Owing to prolonged high temperatures in Europe, the International Grains Council (IGC) has revised its estimate for the worldwide wheat yield in the 2026/27 crop year down by 4 million tonnes to 817 million tonnes. "The extended heat has worsened the outlook for Europe, and the European Union's forecast has been downgraded for the second consecutive month," the IGC report noted. The wheat...

The EU Statistics Office reported that the number of bankrupt firms in the European Union rose by 5.7% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior three months. The largest rise in the count of bankrupt firms happened in the education and social activities (+21.1%), transportation (+11.4%), and finance (+6.8%) industries. A decline was observed in the hotel and catering industry (-2.6%),...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts a drop in global oil refining capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2026. By 2027, the agency anticipates a recovery of refining capacity by 3.5 million bpd. In July, worldwide refining capacity rose by 1.8 million bpd, yet stayed almost 5 million bpd under last year's figure, totaling 80.9 million bpd, based on IEA statistics....

Norway's Government Pension Fund, the biggest sovereign wealth fund globally with $2.3 trillion in assets, achieved record earnings in the first half of the year, according to CNBC, which references the fund's financial reports. During the period from January to June, the fund recorded a profit of 1.75 trillion Norwegian kroner ($184.9 billion). The return reached 9.4%, fueled by the expansion of...

German energy firm RWE declared it will withdraw from its offshore wind farm initiatives in the US, securing $1.2 billion in reimbursement from the Department of the Interior. The company points to the "inability to execute these projects in the US in the near future" as the explanation. RWE will reinvest this sum in initiatives to construct conventional gas-fired power stations, which includes...

Ransomware attackers, utilizing phone calls to infiltrate systems, have targeted numerous US financial firms in the last month, as reported by Reuters, referencing Google and data acquired by the agency itself. The hackers created counterfeit websites aimed at capturing passwords from workers at financial institutions and private equity firms. In a blog post released on Thursday about the...

According to Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser during a conference call with analysts, the necessity to refill strategic oil reserves will stimulate demand increase in the upcoming 18 months. "Anticipated demand for the latter part of the year is projected to be around 2 million bpd greater than in the initial half. Replenishing commercial and strategic reserves to levels prior to the conflict will...

According to a report from the European Statistical Office, which released initial data, the eurozone economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter compared to the prior three months. The GDP growth was 1% compared to the previous year. Analysts, whose collective forecast is referenced by Trading Economics, anticipated eurozone GDP growth of 0.2% from one quarter to the next and 0.5% compared to...

Japanese construction shares surged significantly following a strong earthquake that hit the island of Kyushu, according to Bloomberg, referencing market statistics. Wakachiku Construction, a firm with historical connections to Kyushu, saw an increase of 8.4% in Tokyo trading, marking its largest rise since March 18. Nittoc Construction, a producer of earthquake-proof foundations, increased by...