The bad economic news keeps coming for the Russian economy. An analysis of Russian government data by the business daily Vedomosti shows that the influx of Central Asian labor migrants to Russia fell by roughly 15 percent during the first half of 2026, deepening an already critical labor shortage in the country. Official entries for work purposes by Central Asian citizens fell to 1.9 million during the first six months of this year, down from 2.3 million the previous year, according to the Vedomosti report. A large majority of Central Asian…

Argentina’s Vaca Muerta is booming as the key shale province outside the United States has seen record oil and near-record natural gas production in recent months. Vaca Muerta’s fortunes, however, appear to be confined so far to the area in which the shale patch is located, the province of Neuquén in the western region of Patagonia. The rest of Argentina continues to struggle with sluggish growth, high inflation, weak consumer spending, and business and mortgage defaults, all the while South America’s second-largest economy…

An overwhelming 90% of global businesses expect to electrify their operations by 2035 amid geopolitical instability fueling volatility in fossil fuel supply and prices, a new survey showed on Monday. The polling, conducted by consultancy Public First across key economies and emerging markets, was commissioned by E3G, We Mean Business Coalition, and the Global Renewables Alliance. The survey in late April asked 1,994 business CEOs, VPs, directors, or senior-level management of medium and large organizations in 18 markets how they feel about electrification…