Economy
Five EU Finance Ministers Just Revived the Windfall Tax Playbook. The Energy Industry Says It Will Not Work Twice.
Five EU finance ministers demand a windfall tax on energy firms as Brent tops $110 and eurozone inflation hits 2.5%. The ECB meets in 23 days.
Economy
Europe Has the Money. It Does Not Have the Confidence to Spend It.
Euro area saving rate stuck at 15% despite 8 ECB rate cuts. Survey shows half of households save from fear of taxes, half from income anxiety. The war made it worse.
Economy
Europe’s Energy Bill Just Doubled. The ECB Cannot Cut Rates Into an Oil Shock.
ECB held at 2.00% and raised 2026 inflation to 2.6%. Growth cut to 0.9%. Markets now price hikes, not cuts. Europe's energy import bill just doubled.
Economy
Europe Was Told the Energy Crisis Would Be Targeted and Temporary. The Commission Just Blocked the Only Tool That Could Make It So.
Dombrovskis warned of a stagflationary shock that could cut EU growth by 0.6pp. Hours later the Commission blocked the fiscal escape clause. G7 meets Monday.
Economy
Eurozone Industrial Output Just Fell for the Second Straight Month. The Energy Shock Has Not Even Landed Yet.
Eurozone industrial output fell 1.2% year-on-year in January as Goldman cut growth to 1%. The ZEW crashed 58.8 points. The energy shock has barely started.
Economy
Four Central Banks, One Week, Zero Answers on Oil
The ECB and Bank of England both decide on March 19. Both hold. The ECB releases updated staff projections - the first since Hormuz closed.
Economy
Germany Is Borrowing €174 Billion in a Single Year. The Factories Just Started Responding.
Germany is borrowing €174 billion in 2026. A €500 billion infrastructure fund and a €83 billion defence budget are rewriting Europe's largest economy from scratch.
Economy
Day Four in Iran. Insurers Have Left the Strait. The Market Hasn’t Priced What Comes Next.
Day four of Operation Epic Fury. Tanker insurers pulled Gulf cover, VLCC rates hit record $423K/day, Brent surged to $85, and the Stoxx 600 lost 5.2%.
Economy
TotalEnergies Just Hit a Record. Europe’s Defense Rally Faded by Lunch.
TotalEnergies hits a 52-week high at €73 as Brent surges 8 percent on Iran war, while European defense stocks rally on €800 billion ReArm Europe spending and 260 percent gains since 2022.
Economy
Eight Countries Shut Their Skies and the World’s Busiest Air Corridor Just Went Dark
Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran ground 3,200+ flights, shut airspace across eight countries, and knock Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi offline as EASA warns of prolonged disruption.
Economy
Nine Days After the Supreme Court Killed His Tariffs, Trump Is Stalling on Refunds and Rebuilding the Wall
DOJ seeks 4-month delay on $175B tariff refunds as 2,000+ lawsuits mount. EU votes March 4 on Turnberry deal. Section 122 clock ticks toward July.
