'Choose France' summit puts AI at heart of Macron’s €93 billion investment drive

ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M

Foreign companies have pledged a total of €93 billion in investment at France's annual Choose France summit, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, with artificial intelligence and data infrastructure projects accounting for the bulk of commitments.

Issued on: 01/06/2026 - RFI

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint statement with SoftBank group Chairman and CEO after a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on 1 June 1 2026, ahead of the "Choose France" event. Some 200 top executives from around the world are expected at Versailles palace west of Paris for President's annual "Choose France" event. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN

Around 200 senior executives from around the world were hosted at the famous palace southwest of Paris on Monday, with tens of billions of euros in investment already pledged or expected.

This year’s gathering has a strong focus on artificial intelligence, data centres and the infrastructure needed to power the next wave of digital growth.

The summit has become one of Macron’s flagship economic showcases since it was launched in 2018, a year after he entered the Elysee. Its purpose is to convince international companies that France is open for business – and that it can compete in high-tech industry, clean power and advanced manufacturing.

The 2025 edition set a record, with €20 billion in announced projects. This year’s pledges could prove even larger, thanks especially to major plans from technology and investment groups betting on France’s role in the AI boom.

AI takes centre stage

The biggest announcement has come from the Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank, which said at the weekend that it would spend €75 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Its founder, Masayoshi Son, met with Macron at the Elysee palace on Monday.

The pledge underlines how quickly AI has become an economic priority for governments and companies alike. Training and running large AI models requires huge computing power, secure data capacity and reliable electricity – making data centres and advanced chips central to the new industrial landscape.

SoftBank group Chairman and CEO Japanese Masayoshi Son and France's President Emmanuel Macron make a joint statement as part of a signing ceremony and a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on 1 June 2026, ahead of the "Choose France" event. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN

France is keen to make itself a hub for that ecosystem. According to the business daily Les Echos, Canadian asset manager Brookfield is expected to announce a $10 billion of investment in a data centre in the Escaudain area of northern France. The same report said investment firm Ardian and Nordic data platform Verne would put $5 billion into a data centre in the Paris region.

Taiwanese manufacturing group Foxconn is also expected to invest €120 million in the western city of Angers, where it would develop a production line for motherboards dedicated to AI in partnership with Bull, the French supercomputer specialist.

The summit could also bring announcements on rare earths, the critical minerals used in a wide range of advanced technologies, from electric vehicles to wind turbines and defence equipment. That would fit with France’s wider effort to strengthen supply chains in sectors seen as essential to future economic sovereignty.

Since the first “Choose France” summit, more than 230 projects have been announced, representing some €87 billion and several thousand jobs, according to the Elysee. For Macron, that record supports his argument that pro-business reforms, lower corporate taxes and investment in skills and technology have made France more attractive.

Challenges remain

France has attracted the most foreign investment in Europe for seven years in a row, according to consultancy EY. Macron has argued that this success “does not come out of thin air”, pointing to the policy choices made during his presidency.

EY said France attracted 852 foreign investment projects last year out of 5,026 recorded across 47 European countries. That kept it in first place, although the figure also represented a 17 percent fall in a difficult international environment.

So the picture is encouraging, but mixed. France has been especially successful in attracting AI-linked projects, more than any other European country. Yet parts of its traditional industrial base remain under pressure, particularly the car, chemicals and metallurgy sectors.

That is where the upbeat tone of the Versailles summit meets the harder reality of the wider economy. Big announcements can generate headlines and confidence, but they do not automatically reverse years of industrial decline or weak business investment.

Macron has made no secret of his ambition to make France a world leader in artificial intelligence. He has also announced €1.55 billion of public investment to develop quantum technologies and semiconductors, two areas closely linked to the future of computing and industrial competitiveness.

The question now is whether France can turn the momentum from “Choose France” into a broader economic shift.

(With newswires)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Former Lafarge cement chiefs released pending Syria terrorism financing appeal

The former CEO of French cement firm Lafarge, Bruno Lafont, and his right-hand man at the company Christian Herrault are to be released from prison under judicial supervision, pending their appeal over convictions handed down in April for financing terrorism in Syria.


Issued on: 26/05/2026 - RFI

Bruno Lafont pictured arriving on the day of the verdict in the trial of the French cement group Lafarge, accused of financing terrorism in Syria, 13 April. AFP - BEHROUZ MEHRI

The Paris Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the two former executives could leave custody pending the appeal trial.

It said that pre-trial detention was “not the indispensable means” of ensuring they appear in court for the appeal.

The court also took into account what it described as the “shock of imprisonment” for the two men.

Lafont, 69, the former head of the CAC 40 cement giant, and 75-year-old Herrault, its former deputy managing director, were sentenced on 13 April by the Paris Criminal Court to six years and five years in prison respectively.

Both were immediately remanded in custody after the ruling.

On 19 May they applied to be released while awaiting a trial, after appealing their convictions.

French court fines Lafarge, hands ex-CEO jail term for funding IS in Syria
Release conditions

As part of their judicial supervision, the Court of Appeal barred both men from leaving French territory. It also set bail at €100,000 for Lafont and €90,000 for Herrault, with the sums to be paid by 2 July.

However, the court did not grant a request from prosecutors to prevent the two men from contacting one another. The pair had reportedly been held in the same cell at La Santé prison in Paris.

They were expected to be released by the end of Tuesday.

Lafont’s lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, welcomed the decision, telling French news agency AFP she was “relieved” and “above all reassured when magistrates, as is the case today, apply the law”.

Lafarge on trial in Paris over alleged payments to Islamic State in Syria
Payments to jihadists

Lafont and Herrault were among nine defendants convicted on 13 April over payments made in Syria in 2013 and 2014 through Lafarge Cement Syria, the group’s local subsidiary.

The court found that nearly €5.6 million had been paid to armed jihadist groups in an effort to keep Lafarge’s cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria, running during the country’s civil war.

The case has become one of the most closely watched corporate accountability trials in France, involving a company once seen as a flagship of French industry. Lafarge has since been absorbed by its Swiss rival Holcim.

Lafarge itself was fined the maximum penalty of €1.125 million. The company was also ordered, jointly with four former executives, to pay a customs fine of €4.57 million for failing to comply with international financial sanctions.

All those convicted – including the company – have appealed. A hearing is expected in the coming months, in a case that has raised questions about corporate conduct, risk-taking and responsibility in conflict zones.

(with newswires)

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy agree deal

Monday, 18 May 2026

World Nuclear News

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have announced plans to combine in an all-stock transaction valued at about USD66.8 billion that they say will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business.
 

(Image: NextEra Energy, Dominion Energy logos)

The combined entity will operate under the NextEra name and be 74.5% owned by NextEra Energy shareholders and 25.5% by Dominion Energy shareholders. It will serve around 10 million accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The combined entity will have 110 GW of generating capacity, including considerable nuclear energy capacity - NextEra Energy Resources, along with its affiliate company Florida Power & Light Company, operates seven nuclear units at four sites: Turkey Point and St Lucie in Florida; Seabrook in New Hampshire; and Point Beach in Wisconsin. Additionally, it plans to restart the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa, which ceased operations in 2020. The plant is scheduled to become operational at the beginning of 2029, pending regulatory approvals. A power purchase agreement with Google was announced last October.

In January NextEra Energy said it could add up to 6 GWe of small modular reactor generating capacity at its existing nuclear power plant sites or potential new sites, primarily to meet demand from data centres.

More than 40% of the electricity Dominion Energy generates is from its nuclear plants - Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut, North Anna and Surry nuclear power plants in Virginia and VC Summer in South Carolina.

John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy, said: "This is a historic moment for our two companies and for the states we are privileged to serve. Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades. Projects are getting larger and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now. We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever - not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies. It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run."

Robert Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy, said: "This combination brings together two strong operating platforms and creates an even stronger energy partner for Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, with the scale and balance sheet to deliver the generation, transmission and grid investments our customers and economies need."

The proposal is that Ketchum will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company and Blue will serve as president and CEO of regulated utilities and as a member of the board of directors. The combined company's board of directors will include 10 directors from NextEra Energy and four from Dominion Energy. The announcement includes a proposal for USD2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the two years after the deal closes.

The two sides expect the deal to close in 12 to 18 months "subject to customary closing conditions and approvals by the shareholders of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act and approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission".

NextEra-Dominion Energy Merger To Create World’s Largest Electric Utility

By Alex Kimani - May 18, 2026

Leading clean energy utility, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), has agreed to buy Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion, marking the largest power utility acquisition on record. The merger unites Florida-based NextEra Energy and Virginia-based Dominion Energy to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility, a power sector titan with an enterprise value exceeding $400 billion including debt.

The historic consolidation is directly driven by the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, with high-performance AI hardware having triggered a massive surge in electricity demand. NextEra, a global leader in wind and solar power, will leverage its clean energy assets to meet the carbon-free electricity requirements of tech hyperscalers like Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META).

NextEra previously secured high-profile deals, including an agreement with Google to revive Iowa’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant.

Dominion operates in Virginia and the Carolinas, with Northern Virginia home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, also known as the “Data Center Alley”.

PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. power grid operator, has projected that summer peak demand in the Dominion Energy zone (encompassing Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley) to grow by 5.4% annually over the next decade. Because hyperscale data centers run continuously at high load factors, they drive up demand evenly, causing winter peak loads to rise at a 4% annualized rate.

However, the mega-merger faces a complex review process since it requires antitrust clearance and approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alongside state public utility commissions in Florida, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

Thankfully, Wall Street is generally bullish that the current federal administration’s general openness to corporate mergers may provide a smoother path toward finalization.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

NextEra to Buy Dominion in Landmark U.S. Utility Mega-Merger

By Charles Kennedy - May 18, 2026NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy on Monday unveiled a blockbuster merger agreement that would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility company by market capitalization, as surging U.S. power demand drives consolidation across the sector.

Under the agreement, Dominion shareholders will receive 0.8138 shares of NextEra Energy for each Dominion share they own, giving NextEra investors roughly 74.5% ownership of the combined company and Dominion shareholders about 25.5%. The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The combined company would serve around 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and control approximately 110 gigawatts of generation capacity spanning natural gas, nuclear, renewables, and battery storage. The companies said more than 80% of the merged business would be regulated operations.

The deal comes as U.S. utilities race to secure scale and capital to meet rapidly rising electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, industrial reshoring, and electrification trends. NextEra said the combined company would have more than 130 GW of large-load opportunities in its development pipeline.

To ease regulatory and political concerns over customer impacts, the companies proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina over two years after closing. They also pledged to retain dual headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia, while maintaining Dominion’s regional utility brands.

NextEra Chief Executive John Ketchum said the transaction was designed to improve operating efficiency and lower long-term customer costs as utilities face increasingly complex and capital-intensive infrastructure needs. Dominion CEO Robert Blue said the merger would strengthen the companies’ ability to fund new generation, transmission, and grid upgrades.

The companies expect the merger to immediately boost adjusted earnings per share and project more than 9% annual adjusted EPS growth through 2032. They also said the larger balance sheet could improve credit metrics and lower financing costs.

The merger would significantly expand NextEra’s already dominant position in U.S. power markets. The company is currently the largest renewable energy and battery storage developer in the world through NextEra Energy Resources, while Dominion brings major regulated utility operations and one of the largest offshore wind development portfolios in the United States.

The transaction will require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and multiple state utility regulators, including commissions in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

STATE CAPITALI$M VS STATE CAPITALI$M

Pentagon’s ‘Deal Team Six’ aims to challenge China’s grip on rare earth power

Bloomberg News | May 15, 2026 | 

The Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense. Credit: Wikipedia under public domain licence

From an office a few blocks from the White House, a group of former Wall Streeters is at the forefront of the Pentagon’s plan to crack China’s critical minerals stranglehold.

Their goal is to create an independent source for the rare earth elements and magnets used in everything from microwave ovens to missiles. They want to prevent a repeat of last year, when President Donald Trump was forced to back down in his trade war after China cut off supplies.

The Pentagon group is known internally as “Deal Team Six” in a half-joking reference to the Navy’s elite special missions unit, Seal Team Six. It’s racing to put together creative deals with billions of dollars in equity stakes, long-term price floors, purchase commitments, loans and other financial tools.

“We’re at a five-alarm fire stage,” said Rush Doshi, who was China director at the National Security Council during the Biden administration. “There’s a sense that we don’t have time to ask if it would have been better if we did this with a pure market-mechanism method instead.”

Challenging China’s grip on the business — something Beijing spent decades building — has long been a US goal, but results were sparse. Even the most optimistic forecasts of the new Pentagon team suggest it will take at least until the end of the decade for US production to ramp up.

The aggressive dealmaking drive is a departure from the past decade, in which the US focused on limiting exports to China, blocking its deals in the US and prosecuting its spies and hackers. The Pentagon team, officially called the Economic Defense Unit, also plans to apply its new approach to vulnerabilities like undersea data cables and chemicals needed to make medications.

Some industry officials warn that the Pentagon’s rush to do deals has led it to back unproven companies and overlook potential conflicts of interest. They say that the goals are unrealistic and that the government approach encourages companies to exaggerate their capabilities to get funding.

The Trump administration “practically shouts from the rooftops that its decisions will be made for financial gain, rather than to create independent supply chains,” said Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

The Pentagon denies that. “The War Department maintains strict impartiality, prioritizing solutions that directly benefit the warfighter,” spokesman Sean Parnell said. “We employ a rigorous vetting process for all prospective partners, ensuring every company delivers on its promised capabilities and marketed claims.”

The Pentagon team has said it’s got $200 billion in financing capacity over the next three years. Still, questions remain about how the dealmaking fits with laws on government investments.

“Little law currently exists” to govern the spurt of equity deals in particular, Senator Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a hearing in February. He called for more coordination with Congress.

Though used in small quantities, rare earths are critical to as much as $1.2 trillion in value-added production, according to Bloomberg Economics.

The administration aims to be able to produce enough magnets to cover half the world’s demand by 2030. China produced 94% of rare earth magnets in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency.

While the Economic Defense Unit was formed in April, the current push dates back to the early weeks of the second Trump administration. Reporting to Deputy Secretary of Defense and private equity billionaire Stephen Feinberg, the EDU is working with other parts of the Defense Department and agencies like Commerce and the US International Development Finance Corp. to put together the deals.

When China began restricting supplies of rare earths and magnets last year in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs, the impact was almost immediate, with auto makers and other big users warning that they’d be forced to stop production. Beijing only eased the limits after Washington agreed to pull back on tariffs and restrictions on technology exports to China.

Since then, the administration has rushed to put together a non-Chinese supply chain for the permanent magnets made with rare earth elements.

In July, Feinberg spearheaded a deal with MP Materials Corp., the only rare earths producer in the US. The pact includes a $400 million equity investment, the first of its kind in modern Pentagon history, positioning the government to become the company’s largest shareholder. The Pentagon also set a price floor for some of MP’s rare earth products and guaranteed all of the magnets it will produce at a new facility will be purchased by defense and commercial customers for ten years.

Subsequent deals, some of them still in preliminary phases, range from a US magnet producer to a Brazilian rare earth miner that was later sold to a US company in a $2.8 billion deal.

To ensure there are buyers for the new non-Chinese magnets, administration officials have leaned on major automakers in the US to commit to purchasing deals, even though the companies have not yet produced them at scale, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Critics have accused the Pentagon of failing to properly screen for corruption and conflicts of interest. They note that Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm co-founded, is a major player in the same sectors where the Pentagon is investing, and that the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is a partner at a firm that invested in Vulcan Elements, which has a $620 million conditional loan deal.

The Pentagon spokesman said Feinberg is “a man of integrity who has conducted himself ethically throughout his entire career.” Feinberg divested his stakes in his businesses after taking office to comply with federal ethics rules.

A spokesman for Trump Jr. said he is a passive investor in Vulcan through a fund and that he “does not ever interface with the federal government on behalf of any company he invests in or advises.”

A person familiar with the Pentagon’s thinking said EDU had not been aware of any Trump Jr. stake at the time of the deal because it was too small to surface in the vetting process. This person added that, even if they had known of the stake, there aren’t many firms that do what Vulcan does, and the department has to respond to market realities.

“They’re supporting projects meant to support the broader industrial base, not just shoring up defense needs,” said Chris Kennedy, an economic statecraft analyst at Bloomberg Economics. “That’s something that was nearly impossible” in the past, he said.

(By Kate O’Keeffe)

GREEN CAPITALI$M

Are solar panel prices about to surge? Why now might be the perfect time to invest

Copyright Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

By Liam Gilliver

Published on 17/05/2026 - EURONEWS

Geopolitical uncertainty, supply shortages and China’s recent tax reform are threatening to send the prices of solar panels soaring. But, is it really that severe?

Once an extortionate investment reserved for the ‘eco-elite’, solar has rapidly become one of the cheapest electricity sources in the world. But, are the tables about to turn?

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, composed of individual solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity, have plummeted in price by a staggering 90 per cent in the last decade. According to Our World In Data, costs have dropped by around 20 per cent every time the global cumulative capacity doubles.

At the same time, the price of solar batteries, which allow households to store electricity during peak times, have also decreased by 90 per cent since 2010 due to advances in battery chemistry and manufacturing.

The EU now describes solar as a “shining star” of Europe’s clean transition, accounting for almost a quarter (23.4 per cent) of its electricity consumption in 2024. In June last year, the sun was the main source of the electricity generated in the EU.

Amid the war on Iran, solar is helping to cushion households from volatile fossil fuel shocks. Recent analysis found that harnessing sunlight for power saved Europe more than €100 million per day throughout March by reducing gas imports.

If prices remain high, due to Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, experts say these savings could reach €67.5 billion by the end of the year.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has also bolstered interest in household electrification, with multiple energy firms across Europe reporting a recent spike in solar panel and solar battery inquiries.

However, as demand for solar panels soars, foreign tax policy, the price of silver and other influences could soon ignite a price surge.

Where does Europe get its solar panels from?

While the EU describes solar as having a “significant role in its transition towards cleaner, more affordable and secure” energy, it remains heavily reliant on countries outside of the bloc to make PV panels.

In 2024, the EU imported €14.6 billion in green energy products, including €11.1 billion worth of solar panels. China was by far the largest supplier of these panels, accounting for 98 per cent of all imports.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China has invested more than $50 billion (€43 billion) in new PV supply capacity – 10 times more than Europe – and created more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs across the solar PV value chain since 2011. Today, the country’s share in all of the manufacturing stages of solar panels exceeds 80 per cent globally.

Related

• ‘Significantly lower energy bills’: How do solar batteries work and are they worth the investment?
• Blocked sunlight and changing clouds: How coal pollution is damaging our solar potential

“Chinese manufacturers have reached scale and cost levels that cannot be matched outside of China,” Jannik Schall of clean tech startup 1KOMMA5° tells Euronews Earth.

“There are factories in other countries, even in Europe, but they only focus on the final assembly of solar panels and cannot compete with China from a cost perspective.”

China’s monopoly on solar panels hasn’t been a clear victory for the country, with tight competition pushing companies to sell below cost. An IEA report from last year found that China-based solar companies had made cumulative net losses of around $5 billion (€4.3 billion) since the beginning of 2024.

This led to China’s Ministry of Finance and State Tax Administration announcing major reform to its generous renewables subsidies, which were originally designed to support foreign trading.

From 1 April 2026, the nine per cent VAT export rebate on solar products was eliminated, while the nine per cent VAT export rebate on battery products was reduced to six per cent. The VAT rebate on battery products will be completely scrapped from 1 January 2027.

Graph detailing China's solar exports. Ember

Just before the tax reform came into place, Chinese solar exports skyrocketed as countries scrambled to beat the price hike.

Energy think-tank Ember found that during March 2026, several European countries, including France, Italy, Poland and Romania, hit all-time records for the number of Chinese solar imports.

Will China’s VAT reform increase the cost of solar?

“The elimination of China’s VAT export rebates alone will cause module prices to rise by around 10 per cent,” Schall tells Euronews Earth. Solar modules is the standard-industry term for a single PV unit.

British newspaper The i has warned that one national solar installer has been forced to charge £800 (€918) more for an average rooftop installation.

So is a blanket price rise expected across the board? It’s not that simple.

Experts say that the market does not react this quickly, and the increasing price of solar panels won’t bite straight away.

Analysts do not expect the rise in cost to limit demand for solar, given its competitive pricing, either. However, it does demonstrate that even renewables are not completely shielded from the intricacies of geopolitics – an argument that frequently arises when speaking about fossil fuel shocks.

InfoLink Consulting, a Taipei-based firm that provides market intelligence, price forecasting and supply chain analysis for solar PV, says that while ground-mounted projects (often used in large-scale solar farms) have edged up in recent weeks, high order volumes have constrained any rise in average prices.

Meanwhile, the price of small-scale or ‘distributed’ solar power systems, like those installed directly on rooftops or carports, has continued to fall marginally, InfoLink said earlier this week (13 May).

How silver became solar’s crux

To understand why solar costs fluctuate, it’s important to understand how PV panels are designed.

Solar panels are predominantly made of glass, plastic polymer and aluminum. Silver, which is the most effective metallic conductor of electricity and heat, is also a key material for PV panels.

Despite representing less than five per cent of a total PV panel in terms of weight, silver paste accounts for up to 30 per cent of total solar cell costs, analysts at German technology group Heraeus state.

According to the Silver Institute, around 4,000 tonnes of silver, equivalent to 14 per cent of global silver consumption, were used for PV panel production in 2023 alone. Researchers warn this share is expected to increase to 20 per cent by 2030, a fourfold increase since 2014.

Chinese manufacturers have therefore been boosting efforts to tackle this, by replacing silver with cheaper metals such as copper. Experts predict switching from silver to copper-based metallisation could save the solar industry roughly $15 billion (€12.8 billion) per year globally.

However, the price of copper has also increased in recent years, albeit at a slower pace than silver.

“Driven by geopolitical uncertainty, supply shortages and increasing demand from AI data centres, prices for copper, aluminum and lithium have increased significantly since Q4 of 2025,” Schall explains.

“Silver prices have reached 150+ per cent increases within a few weeks in the beginning of 2026, making silver the biggest cost contributor in solar panels. These cost increases on the raw material side need time to trickle down through the value chain and are expected to reach end consumers this summer

1KOMMA5° forecasts that the additional high raw material costs, alongside China’s VAT elimination, could cause price increases of 15 to 20 per cent for individual components.

Schall adds that while residential customers will be affected by this in the “medium term” those wanting to install PV panels can still benefit from “more favourable prices” right now.

Euronews Earth reached out to two energy firms in Europe to ask whether they intend to raise their solar panel prices following China’s tax reform and the increasing price of silver. Both declined to comment.

Despite uncertainty, experts point out that solar prices are still around 50 per cent down compared to 2023, making it one of the cheapest sources of electricity in the world.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Fugitive financier sought in Malaysian fund scandal seeks Trump’s pardon


ByAFP
May 13, 2026


A massive corruption scandal in Malaysia saw top officials loot billions from state fund 1MDB - Copyright AFP/File MANAN VATSYAYANA

A fugitive financier accused of involvement in a massive corruption scandal in Malaysia in which top officials looted billions from state fund 1MDB has filed for a pardon from US President Donald Trump.

Businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, is formally seeking a “pardon after completion of sentence,” according to the US Department of Justice website.

Whistleblowers allege that Jho Low, a well-connected Malaysian financier with no official role, helped set up the 1MDB state investment fund and made key financial decisions before disappearing about a decade ago.

Low, who has been indicted in the US, has denied wrongdoing but remains at large.

The fund was launched by former prime minister Najib Razak in 2009, shortly after he became prime minister. It is alleged that more than $4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by fund officials and associates, including Low.

Najib, who has been tried and convicted in multiple cases, has been jailed and fined $2.8 billion for his role in the plunder.

Najib’s defense lawyers blamed Low and dubbed him the mastermind of the scheme.

Malaysia unsuccessfully sought the return of Low through extradition, and it was widely speculated in media that he was hiding in China.

Trump was scheduled to arrive in China on Wednesday to meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The scandal shook Malaysian politics, contributing to the 2018 downfall of the ruling coalition that had governed since independence in 1957, and led to the convictions of two former Goldman Sachs bankers.

Investigators said top officials used their ill-gotten gains to splurge on luxury assets worldwide, including a luxury yacht, high-end real estate, Monet and Van Gogh paintings and even to fund the Hollywood blockbuster “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in court about Low’s wild spending sprees and lavish parties.

The globe-spanning scandal also ensnared Pras Michel, a rapper in rap trio the Fugees, who was found guilty of helping Low funnel money from 1MDB into US politics.

Poland’s wanted ex-minister confirms he fled to US from Hungary


ByAFP
May 10, 2026


Ziobro, pictured here in 2022, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges laid against him - Copyright AFP Wojtek RADWANSKI

Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted on several criminal charges in his home country, has fled Hungary to the United States, he confirmed on Sunday, following local media reports.

“I am in the United States,” Ziobro told right-wing broadcaster Republika. “I arrived yesterday, and this is my third time traveling around the country,” he added.

Ziobro, who received asylum from right-wing ally Viktor Orban’s government last year, faces up to 25 years in prison in Poland if convicted of the charges laid against him.

They include abuse of power, leading an organised criminal enterprise and using funds meant for crime victims to buy Israeli Pegasus spyware, allegedly to monitor political opponents.

After Orban’s party was ousted from power in an election in April, Hungary’s new Prime Minister Peter Magyar — who was sworn in on Saturday — said that Hungary would no longer protect people wanted elsewhere.

“Hungary will no longer be a dumping ground for internationally wanted criminals,” he told journalists the day after his victory, naming as examples Ziobro and his former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, suspected of embezzling nearly 40 million euros ($47 million).

The Republika broadcaster reported earlier on Sunday that Ziobro was in the US, while liberal broadcaster TVN24 published a photo of Ziobro at Newark Liberty International Airport, which it said had been taken by another traveller.

It is unclear how Ziobro managed to travel to the United States, as Poland had previously said his travel documents — including his Polish and diplomatic passports — had been revoked.



– Poland to contact US –



Current Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek wrote on X that Poland “will reach out to the USA and Hungary with questions regarding the legal basic that enabled Zbigniew Ziobro to… enter the United States despite lacking valid documents”.

“We will not cease or efforts to ensure that he and Mr. Marcin Romanowski are held accountable before the Polish justice system,” he said.

Earlier, Zurek told the Polsat broadcaster: “If it is confirmed that Ziobro is in the USA, then (Poland) will request his extradition.”

Ziobro was the leader of the ultra-conservative Sovereign Poland party, a junior coalition partner of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, and served as justice minister and attorney general between 2015 and 2023.

He is also known as the architect of contentious judicial reforms which sparked a standoff between Poland and the European Commission.

Asked by Republika about his potential extradition, Ziobro replied: “I am ready to appear before any court, and an American independent court is certainly an independent court.

“If they want to initiate extradition proceedings, by all means,” he added, calling extradition cases in US courts “a demanding procedure”.

He has rejected the charges against him, accusing the centrist Polish government of conducting a witch hunt against conservatives.

Possible Trump rescue of Spirit Airlines spurs debate

ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M

By AFP

April 24, 2026


US President Donald Trump mused about buying embattled Spirit Airlines as it struggles to come out of bankruptcy unscathed - Copyright AFP/File Patrick T. Fallon

Elodie MAZEIN

Bargain US carrier Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in 2025 for the second time in a year, could be spared by a controversial potential White House rescue package.

Trump confirmed on Thursday that he was hoping Spirit could be saved, sparing thousands of jobs.

“I think we’d just buy it,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They have some good aircraft, have good assets, and when the price of oil goes down, we’ll sell it for a profit.”

Trump’s administration has been working on a potential $500 million package for the embattled airline, US media have reported in recent days.

Under a potential plan being discussed, the US government would make a loan to Spirit and receive warrants to take a large stake in the carrier, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Spirit had announced on February 24 an “agreement in principle” to restructure its debt with creditors, saying it expected to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.

But only days later, the US-Israel alliance launched attacks on Iran, leading to a spike in oil prices.

That translated into a surge in jet fuel prices that proved to be “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Jan Brueckner, emeritus economics professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the February 28 start of the war, prompting major US airlines to lower their profit forecasts, trim back on capacity growth plans or both.

As a no-frills carrier, Spirit adds pressure on larger airlines, which have responded with bare-bones “basic economy” offerings, according to Brueckner.

“It’s beneficial to preserve this type of competitive airline that helps keep fares low,” Brueckner said.



– ‘Socialist Donald Trump’ –



While a package sparing Spirit may benefit consumers, the potential solution has sparked blowback.

Critics include Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who called the plan “not the best use of taxpayer dollars” in a post on X.

“If Spirit’s creditors or other potential investors don’t think they can run it profitably coming out of its second bankruptcy in under two years, I doubt the US government can either,” Cotton said.

Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank, called the White House proposal a “mistake,” ruing a solution based around “politically engineered financing.”

The US bankruptcy process should move forward “whether that means reorganization, liquidation, or asset sales to other companies,” DeHaven said in a blog post.

“That outcome may be less tidy, but it’s still preferable to quasi-nationalization.”

Other critics include Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat.

“Now socialist Donald Trump is nationalizing the airlines,” Polis said on X. “What industry will the government take over next under his socialist regime?”

While the US government has provided direct relief to companies before, such cases have tended to be sector-wide and crisis-related, such as support packages for automakers and banks during the 2008 financial crisis.

Even in these circumstances, such moves have been political controversial.

But Trump has tested US norms resisting government stakes in businesses, announcing ventures that give Washington shares in semiconductor company Intel and rare earth company MP Materials, among others.

The White House has argued that these are strategic sectors for the country.

Trump administration officials have also criticized predecessor Joe Biden’s administration, which successfully blocked a proposed $3.8 billion takeover of the carrier by JetBlue, arguing it would harm consumers.

“I understand the airline is bankrupt because the previous administration blocked the merger, which was probably not a wise move,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week.

Economist Brueckner said airlines face sharper pressures due to the Iran war “and the administration chose to initiate the War, and therefore they may feel some need to shelter companies from the consequences of the war.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Suspicious Oil Bets Before Trump’s Iran Announcement Under Scrutiny

By Kurt Cobb - Apr 06, 2026

• Large trades placed minutes before a major policy announcement generated significant profits, prompting insider trading concerns.
• 
  
• New York’s Martin Act could enable prosecution without proving intent, giving state authorities unusual leverage.
• 
  
• The case highlights broader concerns about financial markets benefiting from geopolitical events and regulatory gaps.
• 
  

Currently unknown investors netted tens of millions of dollars in profit by placing huge trades in the oil futures markets just 15 minutes before President Donald Trump announced he was extending the deadline for strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure by five days to allow for nonexistent "negotiations" (which then turned into an additional 10 days—which meant little since U.S. and Israeli bombing simply continued). Because these investors bet on a fall in oil prices, they made money when the price of oil dropped sharply after the announcement.

The same or other investors traded heavily in stock index futures before the Iran announcement and profited handsomely as stock futures soared. All these investors could end up in legal jeopardy for engaging in insider trading if they were somehow given a heads-up about the announcement. Were their trades just coincidental to the announcement? It seems unlikely, but that's the big question an investigation would answer.

Those traders may have imagined that they would never have to answer for their conduct. The U.S. Department of Justice under any Trump-appointed attorney general won't investigate any matter involving possible illegal conduct linked to Trump. And, the traders may believe they would likely escape prosecution by a future administration as it struggles to investigate and bring charges before prosecutors run out of time. The statute of limitations—that is, the deadline for bringing charges in such matters at the federal level—is five years

But those traders may have miscalculated. It turns out New York state has a powerful and effective tool for prosecuting securities fraud called the Martin Act. And, Letitia James, attorney general for New York state, has actually been on the case for months. (Yes, it's the same Letitia James who successfully sued Trump for fraud and who has been targeted through bogus, unsuccessful indictments by the Justice Department.)

What a minute, you must be saying, how can it be possible for James to have been on the case for months when the suspicious trades took place a couple of weeks ago? The answer is that James started investigating highly profitable, impeccably timed trades linked to Trump announcements after Trump's reversal on tariffs last April. While there has been no information about whether these latest trading incidents will be included in the New York investigation, it's hard to imagine that investigators will just ignore them.

But how can New York state have jurisdiction? Isn't this a federal matter? First, states have securities fraud laws. Some laws are lax, but New York's Martin Act is expansive and powerful. Second, of those suspicious trades, the biggest trade in oil took place on the New York Mercantile Exchange. I'll bet you can guess where that's located. Actually, it turns out that all of the trades took place on exchanges that have offices in New York City. It seems the traders involved weren't thinking about the legal jurisdiction under which their trades would fall.

Perhaps the most powerful element of the Martin Act is that prosecutors do NOT need to prove intent. That is, they don't need to demonstrate what was going on in the mind of the defendant. Federal securities fraud cases are much harder to make because intent must be established. In Martin Act prosecutions, the prosecutor needs only to prove that the result was deceptive or fraudulent, regardless of what was in the mind of the perpetrator.

Maybe you're wondering why anyone other than wealthy traders ought to be concerned with such matters, especially with a war raging in the Persian Gulf and a vital link to world energy exports, the Strait of Hormuz, closed, thereby depriving global industrial society of a huge portion of its fossil fuel energy needs. My answer is that the ever-increasing power of the rigged casino of international finance de-emphasizes the world of physical resources and production, the things that actually matter to our physical wealth and well-being. Instead, the wealthy make themselves richer by manipulating the symbols of wealth (stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments such as futures contracts) while the material circumstances of the poor and middle classes are undermined with every passing day.

If there are no rules for the rich, only the rest of us, then everything in society becomes optimized for the rich, including the fighting of expensive and, as it turns out, for some, highly profitable wars, regardless of the consequences for society as a whole.

By Kurt Cobb via Resource Insights