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Future of Coal Series

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Despite major shifts in the industry and serious worries in coal communities, today coal still supplies nearly 40% of our electricity. According to the Bureau of Land Management, one out of every five homes and business in the US use electricity made from Wyoming coal. But what does the future look like for fossil fuels in a world where there is increasing pressure to keep them in the ground? In this series, we examine the role of coal as an energy source in a world where constraints on carbon emissions are adopted to mitigate global warming. Indeed, the challenge for governments and industry is to find a path that mitigates carbon emissions yet continues to utilize coal to meet urgent energy needs, especially in developing economies.

Future of Coal Series

Australian trade deficit narrows in September, driven by firmer coal exports

Nov 03, 2016 05:25 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Australias trade balance improved during the month of September, driven by strong exports of coal and significantly beating market expectations. This surprise improvement was driven by a spike in resource exports, with...

Future of Coal Series

Australia's coal politics are undermining democratic and Indigenous rights

Oct 26, 2016 09:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Can Australia achieve fair and open decision-making when big coal players are involved? The case of Adanis proposed Carmichael coal mine suggests the answer is no, and Indigenous land owners are bearing the brunt. The...

Future of Coal Series

The gas industry needs a carbon price to compete with coal

Oct 25, 2016 17:20 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Putting a price on carbon would benefit the Australian gas industry, at least in the short term. It is therefore in the interests of gas producers to lobby for the emissions trading scheme proposed for the electricity...

Future of Coal Series

China’s coal imports likely to remain strong, policy measures to dictate prices

Oct 20, 2016 06:36 am UTC| Economy Commentary

Coal imports in China are expected to remain strong in the near term, despite efforts to limit the impact of capacity closures on utilities, while prices are likely to be dictated by the countrys policy...

Future of Coal Series

Bangladesh is building a dirty and expensive coal plant next to the world's largest mangrove forest

Sep 27, 2016 13:42 pm UTC| Insights & Views

A controversial new coal power plant being built in Bangladesh is already running out of friends. Environmentalists worry it will spell disaster for the worlds largest mangrove forest, while locals worry about pollution...

Future of Coal Series

King Coal is dethroned in the US – and that's good news for the environment

Sep 23, 2016 08:08 am UTC| Insights & Views

This is the worst year in decades for U.S. coal. During the first six months of 2016, U.S. coal production was down a staggering 28 percent compared to 2015, and down 33 percent compared to 2014. For the first time ever,...

Future of Coal Series

Pacific pariah: how Australia’s love of coal has left it out in the diplomatic cold

Sep 23, 2016 08:06 am UTC| Insights & Views

Australias Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will have some explaining to do when he attends the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Pohnpei, Micronesia, this week. Australias continued determination to dig up coal,...

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Economy

China Holds Lending Rates Steady Amid Global Oil Price Surge and Middle East Tensions

China is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the tenth straight month in March, according to a Reuters poll, as soaring global oil prices fueled by escalating Middle East conflict introduce...

Asian Markets Tumble as BOJ Holds Rates, Oil Surges Past $110

Asian stock markets declined sharply on Thursday as a combination of a cautious Bank of Japan decision, soaring oil prices, and a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve rattled investor confidence across the region. Japans Nikkei...

Asian Currencies Rebound as Dollar Weakens, BOJ Holds Rates

Asian currencies staged a modest recovery on Thursday after suffering steep losses overnight, as the U.S. dollar pulled back following a brief surge driven by stronger-than-expected inflation data and cautious signals from...

Japan's Parliament Backs Dovish BOJ Board Members, Raising Questions on Rate Hike Path

Japans lower house of parliament has approved Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis nominations of two monetary doves academics Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato to serve on the Bank of Japans nine-member policy board. The decision...

BOJ Holds Interest Rates Steady Amid Middle East Uncertainty

Japans central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 0.75% following a two-day policy meeting that concluded on Thursday, a decision that aligned with broad market expectations. The Bank of Japans move comes at a...

Politics

Trump Warns of U.S. Strike on Iran's South Pars Gas Field Over Qatar Threat

President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that Israel has agreed to pause its attacks on Irans South Pars gas field, but issued a stark warning that any renewed Iranian aggression toward Qatars liquefied natural gas...

DOJ Antitrust Chief Rejects Political Fast-Track for Paramount-Skydance Deal

The head of the U.S. Department of Justices antitrust division has firmly dismissed suggestions that political connections could accelerate regulatory approval for the proposed Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner...

Trump Eyes Troop Deployment to Middle East Amid Escalating Iran Conflict

The Trump administration is weighing a significant military escalation in the Middle East, with reports indicating that thousands of U.S. troops could be deployed to the region as part of its ongoing campaign against Iran....

Russian Drone Strikes Hit Odesa Apartments and Lviv Security HQ

Russian drone attacks targeted multiple Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Thursday, causing widespread damage and injuries across the country. In the southern port city of Odesa, drones struck several residential...

Iran-Israel War Escalates: Energy Infrastructure Attacks Shake Global Oil Markets

The ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran reached a dangerous new threshold this week as Iran accused Israel of striking facilities within the massive South Pars gas field one of the worlds largest...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Xiaomi's AI Model "Hunter Alpha" Mistaken for DeepSeek's Next Release

A mysterious artificial intelligence model that appeared anonymously on the developer platform OpenRouter last week has been identified as a product of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, not the widely anticipated next release...

Apple Defies China's Smartphone Slump with Strong Early 2026 Sales

Apple has recorded a remarkable 23% jump in China smartphone sales during the first nine weeks of 2026, outperforming a broader market that contracted by 4% over the same period. The surge highlights Apples strengthening...

Cyberattack on Stryker Triggers U.S. Government Warning Over Microsoft Intune Security

A cyberattack targeting medical device giant Stryker Corporation last week has prompted urgent action from U.S. federal cybersecurity authorities. The March 11 incident severely disrupted Strykers core operations,...

Elon Musk Confirms SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla Will Continue Large-Scale Nvidia Chip Orders

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind some of the worlds most ambitious tech ventures, confirmed late Thursday that his companies SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla plan to keep purchasing Nvidia chips at significant scale....

Micron Technology Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates, Issues Strong AI-Driven Outlook

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) delivered a standout second-quarter performance, surpassing Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue as surging demand for AI-optimized memory chips continues to reshape the...