Global commodity traders Mercuria and Glencore have each pledged $500 million to VaultCo, an initiative that was created earlier this year as Project Vault by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to safeguard U.S. industry’s access to critical minerals ‘during periods of supply disruption or market dislocation.’ EXIM’s board greenlighted a $10 billion loan for Project Vault in early February in tandem with a $2 billion investment from the private sector. As explained by EXIM in February, ‘Project Vault establishes the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, an independently governed public-private partnership that will store essential raw materials in […]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revised down its 2026 growth forecast in the economies where it invests, citing factors such as higher energy and food prices, drought and trade disruption and low gas stocks. Growth in the EBRD regions picked up from 3.1 per cent in 2024 to 3.4 per cent in 2025, before slowing to an estimated 2.4 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026. The EBRD has now revised down its 2026 growth forecast by 0.6 percentage points relative to the previous forecast published in June, while its 2027 outlook […]

Greek ship management company Spring Marine Management S.A. has signed a four-year supply deal with Sulnox and has also pledged to invest up to £1,100,000 in the marine fuel additives company. The supply agreement covers the use of approximately 600,000 litres of Sulnox Eco across at least 24 vessels over the contract term. Spring Marine operates a fleet of tankers and bulk carriers and first introduced Sulnox Eco on a number of its vessels in 2023. Extensive operation using Coriolis mass flow meters, torque meters and engine performance monitoring systems has demonstrated consistent fuel savings averaging approximately 5%, together with […]