MP Materials is stitching together a new rare earths hub in Saudi Arabia, teaming up with Riyadh’s state miner Ma’aden, and strikingly, Washington itself. The plan is to build a refinery inside the kingdom that can take mixed concentrates from Saudi deposits and elsewhere and separate them into high-value oxides across the spectrum of “light” and “heavy” rare earths.

Under the structure announced, Ma’aden will hold a controlling 51% stake, while MP and the U.S. government, already set to become MP’s largest shareholder through a Pentagon investment, will jointly own the remaining 49%. The timing coincides with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Washington visit and signals that energy and security ties are being recast around critical minerals, not just oil.

The European Commission is preparing to propose a floating cap on Russian oil prices as part of a new sanctions package, seeking to overcome internal EU opposition and maintain meaningful pressure on the Kremlin’s war chest amid persistent geopolitical turmoil. The plan — still being finalized — would automatically adjust in line with global crude benchmarks, marking a major shift from the bloc’s current static approach.

The floating mechanism could start slightly above $45 a barrel, down from the existing $60 cap, which was set by the G7 and EU in December 2022 to curtail Moscow’s revenues from oil exports — the single largest source of funding for its war against Ukraine.

The United States is set to increase its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe as the price gap between U.S. Henry Hub natural gas futures and Europe’s TTF benchmark reaches its widest level in a year. This substantial price differential offers a significant profit opportunity for U.S. exporters, including companies like…