading...
Even if cargo route of strait of Hormuz reopens soon, Food and Drink Federation almost triples earlier forecastBusiness live – latest updatesFood inflation could hit 9% in the UK this year, even if the strait of Hormuz opens within the next few weeks, figures suggest, as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices.The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents 12,000 food and drink manufacturers, has predicted that prices will rise by “at least” 9% the end of 2026, almost tripling a forecast made before the conflict of 3.2%. Continue reading...
• On March 26, 2026, Education Secretary McMahon announced the Department of Education will vacate its longtime headquarters at the Lyndon B. Johnson building in August 2026, relocating to 500 D St SW.
• The Department of Energy will move into the Lyndon B. Johnson Building, with the administration projecting annual savings of $4.8 million in operating costs on a building that is 70% vacant.
• The relocation reflects broader changes to the Department of Education under the Trump administration and represents a significant restructuring of federal agency real estate use.
Chancellor says the government is looking at ways they can support people based on household income Good morning. Keir Starmer is giving a press conference this morning where, according to No 10, he will discuss the Iran war, and how the government is supporting people at home. Now we are in April, the new financial year is starting, and the government is highlighting measures it has introduced that will help people with the cost of living. The Conservatives have an alternative list, and they are claiming this morning that “Keir Starmer and his chancellor have piled on extra costs leaving families almost £1,000 worse off this year”.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been doing her own media too. She is on the Jeremy Vine show later, but she has already given an interview to BBC Breakfast in which she gave a marginally clearer idea of what she is planning to do to help people with energy bills than she did when she made a statement to MPs last week.From July to September, gas usage, especially by families and pensioners, is the lowest of any months of the year because it is the summer months …It will be really from the autumn onwards that people’s gas usage starts increasing. So at the moment we are working on a range of contingencies. And we are looking at more targeted measures. We are looking at ways we can support people based on their household income.I want to learn the lessons of the past because when Russia invaded Ukraine, the richest, the best-off third of households got more than a third of the support. That makes no sense at all. Continue reading...
Government keen to avoid panic as oil price surges, but perhaps households need advice on reducing consumptionLabour ministers sent out in recent days to respond to the looming energy crisis sparked by the Iran war have essentially stuck to that reassuring wartime slogan: keep calm and carry on.“I think people should go about their lives as normal, knowing that the government is taking action to bring energy bills down,” James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday. Continue reading...
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plantsGovernments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks. Continue reading...
