The COVID Playbook Returns: Energy Rationing & The Politics Of Crisis Control Authored by Chris MacIntosh via Doug Casey's International Man , This recent headline from New Zealand should itself send chills down your spine… “Government reveals details of fuel crisis rationing plan – and who will be prioritized.” Anytime the pointy shoes get to decide who will and who will not get something, you mu...
The COVID Playbook Returns: Energy Rationing & The Politics Of Crisis Control Authored by Chris MacIntosh via Doug Casey's International Man , This recent headline from New Zealand should itself send chills down your spine… “Government reveals details of fuel crisis rationing plan – and who will be prioritized.” Anytime the pointy shoes get to decide who will and who will not get something, you must realise that you’re about to get royally screwed. The uncomfortable parallels between the Convid response and the proposed fuel rationing plan cannot be ignored. On the surface, the Fuel Response Plan looks more restrained than Covid. It’s incremental, it defers to markets in early phases, and it explicitly frames escalation as a last resort. Officials are at pains to say Phases 3 and 4 are unlikely. Then again, we saw the same BS with the Covid scam. This is deliberate positioning. The architecture of this plan is strikingly familiar… The Structural Parallels Escalating powers are dressed as prudent planning. Covid began with “two weeks to flatten the curve.” The fuel plan begins with “monitor and inform.” In both cases, the framework is designed to normalise the existence of extraordinary powers before they’re used. Phases 3 and 4 — rationing, purchasing limits, directed distribution — are legally and politically pre-legitimised by their inclusion in a published plan. The plan doesn’t just prepare for a crisis; it prepares the public to accept an intervention they haven’t yet been asked about. Most notably there is no consultation mechanism. This is pure top-down central planning. The illusion of democracy should be well and truly shattered. Sadly, I suspect the sheep will fall for it… again. Ministerial discretion is the operative mechanism. The Fuel Security Ministerial Oversight Group decides when to move between phases, guided by six criteria — none of which are automatic triggers. Ministers “will consider a broad range of information” and “assess the full picture....
Iran attacked the United Arab Emirates on Monday for the first time in almost a month as the weeks-long stalemate between the US and Iran showed signs of devolving into conflict again . The UAE said its air defense systems engaged with 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones fired from Iran at different parts of the Gulf country. Alerts in the UAE came hours after a tanker own...
Iran attacked the United Arab Emirates on Monday for the first time in almost a month as the weeks-long stalemate between the US and Iran showed signs of devolving into conflict again . The UAE said its air defense systems engaged with 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones fired from Iran at different parts of the Gulf country. Alerts in the UAE came hours after a tanker owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. was said to have been fired upon by Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz. And an oil terminal part owned by Vitol Group was said to have been attacked in the port city of Fujairah. The strikes came as the US military said it helped two American-flagged ships go through the strait as part of a new effort announced by President Donald Trump to open a lane through the waterway. The US said it fought off attacks from Iranian drones, missiles and armed small boats. While one shipping company appeared to confirm the American operation, saying its ship was escorted from the area, the broader details of the plan remain unclear . What You Need to Know Today Pulitzers Go to Washington Post, NY Times, Bloomberg The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service journalism for its reporting on the Trump administration’s overhaul of federal agencies that resulted in massive job cuts. The New York Times took home three awards, while Bloomberg News captured its third Pulitzer, winning the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category for a graphic feature story on digital scams in India. Read more Oil prices surged on the new hostilities in the Gulf area as critical energy infrastructure and tankers came under attack. Brent futures shot up 5.8% to settle above $114 a barrel . The global market loses millions of barrels of oil supplies for every day that the key shipping lane remains blocked, heightening fears of demand destruction and a global economic recession. Equities meanwhile dropped from all-time highs. And with oil prices not far fro...
Musk won’t have to give up any money he allegedly saved from delaying disclosure of initial purchase of Twitter stock Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Elon Musk settled the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit accusing the world’s richest person of waiting too long in 2022 to disclose his initial purchases of stock in Twitter, now known as X. A trust in Musk’s nam...
Musk won’t have to give up any money he allegedly saved from delaying disclosure of initial purchase of Twitter stock Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Elon Musk settled the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit accusing the world’s richest person of waiting too long in 2022 to disclose his initial purchases of stock in Twitter, now known as X. A trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5m civil penalty, without admitting wrongdoing. Musk won’t have to give up any money he allegedly saved from the delay. Continue reading...
U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA says the CopyFail bug is being actively used in hacking campaigns, and poses a major risk to servers and datacenters that rely on Linux.
U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA says the CopyFail bug is being actively used in hacking campaigns, and poses a major risk to servers and datacenters that rely on Linux.
Coverage of the Trump administration dominated the Pulitzer Prizes announced on Monday as the prize committee unleashed a searing attack on US President Donald Trump’s attempts to limit freedom of reporting. “We stand for civil discourse and against censorship,” said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honoured coverage of Trump’s immigration crackdown and his ...
Coverage of the Trump administration dominated the Pulitzer Prizes announced on Monday as the prize committee unleashed a searing attack on US President Donald Trump’s attempts to limit freedom of reporting. “We stand for civil discourse and against censorship,” said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honoured coverage of Trump’s immigration crackdown and his enrichment of his allies. “Unfortunately, this bears repeating now, as media access to the White...
Juan Arnoldo Benitez Romero/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Credit to FEMSA’s ( FMX ) management for not simply tucking tail and waiting for macroeconomic challenges that cropped up in 2025 to eventually abate. By actively looking for ways to streamline operations across the business and improve the value assortment to customers, FEMSA has managed to turn around 2025’s lackluster same-store sale...
Juan Arnoldo Benitez Romero/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Credit to FEMSA’s ( FMX ) management for not simply tucking tail and waiting for macroeconomic challenges that cropped up in 2025 to eventually abate. By actively looking for ways to streamline operations across the business and improve the value assortment to customers, FEMSA has managed to turn around 2025’s lackluster same-store sales performance while also improving margins and expanding capital returns to shareholders. FEMSA shares are up more than 25% since my last report , outperforming Tiendas 3B ( TBBB ) and Walmex ( WMMVY ), though neither are great comps (FEMSA doesn’t really have easy/natural comps). I still have some concerns about the pace of same-store traffic in the core OXXO business, and macro conditions aren’t getting any easier. At the same time, though, I see multiple opportunities to further improve FEMSA’s collection of businesses, and a combination of mid-single-digit long-term revenue growth and improving free cash flow generation can support worthwhile upside from here. Q1 Results – Another Beat, But Arguably Not Quite As Good As It May Seem FEMSA once again beat sell-side expectations for the quarter , and while I’m tempted not to look a gift horse in the mouth, the reality is that there were a few “buts” that at least need to be mentioned with the results. Overall revenue rose about 6% (or closer to 9% on a comparable basis) and came in a little ahead of sell-side expectations. Coca-Cola FEMSA ( KOF ) posted comparable revenue growth of over 6% on a little more than 1% volume growth. OXXO Mexico reported better than 8% revenue growth on 6% same-store growth, 100 bp ahead of the Street and 440 bp ahead of the comparable ANTAD average. Americas and Mobility (the fuel and non-OXXO Mexico retail operations) grew almost 11% on a comp basis, with over 13% same-store comp growth. Sales in the European business rose about 2% on a comp basis, while Health sales rose 6.5% on a comp basis...