US to Join Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in UAE Next Week

US Industrial Production Unexpectedly Drops In March (After Huge Upward Revision For Feb) At first glance the 0.5% MoM decline in US Industrial production (considerably worse than than the 0.1% MoM rise expected - and dragging YoY growth in IP down to +0.74%) is bad news... suggesting immediate impacts from the war are being felt and sparking headlines decrying President Trump's actions. Source: Bloomberg However, while we agree that the decline is notable, the fact that February's data was revised drastically higher, from +0.2% to +0.7% MoM, means that over the two...

House Unanimously Approves Bill To End 76-Day DHS Shutdown, Sending Measure To Trump Well that was anticlimactic... On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing the way to end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history after 76 days. The measure now heads to President Trump’s desk. The shutdown, which began February 14, will officially conclude once the president signs the legislation into law. Democrats had long objected to funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border...

Big Oil Backs Mazama's $135 Million Bet On Superhot Geothermal Mazama Energy announced $135 million in new capital with an oversubscribed Series B that included ConocoPhillips and Shell Ventures. With Devon Energy initially backing Fervo in 2023, a pattern is emerging with oil and gas veterans placing their bets in the geothermal industry.  Some of the techniques developed by the O&G industry are translating well to geothermal projects. Horizontal drilling, well completions, and underground reservoir expertise are finding new purpose in an industry that is far more politically neutral than the...