The G7 has announced 100 million barrels of oil and diesel will be released to ease supply concerns that have caused prices to skyrocket.   It includes a “substantial release” of diesel within 20 days, with discussions around “additional diesel releases as necessary”, G7 leaders said in a statement.   The group of advanced economies, […]

More than 100 academics linked to British institutions have unwittingly assisted China’s espionage operations against the UK via a front company working for its intelligence and security services, MI5 has warned.   In the highly unusual public alert, the UK’s internal security service warned universities and academics that continuing ties with China General Technology Research […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) could trigger financial market shocks and the UK needs to be prepared for them, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.   Andrew Bailey said the central bank is watching the huge amounts of money being invested in AI “very carefully” and cautioned that “not everybody always wins”.   The […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 25th September. There were increases of 10 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and Polypropylene. In the UK, prices rose across all grades as the Pound lost value against the Euro.   Asian polymers were mixed with reductions of 20 USD per tonne reported […]

Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote has announced that he is helping to fund a new $660m fuel pipeline between Ethiopia and Djibouti   The project will include a 120km pipeline connecting Djibouti’s Damerjog port to a distribution facility in Dewele, Ethiopia, as well as storage capacity of about 400 million litres.   It is expected to […]

The world’s advanced economies including the UK and US need to cut borrowing and reduce debt levels following weeks of spiralling government interest costs, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.   In an exclusive interview, Kristalina Georgieva said global economic shocks had been “pushing debt levels up like a staircase not […]

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemical giant, Ineos is pausing production at its three sites in Hull, blaming high UK gas prices.   Ineos has confirmed up to 4,000 jobs are affected, 1,000 directly and another 3,000 in the supply chain.   The firm said gas prices in the UK are twelve times higher than in the […]

European polymer prices fell over the week to 18th September. There were reductions of 10 and 20 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of ABS and Polystyrene. In the UK, prices fell across most grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers rose with increases of between 20 and 80 […]

The United Kingdom’s (UK) chancellor is to warn the European Union (EU) not to lock the UK out of its scheme to protect industries from unfair Chinese competition.   John Healey will push for closer UK-EU partnerships on tech, defence, and manufacturing at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin on Friday.   But […]

China has imposed a range of sweeping new rules restricting travel in and out of the country in a move that observers say will give the government even more control over its citizens.   Citizens deemed to have “harmed” China’s national security or interests while overseas can also be barred from leaving China for up […]