Politics 5 February 2026 - 28 March 2026

Starmer’s Russia Oil Sanctions Move Fuels Ukraine Criticism While Energy Prices Jump
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Starmer’s Russia Oil Sanctions Move Fuels Ukraine Criticism While Energy Prices Jump

UK lifts part of its Russia oil sanctions, clears non-Russian refiners to ship in diesel, jet fuel made from Russian crude Britain is now letting in shipments of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude, as long as the products are refined outside Russia. That’s according to a new Department for Business and Trade licence out Wednesday. The legal change moves a narrow trade carve-out onto the political stage, triggering debate on fuel prices and London’s position on Ukraine. UK faces fuel shock as Middle East tensions hit supplies, not just sanctions. The Guardian said the move followed worries about some fuel deliveries after the de facto Strait of Hormuz blockade. RAC data showed average UK petrol at 158.5p
May 20, 2026
Barclays PLC Stock Price Falls After BaFin Fine as Credit Risks Stay in Focus
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Barclays PLC Stock Price Falls After BaFin Fine as Credit Risks Stay in Focus

Barclays slipped Friday, with shares finishing at 382.2 pence, off 0.84%, after Germany’s BaFin slapped the bank with a 1.65 million euro fine for delayed voting-rights disclosures. The fresh compliance headache lands as the stock faces ongoing pressure. In New York, Barclays’ ADRs closed at $20.24, down 42.5 cents. This move hits just as Barclays faces a surge in macro stress, outpacing any relief from company-specific news. Thursday, finance minister Rachel Reeves sat down with Barclays plus five other major banks. The Treasury later said lenders will reach out to 1.6 million borrowers with fixed-rate home loans coming due by year-end. Broader market jitters have been stoked by rising oil and mounting inflation concerns.
March 28, 2026
Fed’s Goolsbee Says Rate Hikes Back on Table as Iran War Clouds Cuts
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Fed’s Goolsbee Says Rate Hikes Back on Table as Iran War Clouds Cuts

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Monday left the door open to a rate cut this year—provided inflation comes down—but didn’t rule out a hike if the war with Iran keeps prices elevated. “Both scenarios are on the table,” he told CNBC. This comes just a week after the Fed kept rates steady at 3.50%-3.75%, with officials signaling one cut for the year. But the Iran-driven oil shock changed the math fast. By Friday, futures traders were suddenly assigning about a 25% probability to a December hike—something that wasn’t even on the radar days before.
March 24, 2026
African ministers snub London Africa Energies Summit as local content row deepens
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African ministers snub London Africa Energies Summit as local content row deepens

On Monday, the African Energy Chamber announced African petroleum ministers won’t be at the Africa Energies Summit in London this May, escalating tensions over local content and representation. The move comes after Mozambique's Energy Chamber withdrew from the event last week. This matters because the summit brands itself as Africa’s top global upstream gathering—upstream covering oil and gas exploration and production—and serves as a meeting ground for governments, national oil companies, and investors. Should official African attendance drop, a London event designed to promote licensing rounds and LNG export projects, with gas chilled to liquid for transport, could lose its edge just as Mozambique’s major gas projects are picking up.
March 23, 2026
Intel under fire: US senators question chip-tool tests tied to China-linked ACM Research
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Intel under fire: US senators question chip-tool tests tied to China-linked ACM Research

A group of U.S. lawmakers from both parties is putting pressure on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, questioning the company’s use of chipmaking equipment from ACM Research over national security worries. The lawmakers want specifics on the testing and what safeguards are in place, as Washington sharpens its focus on supply-chain exposure in the advanced semiconductor space. Questions are swirling as Intel works to claw back its manufacturing lead and pitch its foundry services — that's contract chipmaking — to external clients. Restrictions on tool qualification or supplier collaboration could drag out those efforts, adding to expenses.
March 6, 2026
Sable Offshore Corp shares jump as Trump weighs emergency powers for stalled California oil restart
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Sable Offshore Corp shares jump as Trump weighs emergency powers for stalled California oil restart

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday said the Trump administration is weighing emergency powers as a workaround for Sable Offshore Corp, aiming to sidestep California’s permitting snags that have blocked its oil output. The Houston-based firm’s stock surged 37.3% to end the day at $13.85. Sable is feeling the pressure. Last week, the company said it brought the Santa Ynez Unit back online in May 2025, but commercial oil sales remain suspended. Crude keeps piling up at Las Flores Canyon, with no pipeline or tanker access in sight. Short-term debt stacked up to $921.6 million by the end of 2025, with cash reserves at $97.7 million.
March 6, 2026
Intel back in Washington spotlight as senators press China-linked tool tests and 18A plans shift
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Intel back in Washington spotlight as senators press China-linked tool tests and 18A plans shift

On Wednesday, a bipartisan Senate group led by Elizabeth Warren and Tom Cotton pushed Intel Corp for answers about its reported use of chipmaking equipment from ACM Research, flagging national security concerns. “Intel’s relationship with ACM is concerning,” the lawmakers told CEO Lip-Bu Tan in a letter. This comes at a tricky time for Intel. Tan's working to win back trust from both customers and policymakers, with Intel pushing to reclaim its manufacturing lead and ramp up its foundry, or contract chipmaking, operations.
March 5, 2026
BP caught in UK windfall tax limbo as Reeves flags Iran war price spike
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BP caught in UK windfall tax limbo as Reeves flags Iran war price spike

BP Plc’s outlook for the North Sea windfall tax just got murkier. Finance minister Rachel Reeves signaled that the timeline for lifting the levy is now in question, citing renewed energy price volatility tied to the Iran conflict. This comes at a tricky time. Higher oil and gas prices might pad earnings, but the tax still bites—and with household bills rising, political pressure is only getting louder.
March 5, 2026
Meta signs White House power pledge as AI data centers put U.S. electricity bills in focus
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Meta signs White House power pledge as AI data centers put U.S. electricity bills in focus

Meta Platforms joined Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI on Wednesday in signing the White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, agreeing to shoulder the additional power and grid costs linked to their data centers—those sprawling server hubs. The White House says the initiative is designed to prevent those costs from showing up on regular consumers’ electricity bills. The Trump administration is deploying the pledge just before the November midterms, pitching it as a way to address voter unease about rising utility costs linked to the boom in AI data centers. According to one administration official, the industry still needs to win over “the hearts and minds of Americans,” especially after multiple projects stalled or were scrapped in various states due
March 4, 2026
Heating Oil price surges to two-year high as Hormuz disruption hits diesel supply
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Heating Oil price surges to two-year high as Hormuz disruption hits diesel supply

New York, March 2, 2026, 13:45 EST — Regular session Heating oil futures on NYMEX soared to their highest level in two years Monday, as traders piled in following fresh Middle East strikes and counterstrikes that tangled up shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. The front-month contract for NY Harbor ULSD jumped nearly 14%, or about 36 cents, to $2.9561 per gallon, according to CME data.
March 2, 2026
Oil price today: Brent, WTI stay near seven-month highs as Iran talks and tariffs cloud the outlook
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Oil price today: Brent, WTI stay near seven-month highs as Iran talks and tariffs cloud the outlook

NEW YORK, Feb 24, 2026, 13:30 — Regular session Oil slipped a bit on Tuesday, holding just below seven-month highs as traders awaited cues from upcoming U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations. Brent crude edged down 25 cents to $71.24 a barrel by 10:41 a.m. EST, a 0.4% decline, while West Texas Intermediate also pared back 25 cents, or 0.4%, landing at $66.06.
February 24, 2026
JPMorgan stock: What to watch Monday after Trump account filing and security push
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JPMorgan stock: What to watch Monday after Trump account filing and security push

New York, February 22, 2026, 12:49 EST — The market has closed. JPMorgan Chase & Co is back in the headlines heading into Monday’s U.S. trading, with newly unsealed court documents revealing the bank shut down President Donald Trump’s accounts in February 2021, not long after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In filings, the bank said it sometimes decides “a client’s interests are no longer served” by maintaining a private bank relationship. JPMorgan has requested that Trump’s $5 billion lawsuit be transferred from Miami to New York. Shares finished the last session up roughly 0.9% at $310.79.
February 22, 2026
Oil prices cling to six-month highs as Trump weighs Iran strike; Brent above $71
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Oil prices cling to six-month highs as Trump weighs Iran strike; Brent above $71

HOUSTON, February 20, 2026, 12:34 — Regular session Oil slipped a bit Friday, but prices hovered close to six-month peaks—Brent futures off 19 cents at $71.47 a barrel, U.S. WTI down 14 cents to $66.29 as of 11:36 a.m. CST. A U.S. Supreme Court decision on Trump’s emergency tariff powers had little effect on trading. Both contracts still showed a weekly gain of roughly 5.3%.
February 20, 2026
Trump claims 20% bigger 2026 tax refunds — IRS flags the mistakes that can slow your money
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Trump claims 20% bigger 2026 tax refunds — IRS flags the mistakes that can slow your money

On Truth Social, President Donald Trump said tax refunds this year will be “substantially greater than ever before.” He cited estimates claiming “over 20% will be returned to the Taxpayer” in certain cases. Trump’s remarks came as the 2026 filing season approaches. https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/trump-touts-potential-20-tax-refunds-ahead-2026-filing-season With millions watching refund timelines, the latest IRS tally shows the average payout hitting $2,290. That’s a 10.9% jump from last year’s $2,065, but the agency has issued 8.1% fewer refunds so far. The IRS says these early numbers don’t count refunds held for certain credits under a mid-February rule, and adds that trends usually stabilize later on. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-feb-6-2026
February 19, 2026
Trump Mobile’s T1 Phone ‘Made in USA’ pitch fades as reports point to overseas build
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Trump Mobile’s T1 Phone ‘Made in USA’ pitch fades as reports point to overseas build

The Trump Mobile T1 smartphone, initially marketed with a “Made in the United States” label, will mostly be manufactured abroad, with only a small portion of final assembly happening in the U.S., company insiders told a report. This shift is significant today as the phone is marketed with patriotic branding. “Made in USA” isn’t just a catchy phrase here; it carries legal weight. Backing that claim is tough when your smartphone’s parts come from Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
February 9, 2026
Pentagon urged to probe SpaceX over possible Chinese ownership — why it’s suddenly a flashpoint
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Pentagon urged to probe SpaceX over possible Chinese ownership — why it’s suddenly a flashpoint

Democratic U.S. senators pressed the Pentagon on Thursday to immediately investigate SpaceX amid claims that Chinese investors have quietly acquired stakes in the private rocket company. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that such investments could represent “a national security threat, potentially jeopardizing key military, intelligence, and civilian infrastructure.” The request targets a firm embedded deep within U.S. defense infrastructure. SpaceX handles launches for military and intelligence satellites and operates its Starlink network, which the Pentagon relies on and also uses to bolster Ukraine’s defense, lawmakers noted.
February 5, 2026
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