India launches attacks on Pakistan

Market: Agriculture, Crude oil
06/05/25

India's military said it launched attacks today against nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation for an April terrorist attack that killed dozens.

India's ministry of defense said its strikes were a "precise and restrained response" to a 22 April incident near Pahalgam in Kashmir where 26 tourists were killed. They were focused on "terrorist infrastructure sites", the ministry said on the social media site X in a post Tuesday at 4:49pm ET.

"Importantly, no Pakistani military facilities were hit, reflecting India's calibrated and non-escalatory approach," the ministry said.

The government of Pakistan said on its own X account that five sites had been hit in the attacks.

"Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given," the Pakistan government wrote.

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16/05/25

US House panel votes down Republican megabill

Washington, 16 May (Argus) — A key committee in the US House of Representatives voted today to reject a massive budget bill backed by President Donald Trump, as far-right conservatives demanded deeper cuts to clean energy tax credits and social spending programs. The House Budget Committee failed to pass the budget reconciliation bill in a 16-21 vote, with four House Freedom Caucus members — Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) and Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) — voting no alongside Democrats. A fifth Republican voted no for procedural reasons. The failed vote will force Republicans to consider major changes to the bill before it comes up for a vote on the House floor as early as next week. Republican holdouts say the bill would fall short of their party's promises to cut the deficit, particularly because it would front-load increased spending and back-load cuts. The bill is set to add $3.3 trillion to the deficit, or $5.2 trillion if temporary provisions were permanent, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Some critics of the bill said the proposed cut of $560bn in clean energy tax credits is not enough, because the bill would retain some tax credits for new wind and solar projects. "A lot of these credits have been in existence for 30 or 40 years, and you talk about giveaways, we want to help those who really need help," Norman said ahead of his no vote. "That's the heart of this. Sadly, I'm a no until we get this ironed out." Negotiations will fall to House speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who can only lose three votes when the bill comes up for a vote by the full House. But stripping away more of the energy tax credits enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act could end up costing Johnson votes among moderates. More than a dozen Republicans on 14 May asked to pare back newly proposed restrictions on the remaining clean energy tax credits. Ahead of the failed vote, Trump had pushed Republicans to support what he calls the "Big Beautiful Bill". In a social media post, he said "Republicans MUST UNITE" in support of the bill and said the party did not need "GRANDSTANDERS". The failed vote has parallels to the struggles that Democrats had in 2021 before the implosion of their push to pass their sprawling "Build Back Better" bill, which was later revived as the Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans say they will work over the weekend on a compromise. The House Budget Committee has scheduled another hearing at 10pm on 18 May to attempt to vote again on the budget package, but any changes to the measure would occur later, through an amendment released before the bill comes up for a vote on the House floor. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Trump says US will soon set new tariff rates

16/05/25

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16/05/25

Trump says US will soon set new tariff rates

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Kuwait's Kufpec gets OK to develop Indonesian gas field

16/05/25

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16/05/25

Kuwait's Kufpec gets OK to develop Indonesian gas field

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IEA sees slightly better oil demand outlook

15/05/25

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15/05/25

IEA sees slightly better oil demand outlook

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14/05/25

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14/05/25

Shale unable to absorb price decline: Continental

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