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Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has almost completely ground to a halt since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February, triggering an acute oil crisis in the Persian Gulf. The triggers are the military escalation, threats against shipping, attacks on tankers, and the fear of further strikes against production […]

In Hemer, in the Märkischer Kreis district of North Rhine-Westphalia, part of a house in the Stephanopel neighborhood is being demolished to allow a wind turbine transport with 78-meter-long rotor blades to navigate the narrow route through the valley. This is due to three Enercon E-160 wind turbines being built in the northern Balver Forest

Volkswagen is intensifying its cost-cutting measures in Wolfsburg following a massive slump in profits, planning to eliminate around 50,000 jobs across the entire group in Germany by 2030. The automaker announced this after already reaching an agreement with unions at the end of 2024 to reduce 35,000 jobs, primarily at its core brand. The more

The war in Iran is now hitting Europe’s gas supply hard, as several LNG tankers originally destined for Europe have changed course and are now sailing to Asia. The triggers are the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the temporary disruption of LNG shipments from Qatar, and the sharp rise in prices on

German industrial orders plummeted in January 2026. According to the Federal Statistical Office, order intake fell by 11.1 percent compared to the previous month, significantly more than economists had predicted. The decisive factor was primarily the cancellation of an exceptionally large number of large orders following the strong December, coupled with a massive collapse in

In Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, the planned River City Energy Project, a 500-megawatt solar park, is facing significant pressure because a new analysis estimates the actual land area required to be much larger than previously thought. This is based on a comparison by analysts Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling between the solar project and a

Since April 7, 2025, a high-profile case against the Federal Republic of Germany has been pending before the District Court in Washington, D.C. Two Strabag subsidiaries are seeking to enforce an arbitration award of more than €330 million, granted in 2024 by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID). The case stems

Between 1913 and 2024, financial power in Germany shifted significantly to the federal government, and according to an analysis by the Institute for Conservative Economic Policy, this fundamentally altered federalism to this day. The restructuring affected the Reich/federation, the states, and municipalities simultaneously, while the state assumed an increasing number of tasks, expenditures, and regulatory

BASF is relocating jobs from its Berlin site to Asia. The affected areas include financial and human resources services, as well as supply chain-related tasks. The chemical company plans to consolidate these functions in India and Malaysia. This move is part of a comprehensive restructuring and is prompted by intensified cost-cutting measures. The critical issue

After more than 160 years, the story of the Baden-Württemberg-based timber company Mocopinus has come to an end in insolvency. The company, headquartered in Ulm, announced on March 5, 2026, that all three German locations would be shut down as a result of the failed insolvency proceedings. The reason for the closure is that, despite

A massive waste disposal problem from the wind industry has escalated in the city of Sweetwater in Nolan County, Texas. In February, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Global Fiberglass Solutions and affiliated companies. According to authorities, more than 3,000 wind turbine blades, along with other materials from decommissioned turbines, were stored on

Germany’s metal and electrical engineering industries face further massive job losses in 2026. The employers’ association Gesamtmetall anticipates the loss of up to 150,000 jobs this year. The warning stems from the ongoing crisis in the sector, which shows no signs of abating despite a significant increase in orders in the last quarter of 2025.

In the Hofgeismar district, the Reinhardswald wind farm project faces another major intervention in nature and infrastructure. The transport of the 75-meter-long rotor blades will now take place via a newly established route to the forest near Gottsbüren, as the originally planned delivery route is no longer accessible for heavy transport due to the reduced

In Germany, the expansion of wind farms near residential areas has been exacerbating the conflict surrounding the energy transition for years, because new installations generate noise, alter the landscape, and cause a significant drop in property value for many homes. A study by the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, based on 2.7 million real

The IG Metall union suffered a major setback in the works council election at Tesla in Grünheide, Oder-Spree district, losing significant support among the workforce. Voting took place from Monday to Wednesday of last week at the Gigafactory. According to preliminary results, the “Giga United” list, led by incumbent works council chairwoman Michaela Schmitz, won