MINING M&A: The world’s largest mining company, BHP Group, has made a takeover approach for smaller rival Anglo American, a move that could spark the biggest shakeup in the industry in over a decade. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

CHART OF THE DAY: American total oil exports (crude and refined products, on a gross basis) surged last week pass the 12 million barrels per day level | #OOTT #ShaleRevolution #Permian #Texas

Vietnam is calling for more coal production to avoid blackouts this summer 🇻🇳⛏️

💦 Low water reserves threaten to curb hydropower
🚢 Recent jump in LNG prices made it too expensive
🪨 Asian emerging nations are relying on coal to boost energy security

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Last night, the US Senate followed the House of Representatives and approved the new package of sanctions on Iranian oil. President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law as soon as today.

But they key, as I argued on my @Opinion column below, is about enforcement | #OOTT

LME Takes Aim at Traders’ Russian Metal Games With New Rules

Mark Burton

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Dedicated to the non-native English speakers:

Discussing a column today, I told my editor Nicole Torres that a situation looked like a “guacamole” (the 🥑 recipe).

Lots of explanation — and some bemusement — later, it seems I meant to say a “whac-a-mole” (the game).

😳🫣🤓🙃

Russian state-controlled Sberbank is to pay $8bn in dividends after posting its largest-ever profit last year, in a sign of the health of the country’s banking sector despite sanctions. More money for the Kremlin's war machine, Anastasia Stognei reports

ft.com/content/8eaf26…

CHART OF THE DAY: Since 2022, China has bypassed American sanctions, buying huge amounts of Iranian oil by simple re-branding it as Malaysian.

US lawmakers want to close the route — for that, there’s not need of new sanctions; all what’s required is for the White House to

Global EV Outlook 2024 is out now! 🚘

It shows the world’s electric car fleet is continuing to grow strongly, despite near-term challenges in some markets.

This year, global sales are set to rise to 17 million.

Explore the analysis 👇 iea.li/3QdLkgC

COLUMN: Tired of watching China flouting American sanctions on Iranian oil, US lawmakers have approved a new set of penalties.

The effort is pointless: what Washington needs is to enforce current sanctions, rather than new ones.

#OOTT #Iran @Opinion bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Google Doc just autocorrected 'on[g]oing energy transition' to 'annoying energy transition' and that would have been a funny one to miss.

AFRICA AND COMMODITIES: China bails out the junta ruling Niger, with an oil-for-cash loan deal worth ~$400 million. Niger is about to become an oil exporter thanks to an oil pipeline built by China via neighboring Benin.

#Africa #Niger #OOTT bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

We agree on the permanence of Against the Gods. Soon, Mohamed A. El-Erian & Javier Blas, together. ft.com/content/7f5538…

Interesting interview with outgoing BASF CEO Brudermueller

✈️ Germany gas costs have declined, but are still higher than the Middle East & US
👀 Benefited from cheap Russian gas for 30 years, but everyone should have reacted completely differently to annexation of Crimea in 2014

Umbra synthetic aperture radar imagery acquired 0648Z 19APR2024 showed evidence of damage to the Iranian S-300PMU2 strategic surface-to-air missile battery in Isfahan since 15APR2024. A probable damaged 30N6E target engagement radar was visible in imagery still on the radar

Another domino falls in the Sahel.

U.S. will withdraw its troops from Niger, weeks after the country’s junta told Washington the troops weren’t welcomed any longer. Earlier this week, Russian mercenaries arrived.

#Africa #Niger

nytimes.com/2024/04/19/us/…