Economy

Middle East crisis  Oil market
Oil above $100 for first time in seven weeks

Bredon oil climbed above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July 24 after the escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran, Reuters notes.

Brent oil peaked at $100.13 in the morning, while American WTI oil approached $95 a barrel.

The attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi energy facilities this week threaten to greatly expand the conflict, the news agency writes. 

Tariff crisis  Trump's tariff policy
US escalates tariff dispute - stops Canadian goods

The US is stepping up its efforts in the trade conflict with Canada and stops imports of dairy products, motorcycles and alcohol from the country, Bloomberg reports. The import ban will take effect in three weeks, the White House says.

– President Trump will continue to use the tools at his disposal to defend the interests of American workers and exporters, says US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement.

Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc announces that the government is evaluating the situation. On Tuesday, Canadian retaliatory tariffs against the United States of between 15 and 50 percent came into effect.

EU policy
New EU proposal: More than price should govern procurement

It will be easier to take more than price into account in public procurement, according to an EU proposal that has been presented, reports TT.

Things such as quality, environmental requirements, safety and social conditions will be allowed to play a role. In addition, a “European preference” will be taken into account, according to the proposal.

“With this reform, we are cutting red tape, giving public buyers more flexibility and making it easier for our small businesses to compete in the internal market,” said Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné in a press release.

The Swedish law on public procurement follows the rules of the EU procurement directive.

China's Global Ambitions
Experts: China's Shipping Past the Arctic Not Profitable

The Arctic route that a few Chinese commercial cargo ships have begun to take north of Russia is not profitable, experts conclude in the New York Times.

- China is a master at doing things that do not seem commercially viable at first, says Dexter Roberts at the Atlantic Council think tank.

On the other hand, the route brings China and Russia closer together, says Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Defense Priorities think tank in Washington.

Texas gears up to fight financial crime on the state’s “Y’all Street”

High-profile financial cases have historically been heard in the district court in New York. But as more and more companies move to Austin, Texas, the district is set to beef up its capabilities to investigate insider trading, corruption and corporate fraud, writes Bloomberg.

“Now that we have a Y’all Street, we will need to have well-balanced regulation for all markets,” says Texas District Attorney Ryan Raybould.

The emerging financial market in the state has been jokingly called Y’all Street, as a paraphrase of New York’s Wall Street.