Marcin Frąckiewicz

Marcin Frąckiewicz is the CEO of TS2 Space and a longtime technology entrepreneur focused on telecommunications, satellite communications and digital innovation. A graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), he writes about space technology, artificial intelligence and publicly traded technology companies. His analysis covers major market trends, emerging technologies and the businesses shaping the future of the global economy.

BP PLC CEO Meg O’Neill Promises Consistency as Debt Reset Faces First Test (Reuters)
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BP PLC CEO Meg O’Neill Promises Consistency as Debt Reset Faces First Test (Reuters)

London, April 1, 2026, 12:14 BP Plc’s freshly appointed chief executive, Meg O’Neill, assured employees Wednesday she plans to deliver “clear direction and consistency,” kicking off her leadership with a pledge to maintain the company’s current course as it doubles down on oil and gas. O’Neill stands out as BP’s first external chief executive in over 100 years, and she’s also the first woman at the helm of any of the top five global oil majors, according to a staff memo reviewed by Reuters and previous company disclosures.
April 1, 2026
Rolls-Royce SMR Project Moves Closer to Wylfa Build After £300 Million Contract Award
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Rolls-Royce SMR Project Moves Closer to Wylfa Build After £300 Million Contract Award

Rolls-Royce Holdings took another step toward bringing its small modular reactors online this Wednesday, as Great British Energy-Nuclear tapped a joint venture between Amentum and Cavendish Nuclear for the Wylfa project in North Wales. The owner’s engineer contract, valued at up to £300 million, could stretch out over 14 years. According to the companies, the deal will back the rollout of Rolls-Royce SMR technology at the site. This award moves Britain’s first Rolls-Royce SMR project from the selection stage into the nuts-and-bolts of execution planning. Acting as owner’s engineer, the firm takes on the key role of independent technical adviser for the client, handling design, safety, and delivery oversight. SMRs—smaller reactors, built in modules for quicker assembly than conventional plants—are
April 1, 2026
Shell Plc Eyes 20 Trillion Cubic Feet of Venezuela Gas Near Trinidad as LNG Crunch Deepens
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Shell Plc Eyes 20 Trillion Cubic Feet of Venezuela Gas Near Trinidad as LNG Crunch Deepens

Shell Plc is close to sealing a deal with Venezuela's government for rights to four offshore gas blocks near Trinidad and Tobago, potentially unlocking around 20 trillion cubic feet of reserves and shoring up supplies for Atlantic LNG. According to two people with knowledge of the matter, Shell is pushing for more territory beyond the well-known Dragon field—something the company acknowledged in an emailed statement as it confirmed its interest in the extra acreage. Timing’s crucial here. The global liquefied natural gas market has tightened fast—Qatari supply and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz took a hit after the Iran war, and Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG has faced gas shortages, keeping it below full output. Asian spot LNG prices have soared
April 1, 2026
Westpac Banking Corporation Warns RBA Could Hike Three More Times, Cash Rate Seen at 4.85%
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Westpac Banking Corporation Warns RBA Could Hike Three More Times, Cash Rate Seen at 4.85%

Westpac Banking Corp has shifted its outlook, now anticipating the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise the cash rate three more times—May, June, and August—pushing it up to 4.85%. The bank is flagging fallout from Middle East fuel disruptions as a driver behind the higher price forecasts. “We now expect the RBA to hike in June and August as well as May,” chief economist Luci Ellis said. Westpac is penciling in headline inflation at 5.4% for the June quarter, with its preferred trimmed mean measure landing near 4% later this year. Unemployment, Westpac projects, could edge up to around 5%, with no cuts to rates seen before 2028. As for the government’s temporary fuel excise cut, Ellis noted it would
April 1, 2026
UK Mortgage Rates Jump, Homebuyers Retreat as Iran War Threatens House Price Rebound
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UK Mortgage Rates Jump, Homebuyers Retreat as Iran War Threatens House Price Rebound

UK house prices jumped 0.9% in March, outpacing forecasts, with Nationwide reporting a 2.2% climb year-on-year to £277,186—the biggest monthly increase since December 2024. But the momentum is already under threat: a surge in mortgage rates is dampening buyer appetite and casting doubt on the spring rebound in Britain’s housing market. The rebound could be fleeting. Nationwide pointed out that in March, markets flipped from expecting two Bank of England rate cuts to betting on three hikes in the coming year. The shift followed the Iran conflict, which sent energy prices up and pushed swap rates higher—those are the market benchmarks lenders use when setting fixed mortgage deals.
April 1, 2026
American Express Replaces Visa as NFL Payments Partner, Leaves XRP Speculation Behind
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American Express Replaces Visa as NFL Payments Partner, Leaves XRP Speculation Behind

NEW YORK, March 31, 2026, 17:58 EDT American Express is set to take over from Visa as the NFL’s official payments partner starting with the 2026 season, following a multi-year global agreement revealed Monday. The deal hands AmEx cardholders perks including ticket presales, exclusive on-site experiences, and offers tied to certain NFL events both in the U.S. and internationally.
April 1, 2026
National Australia Bank Says It Contacted 200,000 Businesses as Fuel Costs and Rate Risks Mount
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National Australia Bank Says It Contacted 200,000 Businesses as Fuel Costs and Rate Risks Mount

National Australia Bank Limited said Wednesday it has reached out to nearly 200,000 business clients since early March, aiming to assess the impact of fuel-price swings—especially across agriculture, transport, manufacturing, construction, and regional supply chains. The bank noted that most customers are handling the situation themselves, with few requesting hardship assistance. Australia is moving to cushion the impact of a fuel price spike linked to the Iran war. This week, Canberra announced it would cut fuel excise by half and pause the heavy road-user charge—applied to trucks—for three months, following Brent crude’s 59% jump in March and Australian diesel averaging over A$3 a litre last week.
March 31, 2026
Woodside Energy Group Ltd Resets Browse Carbon Capture Plan Under Australia’s New Law
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Woodside Energy Group Ltd Resets Browse Carbon Capture Plan Under Australia’s New Law

Woodside Energy pulled its Browse carbon capture and storage plan from Australia’s federal approval track, opting instead to resubmit under updated environment laws. The move keeps a key element of the Browse gas project’s emissions strategy in play. “The new rules allow a revised referral,” a spokesperson said March 30. This is significant: Browse is planned as the supply lifeline for the decades-old North West Shelf LNG plant in Western Australia, which secured federal approval last year to keep running until 2070. The timing is notable—just days ago, Cyclone Narelle knocked production offline at Woodside’s Karratha gas plant, the main onshore facility for the North West Shelf.
March 31, 2026
BHP Group Ltd shares jump 5% as China PMI surprise lifts miners (Reuters)
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BHP Group Ltd shares jump 5% as China PMI surprise lifts miners (Reuters)

BHP Group’s U.S. shares rallied 5.4% to $72.74 on Tuesday. Rio Tinto climbed roughly 5%. The gains came as fresh Chinese factory numbers—an official PMI reading—showed the fastest expansion in a year for March, boosting sentiment for the mining giants. This comes with BHP just weeks out from its April 22 operational review, which will cover the nine months ending March 31. That scheduled production update drops as investors hunt for more clarity around demand in the miner’s key iron ore and copper segments.
March 31, 2026
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Flags Card Rewards Changes After Australia’s Surcharge Ban
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia Flags Card Rewards Changes After Australia’s Surcharge Ban

Late Tuesday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia flagged potential changes to its card lineup, rewards, and perks after the Reserve Bank of Australia moved to ban most card surcharges—those familiar checkout fees—and slashed interchange fees, upending the business model for consumer cards starting Oct. 1. Though the bank supported the surcharging ban, it cautioned that broader fee cuts could pressure a vital funding source for both cards and payments systems. The warning is notable: CBA, Australia’s biggest lender, tends to lead the pack in retail banking. According to the RBA, the changes could save consumers A$1.6 billion annually and reduce business payment costs by roughly A$900 million. Banks, though, push back, saying the interchange fee — embedded in card transactions and
March 31, 2026
Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Soar on Trump Hormuz Shift, but Oil Risk Lingers
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Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Soar on Trump Hormuz Shift, but Oil Risk Lingers

Wall Street rallied hard Tuesday, snapping higher as traders latched onto hints that Washington might opt for a muddled resolution to the Iran standoff instead of holding out for the Strait of Hormuz to clear. The S&P 500 surged 2.91% to 6,528.81, while the Nasdaq spiked 3.84% to 21,592.47. The Dow climbed 2.47%, adding roughly 1,125 points to finish at 46,334.83. The rebound landed just after a rough March, when oil prices, rising bond yields, and a fresh wave of inflation jitters hammered markets. Earlier in the week, the Dow and Nasdaq both dropped into correction—off more than 10% from their recent peaks—while the S&P 500 teetered on posting its harshest quarterly loss since 2022.
March 31, 2026
Macquarie Share Price Outlook: Analysts Still See 16% Upside After Volatile March
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Macquarie Share Price Outlook: Analysts Still See 16% Upside After Volatile March

Macquarie Group shares wrapped up March 31 at A$201.93, and broker targets tracked by MarketScreener suggest the price could climb roughly 16% in the coming year. Thirteen analysts, on average, see the stock hitting A$233.70; individual predictions stretch from a bullish A$255 to a more cautious A$205. The timing is key here: Macquarie wrapped up its fiscal year recently and is on deck to announce full-year numbers May 8. Investors are left guessing if the upbeat trading update back in February held up through a turbulent March. On Tuesday, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia revealed policy confusion—with officials divided over a March rate hike and still uncertain about what happens next.
March 31, 2026
Anglo American Shares Rebound as Teck Merger Timeline, Chile Copper Bet Stay in Focus
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Anglo American Shares Rebound as Teck Merger Timeline, Chile Copper Bet Stay in Focus

Anglo American ended Tuesday at 3,153 pence, rising from Monday’s 3,093 pence finish but remaining a long way off the 3,701 pence it closed at back on Feb. 27. European stocks steadied, with some relief for miners as hints of a possible Iran de-escalation surfaced after a rough stretch. The rebound is significant, coming as Anglo pushes through an overhaul. The miner is offloading non-core units to sharpen its focus on copper and iron ore, even as it waits on final sign-offs for its $53 billion share-based merger with Teck Resources. Last week, Anglo announced plans to delist from Switzerland on June 26, moving closer to wrapping things up.
March 31, 2026
Vodafone Group PLC Accelerates Share Buyback With 5.4 Million Shares Ahead of Year-End
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Vodafone Group PLC Accelerates Share Buyback With 5.4 Million Shares Ahead of Year-End

Vodafone Group Plc ramped up its buyback on Tuesday, snapping up 5.4 million ordinary shares from Goldman Sachs International for treasury—part of the February program. That haul was more than twice Monday’s 2.7 million-share disclosure. Vodafone’s timing comes right at the close of its financial year, keeping capital return strategies in the spotlight as shareholders watch for signs that the Three UK merger and ongoing asset disposals will finally stabilize cash flow. Back in February, the company said its 500 million-euro buyback program would wrap up by May 11 at the latest, following 3.5 billion euros of repurchases since May 2024.
March 31, 2026
National Grid plc seals £3 billion Eastern Green Link 4 contracts ahead of RIIO-3 start
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National Grid plc seals £3 billion Eastern Green Link 4 contracts ahead of RIIO-3 start

National Grid plc and SP Energy Networks on Monday locked in £3 billion of major supply-chain deals for Eastern Green Link 4, a 2-gigawatt subsea cable project running between Scotland and England—one of five east coast links aimed at clearing grid congestion. Siemens Energy is tapped for the HVDC converter stations, while Prysmian will deliver the cable system. Timing is key here. Britain’s RIIO-3, the next five-year price-control cycle that determines how much network owners can earn, kicks off April 1. Earlier in the month, National Grid raised its investment target to at least £70 billion by March 2031, signed off on Ofgem’s RIIO-T3 transmission deal, and projected earnings-per-share growth between 13% and 15% for fiscal 2027. Chief Executive Zoë
March 31, 2026
Oracle Starts Thousands of Layoffs as $50 Billion AI Push Lifts Shares
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Oracle Starts Thousands of Layoffs as $50 Billion AI Push Lifts Shares

AUSTIN, Texas, March 31, 2026, 13:09 CDT Oracle started slashing jobs on Tuesday, telling certain staff via internal emails that their time at the company had ended as it looked to slash expenses and ramp up AI infrastructure spending. CNBC, quoting two sources familiar with the situation, reported thousands would be impacted. Oracle would not respond to requests for comment.
March 31, 2026
UK Diesel Hits £100 a Tank as Iran War Pushes Fuel Price Gap to 23-Year High
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UK Diesel Hits £100 a Tank as Iran War Pushes Fuel Price Gap to 23-Year High

Diesel at UK pumps climbed to an average of 182.77 pence per litre on Tuesday, sending the price for a standard 55-litre fill-up to £100.52—a level not seen since December 2022. Petrol, meanwhile, came in at 152.83 pence. “The diesel tank threshold has breached £100,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, adding that petrol prices could “potentially stabilise” if oil prices quit rising. It’s not just about fuel. Worldpanel reported grocery inflation stuck at 4.3% for the four weeks ending March 22, pointing out that every extra point tacks on more than £50 to the average household’s yearly bill. Fraser McKevitt flagged that higher fuel prices are leaving shoppers increasingly uneasy.
March 31, 2026
Australia to Ban Debit and Credit Card Surcharges From October as RBA Cuts Fees
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Australia to Ban Debit and Credit Card Surcharges From October as RBA Cuts Fees

Starting Oct. 1, Australia will prohibit surcharges on debit and credit card payments handled through eftpos, Visa, and Mastercard, following a Reserve Bank of Australia ruling that labeled the current fee system as too murky and ineffective. According to the RBA, Australians fork out roughly A$1.6 billion in these charges every year; with the new rules, businesses are set to pocket about A$910 million in annual savings from the larger fee shakeup. Cost-of-living strains are front and center for both households and lawmakers right now, and cards make up roughly 75% of payments in Australia. About 16% of businesses continue to tack on surcharges, prompting the RBA and government to press for prices that include all charges upfront—no last-minute add-ons
March 31, 2026
SSE Plc files 90-MW Offaly wind farm plan as Ireland pushes for more renewable power

SSE Plc files 90-MW Offaly wind farm plan as Ireland pushes for more renewable power

SSE Plc, working alongside Irish partner BnM, has filed a planning application for the Lemanaghan Wind Farm—aiming for 90 megawatts of generating capacity—in County Offaly. The project blueprint features 15 turbines, targeting a site in north-west Offaly close to Ballycumber, Ferbane, and Pollagh, as the British utility steps further into Ireland’s onshore renewables space. Timing is key here. Ireland is targeting renewables for 80% of its electricity needs by 2030, and just this month the government reported hitting 8 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity. EirGrid, the grid operator, points out the network still isn’t robust or adaptable enough to handle that level of wind and solar.
March 31, 2026
Australia Stock Market Today: ASX 200 Rebounds at Close, Still Suffers Worst Month Since 2022
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Australia Stock Market Today: ASX 200 Rebounds at Close, Still Suffers Worst Month Since 2022

The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to finish at 8,481.80 on March’s final session. That late uptick wasn’t enough to offset the index’s sharpest monthly drop since June 2022, as surging oil—fueled by conflict—and renewed rate jitters kept investors on edge. The Reserve Bank of Australia isn’t hinting at easing anytime soon. March meeting minutes revealed that board members remained inclined toward further rate hikes, while flagging risks tied to a broader Middle East conflict. The bank cautioned that if oil prices hover close to $100 a barrel, headline inflation could jump to roughly 5% for the June quarter, up from 3.7% in February.
March 31, 2026
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