All German Men Aged 17-45 Must Now Obtain Army Approval For Trips Abroad Lasting Over 3 Months

Ukraine Donor Fatigue: Half Of Countries Withdraw From Czech Ammunition Initiative According to Czech President Petr Pavel, a full half of the Kiev-supporting Western coalition has quietly abandoned Prague's flagship initiative to jointly procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine's military. Pavel said that while 18 countries participated last year, only nine are still making financial contributions now. "This initiative has been delivering up to 50 per cent of all large caliber ammunition to the Ukrainians, so in this sense it cannot be replaced easily by anything else," the FT on Tuesday quoted...

When Will Gasoline Prices Return To Pre-War Levels? Authored by Robert Rapier via OilPrice.com, Oil futures have quickly priced in a favorable outcome from U.S.-Iran diplomacy, but physical oil flows, shipping networks, and refinery supply chains take much longer to normalize. Low global inventories and the need to replenish strategic and commercial stockpiles could create significant demand for crude even after supply disruptions ease. Gasoline prices are influenced by refining capacity, inventories, distribution costs, and seasonal demand, meaning pump prices may remain elevated even if crude oil continues to fall. Gasoline prices have started...

"It's Getting Worse": HSBC Warns Commodities Face Squeeze As Chokepoint Chaos Spreads The key takeaway heading into the weekend is that maritime chokepoint chaos has spread from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while fighting across the Black Sea has intensified between Russia and Ukraine. The widening disruptions have prompted several institutional desks this week to warn that a potential squeeze on physical commodity markets could send prices from energy to agricultural goods higher. "The Middle East conflict has escalated, putting a substantial squeeze back into commodity markets,"...