Industry
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that America First Refining (AFR) will build a new refinery in the state of Texas. This means that the US will have the first major refinery built in the last 50 years.
The escalation of the conflict around Iran is beginning to go far beyond geopolitics and is gradually affecting the global automotive industry. Experts note that tensions in the Middle East are already affecting business expectations, and automakers are being forced to revise their plans for the coming months.
This is about the Al-Ruwais industrial complex. A fire broke out on its territory due to a drone attack. This refinery is the fourth largest in the world in terms of production capacity and the largest in the UAE, Logos Press reported citing RBC.
China started 2026 with unexpectedly strong foreign trade figures. According to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, the country’s exports in January-February grew by 21.8% year-on-year, significantly exceeding analysts’ expectations and becoming the fastest growth rate in recent years.
Rapidly rising prices for gas and oil products are becoming a serious social problem and may result in irreparable economic losses for businesses.
The sugar market is not about “sweetness”, but about economy in its purest form: excess supply, rising costs and managerial mistakes are instantly converted into price. That is why there is always a lot of information noise around sugar – slogans “let’s provide the market with our own”, “the market needs protection”, “importers are enemies”. But the noise does not change the main thing: the market does not punish imports – the market punishes inefficiency. And today this is evident all over Europe.
Scientists from the University of Oulu (Finland) have developed epoxy and polyester resins based on sawdust, straw and other organic waste, which have greater strength compared to materials made of petroleum, Logos Press reports.
The Giurgiulesti Free International Port will have a new legal regime, which simplifies the management of the territory, stimulates investments and protects the rights of residents.
The Katko uranium mining joint venture, whose shareholders are France’s Orano (51%) and Kazatomprom (49%), significantly increased production last year. For the French co-owner, the enterprise has become a key foreign asset in 2025.
A new factory of the company “Brodecchi” S.R.L., one of the major producers of bakery products in Moldova, will be built on the site of the old one, following the model of its modernized production in the city of Orhei. It is planned to equip the production facility with modern equipment, as well as to expand the premises and improve working conditions.
Microchips, biotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence will be excluded from the list of “strategic sectors” to be (partially) purchased from European manufacturers. Only heavy industrial goods such as mild steel and cement, aluminum and plastics used in the construction and automotive industries remain. These goods will have an advantage in the awarding of government contracts.
On the first day of China’s annual parliament, the government will unveil a new technology development strategy for 2026-2030 aimed at increasing competition with the West and scaling up innovation in AI, robotics and space.
Artificial intelligence is used at the enterprises of Bellegprom Concern, which includes more than 60 light industry enterprises in Belarus. First of all, it is used to develop product design.
China’s official business activity index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector remained below the 50 mark for the second consecutive month, indicating a continued contraction in output amid weak domestic demand and low investment.
Tesla CEO Ilon Musk has warned employees of the Tesla Giga Berlin plant of a possible freeze on the company’s expansion if the influence of labor unions grows. The statement was made against the backdrop of elections to the works council and became one of the most resonant corporate signals of the week in Europe.
China has taken an important step in regulating its fast-growing humanoid robotics industry by promulgating the first national system of standards. They cover the entire production chain and life cycle of humanoid robots and embodied artificial intelligence (AI).
In a tense global order, the struggle for control of energy and mineral resources is increasingly seen as a matter of national security. From Venezuela and Greenland to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ukraine, competition for strategic resources shapes global power dynamics, alliances and conflicts.
SpaceX CEO Ilon Musk has declared high confidence in achieving full reusability of the Starship V3 rocket system.
Leading Chinese technology companies intend to intensify production of 7-nanometer (nm) chips 25 times by 2030 and master the process of developing 5-nm chips, according to Logos Press.
Foreign trade relations between Moldova and Ukraine have become the subject of heated economic discussions in recent years. And this is against the background of the fact that Chisinau constantly emphasizes Kiev’s unconditional support in the war with Russia, claims “brotherly ties” with its neighbors and unity of European integration aspirations.
