Supertanker Hauling Saudi Diesel Heads to Fuel-Starved Europe
The VLCC Nissos Keros loaded about 2 million barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel from Saudi Arabia's Jubail terminal and is currently signaling France where it's due to arrive Aug. 30, according to Kpler and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Business Wire
13 minutes ago
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Wikifarmer Launches UK Operations to Transform Olive Oil Sourcing for British Businesses
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wikifarmer, the Athens and Seville-based online agricultural marketplace, is launching UK operations to connect British businesses directly with Mediterranean olive oil producers. With Spanish olive oil prices down 53% year-over-year to €3.55/kg¹, this expansion targets Britain's £320 million olive oil market², projected to reach $1.55 billion by 2030⁶. "Our platform offers free access to quality European producers, with no hidden charges" Share Direct Access. Lower Costs. Greater Transparency. Wikifarmer's platform connects businesses directly with verified Mediterranean producers, eliminating intermediaries to provide transparent pricing, reliable logistics, and flexible credit terms with no subscription fees. The free-to-use model has connected over 7,000 buyers with 15,000 suppliers, facilitating millions in direct trade transactions. "The UK represents a massive opportunity to revolutionize how British businesses source Mediterranean olive oil," says Wikifarmer Co-Founder and CEO, Ilias Sousis. "We offer buyers direct access to quality European producers with the reliability and support they demand." Meeting UK Market Needs British businesses faced olive oil import price increases of 44% in 2024 while dealing with supply chain uncertainties. "Our platform offers free access to quality European producers, with no hidden charges," says Sam Frearson, UK Sales Manager. The UK's £128 billion food and agriculture sector¹¹ relies on traditional supply chains with multiple intermediaries, driving up costs and reducing transparency. Spain supplies 62% of UK olive oil imports, Italy 26%⁴, but most trade passes through costly middlemen. UK olive oil import values rose 31.7% to £333.2 million in 2023⁸, with olive oil comprising 87.1% of Britain's olive market⁷. Recent recovery in global production and a 13.9% drop in EU prices signal market stabilization¹⁰, making now ideal for direct sourcing. Expansion Plans The UK team will focus on onboarding buyers in wholesale, hospitality, retail, and food processing. This expansion advances Wikifarmer's vision to create a digital marketplace connecting farmers directly with buyers, eliminating intermediaries for fair, transparent trade. The company plans further European expansion throughout 2025. About Wikifarmer Wikifarmer ( combines the world's largest agricultural knowledge library with an online B2B marketplace. With over 20,000 direct transactions, Wikifarmer helps businesses reduce costs and supports farmers' profitability.
Bloomberg
14 minutes ago
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Stellantis Sees €1.2 Billion Tariff Hit in Second Half of 2025
Stellantis NV expects to take a hit of around €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) from tariffs in the second half of this year as the maker of Jeep sport utility vehicles and Fiat cars reinstates financial guidance following the European Union's trade deal with the US. The manufacturer sees a low-single digit adjusted operating income margin for the second half, it said Tuesday. Stellantis' previous full-year forecast — which it scrapped in April due to the tariff chaos — had predicted a mid-single digit margin. The company earlier this month announced a surprise €2.3 billion first-half net loss after cutting investments and tallying the cost of trade wars.
Yahoo
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China Social Spending Hits Highest Level in Nearly 2 Decades
(Bloomberg) -- China's government spending has pivoted toward social welfare to a degree unseen for at least a generation, as it runs a record budget deficit with a focus on boosting consumption to cushion the blow from Donald Trump's tariffs. Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild San Francisco in Talks With Vanderbilt for Downtown Campus Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy The latest evidence arrived on Monday, when China announced it will start offering nationwide cash handouts to families as an incentive for couples to have children. While Beijing is channeling less on-budget investment into infrastructure, expenditure that covers outlays ranging from education to employment and social security climbed to nearly 5.7 trillion yuan ($795 billion) in the first half — the highest for the period since the data series began in 2007. That represents an increase of 6.4% from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on figures published by the Ministry of Finance. Authorities could renew their pledge to prioritize support for domestic demand, as top officials prepare to meet this month to set the economic agenda for the rest of the year while trade talks with Washington continue. The splurge was almost double the increase in total spending under the general public budget, the first and biggest account among the government's four fiscal books. Infrastructure-related expenditure in the account — allocated for costs such as environmental protection, irrigation facilities and transportation — was 4.5% less than a year earlier. Fiscal priorities have shifted after the trade war unleashed by Trump threatened China with millions of job losses and put pressure on its patchy social safety net. Under the new policy of childcare subsidies, the government will spend 3,600 yuan a year per kid under the age of three, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Citigroup Inc. estimates a total lump-sum payout of 117 billion yuan in the second half of 2025, while Morgan Stanley puts the program's annual cost at 100 billion yuan, assuming about 9 million births a year. Although President Xi Jinping has in the past resisted large-scale handouts to families over what he's called 'welfarism,' China responded in recent months by ramping up government support for households. The goal is partly to bolster domestic demand in the face of US tariffs, which have sent the country's shipments to the world's biggest consumer market slumping this year. 'Better supporting people's well-being will help boost domestic demand and is part of the rebalancing of the Chinese economy,' said Tommy Xie, head of Asia macro research at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. At the same time, China launched construction of a 1.2 trillion yuan mega-dam in Tibet this month, a massive project that will likely take years to complete. 'The room for infrastructure expansion in the future will shrink marginally' even though it can play a 'supporting role at critical times,' OCBC's Xie said. Social security and employment saw the biggest gain in spending related to people's well-being, up almost 8% in the first half from a year earlier. A survey carried out by China's central bank showed an employment sentiment index hit a record low in the second quarter, illustrating the need for more government aid for job seekers. Outlays on education increased 5.9% and rose 4% on medical treatment and health care. Meanwhile local governments' tapping of the annual quota of new bonds meant mainly for infrastructure investment slowed. Provinces have issued about 56% of new special local bonds allowed for this year, down from an average of 61% for January-July in the five years through 2024, according to Bloomberg calculations based on MOF numbers. Previously, the favored way to jumpstart growth was by spending on areas like roads, railways or industrial parks, much of it done by provincial governments. Instead, the government has accelerated the issuance of sovereign notes this year, primarily to cover the budget shortfall for routine public expenditure. Chinese provinces also sold substantial volumes of bonds in the first seven months to refinance their so-called hidden debt, as Beijing seeks to contain credit risks from deteriorating local finances. What Bloomberg Economics Says... 'An uneven consumption recovery in the first half highlights a key risk for China's growth outlook: a sustained improvement in domestic demand may require time to take hold. The experience from 1998–2003 suggests that even with strong policy support, lasting gains in consumer spending can be slow to emerge — with false starts along the way.' — David Qu and Chang Shu. For full analysis, click here Government borrowing was crucial for replenishing state coffers depleted by China's years-long property slump. Revenue from real estate-related taxes, including deeds and urban land use, fell 5.6% on year in the first half to 975.3 billion yuan. Provinces earned 1.43 trillion yuan in the period from selling land, a contraction of 6.5% despite a rebound of over 20% in June thanks to market recovery in some big cities. Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cautioned, however, on 'the sustainability of land sales revenue improvement' and maintained their forecast that government land sales revenue may decline further this year by up to 10%. Total tax revenue shrank 1.2% on year in the first half to 9.29 trillion yuan, with income from levies on such transactions as vehicle purchases posting double-digit declines. Non-tax revenue — which includes compensation for the use of state-controlled resources and assets and fines — rose 3.7% to 2.27 trillion yuan. It grew despite a decline in the money collected from fines, a Finance Ministry official said at a Friday briefing. Revenue from the tax on vehicle purchases plunged 19.1% in January-June from a year ago, the biggest drop among all categories and more than triple its decline in the same period of 2024. Slumping income from the vehicle purchase tax shows the impact of the government's decision to extend the suspension of a levy on buying new energy vehicles, such as electric cars, to 2027, Huachuang Securities analysts including Zhang Yu wrote in a note on Friday. The shift away from fuel-powered cars also weighed on revenue from the consumption tax by reducing demand for gasoline and diesel, they said. The government is losing a total of 265 billion yuan per year in revenues from the vehicle purchase tax and the consumption levy due to the pivot to cars powered by alternative-energy sources, Huachuang Securities estimates. (Updates with detail on government bond issuance this year.) Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
