U.S. weighs releasing sanctioned Iranian crude

Oil prices rose as much as 3% on Thursday after Iran attacked several energy facilities across the Middle East following a strike on its South Pars gas field. Dwayne Schnell | 500px Plus | Getty Images U.S. oil prices extended their decline Friday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian…

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‘Takes money to kill bad guys’

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2026. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon’s reported $200 billion budget request for Iran war funding “could move.” “It takes money to kill bad guys,”…

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Qatar attack, semiconductor supply chain, LNG, helium

Images of mobile devices at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asian technology stocks fell on Thursday as Iran’s latest attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and a surge in oil prices rattled investor sentiment, amplifying concerns…

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Gold loans are thriving in India

Hello, I am Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of Inside India — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world’s fastest growing large economy. This week, I unpack what’s driving the rapid surge in gold‑loan growth in the world’s second‑largest bullion market. Loans against gold are…

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