#Chinese creditors who have struggled to recover funds from distressed property developers on the mainland are increasingly turning to Hong Kong courts in their quest for repayment

Hawkeye 360, a provider of satellite-based signals intelligence for #US government agencies, is raising $416 million in a USIPO priced at the top of a marketed range, sources say

Proposed #UN resolution threatens Iran with sanctions if it doesn't allow freedom of navigation.

UNITED NATIONS — A proposed UN resolution threatens Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t halt attacks on ships in the Strait of #Hormuz, stop imposing “illegal tolls,” and disclose the placement of all mines to allow freedom of navigation.

The draft Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait to enable the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.

It is the latest diplomatic effort by the U.S. and its Gulf allies after a watered-down resolution aimed at opening the strait was vetoed by China and Russia hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday accused Iran of continuing “to hold the world’s economy hostage” by trying to close the strait, threatening to attack ships, laying sea mines, and attempting to charge tolls “for the world’s most important waterway.”

“The United States looks forward to this resolution being voted on in the coming days and to receiving support from Security Council members and a broad base of co-sponsors,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told reporters Monday he believes the new, narrow proposal will gain the necessary support it needs to pass the 15-member council, without triggering opposition or a veto from Iran’s allies.

The U.S. and Gulf nations proposed the new draft as the Trump administration tries to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, which carried about 20% of the world’s crude oil before the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28. A shaky ceasefire remains in effect.

The proposed resolution, which was drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and thus could be enforced militarily, threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply. The earlier resolution removed a Chapter 7 reference but was still vetoed.

The new draft resolution reaffirms the right of all countries to defend their vessels from attacks and provocations, and orders all other countries not to assist Iran in closing the strait or levying tolls.

The draft also “welcomes ongoing efforts to deconflict and coordinate safe and secure transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, expresses support for ongoing efforts to seek a durable peace in the region, and encourages member states in the region to strengthen dialogue and consultations in this regard.”

Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press

Unidentified projectiles were fired at a tanker in the Strait of #Hormuz off the #UAE coast, the #UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

"UKMTO has received a report of an incident 79 nautical miles [125.9 km] north of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. A tanker has reported being hit by unknown projectiles," the statement says.

All crew was reported safe. No environmental impact has been reported.

#News : #China rejects #US sanctions on #refineries over #Iran oil links. #TradeNews

MT Sarv Shakti gas carrier flying the flag of the Marshall Islands with the Indian cargo on board safely traversed the Strait of Hormuz and is expected to reach India by mid-May, the ANI news agency said.

According to its sources, MT Sarv Shakti, carrying 46,313 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas, with twenty crewmembers on board, including eighteen Indian nationals, went through the Strait of Hormuz on May 2 and is estimated to reach the port of Visakhapatnam on May 13. #TradeNews

#Oil prices reach wartime high as #Iran and U.S. tanker blockades remain. Follow for live updates here. Both Iran and the U.S. have blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery that in peacetime sees about 20 per cent of worldwide crude shipments.

Gas in B.C. now costs more than C$2/L, with prices elsewhere not far behind.

U.S. wants to work with Canada on energy trade: sources

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Canadians looking for insights into the future of bilateral trade this week that “America First” is policy, not a slogan, and they should not expect a return to the way things were.

Sources who attended a roundtable with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade czar in Washington on Wednesday told The Canadian Press that Greer was measured and pragmatic as he laid out the administration’s policy goals ahead of the coming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.

About 40 people attended the event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, including Conservative MPs Jamil Jivani, Michael Chong and Shuv Majumdar. Also in the room were multiple executives from oil and gas companies.

Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman sat two seats away from Greer during the meeting. Alberta’s Washington trade representative Nathan Cooper and Manitoba’s trade representative Richard Madan were also in attendance.

Greer said the United States is looking to work with Canada on energy and critical minerals development in ways that would be mutually beneficial to both countries, the sources said.

One source said Greer cautioned that Canada should not attempt to use those resources as leverage in negotiations on the trilateral trade pact.


Canada is a major oil producer. Why are prices so high?

Canada is the fourth-largest oil producer in the world. It produced 5.13 million barrels of oil per day on average in 2024 and 5.19 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, according to a snapshot released in December.

But if that’s the case, why are our fuel prices going up just like the rest of the world?

“Oil and gas are global commodities,” economist Moshe Lander explained during an interview with CTV News Channel.

Consider an oil exporter in Canada who sells to the domestic market and internationally, he said. Since every country in the world purchases oil, or some derivative, Canada’s local prices are influenced by whatever the highest price is elsewhere in the world.

And because oil is refined into so many different products, such as fuel for our cars, jets, plastics and more, all those prices stand to rise as well.

What is #OPEC+ and how does it affect oil prices?

The Organization of the Petroleum #Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, are known collectively as OPEC+. Last year, the group produced nearly 50 per cent of the world’s oil and oil liquids, according to International Energy Agency estimates. The UAE is the fourth largest producer in OPEC+.

Below are facts about OPEC+ and its role.

What are #OPEC and OPEC+?

OPEC was founded in 1960 in Baghdad by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with the aims of coordinating petroleum policies and securing fair and stable prices. Today, it includes 12 countries, mainly from the Middle East. The UAE joined in 1967.

The UAE is the fourth producer to leave the group in recent years, and by far the biggest. Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, quit the bloc at the start of 2024, citing disagreements over production levels. Ecuador quit OPEC in 2020 and Qatar in 2019.

The group produced over half of global crude in the 1970s, according to Reuters calculations, before the onset of non-OPEC supply sources such as the North Sea.

In later decades, OPEC’s share stood at between 30 per cent and 40 per cent but record output growth from rivals such as the United States has steadily eaten into that share.

OPEC in 2016 sought to regain influence by forming an alliance with 10 non-members, including Russia, which it called OPEC+.

As a result, its market share increased to around 51.15 million bpd, or nearly 50 per cent of global oil and oil liquids production, in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. In March, a month into the Iran war, that share fell to about 44 per cent.
U.S.-Iran war reduces UAE production

Before the start of the U.S.-Iran war at the end of February, the UAE was producing 3.3 million bpd and had capacity to be able to produce as much as 4.5-5.0 million bpd of crude and oil liquids.

Its importance in OPEC in the past was increased because, together with leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia, it had spare capacity that it could add to the market if required.

That has become academic since the unprecedented oil market disruption caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war.

Gulf OPEC+ crude oil production fell by nearly 8 million barrels per day in March versus February as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq cut output, according to OPEC.

The cuts were necessary because they were limited in how much they could export, although both have some ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has a 7 million bpd pipeline to the Red Sea while the UAE can export 1.5-1.8 million bpd through a pipeline to the port of Fujairah.
OPEC and global oil prices

OPEC+ says it cuts and raises oil production to balance the markets.

Its critics say the group manipulates prices, which OPEC denies.

During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of OPEC imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for its decision to re-supply the Israeli military, as well as other countries that supported Israel. The embargo banned petroleum exports to those nations.

The oil embargo pressured an already strained U.S. economy that had grown dependent on imported oil. Oil prices jumped, causing high fuel costs for consumers and fuel shortages. The embargo also brought the United States and other countries to the brink of a global recession.

U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the organization of “ripping off the rest of the world” by inflating oil prices. Trump has also linked U.S. military support to the Gulf with oil prices, saying that while the U.S. defends OPEC members, they “exploit this by imposing high oil prices.”

However, it was Trump who helped to convince OPEC+ to cut output in 2020 during the COVID pandemic as crude oil prices slumped and U.S. oil producers suffered.

In 2025, OPEC crude exports accounted for about 47 per cent of global crude seaborne exports, according to Kpler. In March, that share shrunk to 34.7 per cent, Kpler data show.
Which countries are OPEC members?

The current members of OPEC are: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Venezuela. The UAE said it would leave the group on May 1.

Non-OPEC countries in the global alliance of OPEC+ are represented by Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan, Sudan and Brazil, which joined in early 2025.

Sources: Reuters News, World Economic Forum website, OPEC website, U.S. Department of State website, the International Energy Agency.

#Trade,#UmojjaTrade

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Yousef Saba; Editing by Barbara Lewis.

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