The US government has given chip giant Nvidia the green light to sell its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processors in China, the Department of Commerce said.   The H200, Nvidia’s second-most-advanced semiconductor, had been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China’s technology industry and military an edge over the US.   The […]

China announced record export numbers for 2025, a year when US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policy caused turmoil in the global economy.   Beijing on Wednesday reported the world’s largest-ever trade surplus, the value of goods and services sold overseas compared to its imports, at $1.19tn.   It’s the first time China’s full-year […]

European polymer prices were largely unchanged over the two weeks to 9th January. There was an increase of 5 EUR per tonne reported in the price of Polystyrene. In the UK, prices fell against most grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers rose with increases of between 5 and 45 […]

US President, Donald Trump, has asked for at least $100bn in oil industry spending for Venezuela, but received a lukewarm response at the White House as one executive warned the South American country was currently “uninvestable”.   Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended the meeting acknowledged that Venezuela, sitting on vast energy […]

China’s BYD is set to overtake Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs), marking the first time it has outpaced its American rival for annual sales.   On Thursday, BYD said, external that sales of its battery-powered cars rose last year by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million.   […]

BP has struck a $6bn deal to sell a majority stake in its motor oil division Castrol to a US investment firm.   The oil giant sold a 65% stake in Castrol, which makes lubricants for cars, motorcycles and industrial vehicles, to New York-based Stonepeak.   The deal valued Castrol at $10.1bn, with BP receiving […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 26th December. There were increases of 10 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and ABS. In the UK, prices fell against some grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers fell with reductions of between 5 and 10 USD per […]

The US economy picked up speed over the three months to September, as consumer spending jumped and exports increased.   The world’s largest economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.3%, up from 3.8% in the previous quarter. That was better than expected, and marked the strongest growth in two years.   The report, which […]

An Amazon executive has said the US technology giant has blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents.   North Koreans tried to apply for remote working IT jobs using stolen or fake identities, Amazon’s chief security officer Stephen Schmidt said in a LinkedIn post.   “Their objective is typically straightforward: get […]

The US is immediately pausing leases for offshore wind energy projects currently being built near the Atlantic coastline, citing security concerns.   In a statement, the Department of the Interior said it was pausing five large-sale projects to look into how windmills could interfere with radar and create other risks to east coast cities.   […]