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Apple has officially halted App Store payments in Russia

Apple announced that payment processing for purchases in the App Store has been unavailable in Russia since April 1. This was reported by the company’s press service.

“Starting from April 1, 2026, payment processing for purchases made in the App Store or other Apple Media services (Apple’s digital services ecosystem, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple Books, and Podcasts — ed.) in Russia is no longer available,” the statement said.

It is no longer possible to pay for new apps or in-app purchases, including subscription renewals. Purchases can only be made if there are sufficient funds in the user’s Apple Account balance.

“If you have a subscription and Apple cannot charge you, your subscription will be canceled. You may lose access to the content associated with that subscription,” the company said.

It is noted that user data will remain accessible after the subscription expires. Users will still be able to manage storage and download photos and videos from iCloud.

India has confirmed the purchase of oil from Iran

India has resumed oil purchases from Iran amid the conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. This was announced earlier by India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on the social network X.

“Amid supply disruptions in the Middle East, Indian refineries have secured the necessary volumes of crude oil, including from Iran,” the ministry said in a statement.

At the same time, reports that an Iranian tanker changed course from India to China due to payment issues were denied: “Contrary to circulating rumors, no obstacles to payments for Iranian oil imports have arisen.”

The ministry also stated that the country received 44,000 tons of Iranian liquefied gas.

“India’s crude oil needs remain fully secured for the coming months,” officials in New Delhi assured.

Meanwhile, Reuters notes that oil supplies from Iran to India had been halted in 2019 due to U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

Russia’s industrial sector is accelerating its decline

The pro-Kremlin Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF) reports stagnation in Russian industry at the beginning of 2026, despite traditionally optimistic official statistics.

According to Rosstat, industrial production grew by a combined 1.7% in December–February. However, CMASF estimates paint the opposite picture: after a short-term rise in December, output fell by 0.6% in January and only partially recovered in February. Overall, a decline of 0.3% was recorded over the three-month period.

“Civilian sectors of Russian industry accelerated their decline at the start of 2026,” the Kremlin-aligned analytical center stated.

The sectoral breakdown is even more pessimistic. In February, production of construction materials fell by 1.4%, ferrous metallurgy by 1.1%, and machine building by 2.2%. The combined contribution of most industries remains negative at minus 0.8%, including oil refining and metallurgy.

The S&P Global March PMI index dropped to 48.3 from 49.5 in February — the lowest level in three months (the 50 mark separates growth from contraction). Output has been declining for 13 consecutive months, while export demand has been falling for five months in a row. Purchasing activity has collapsed at the fastest pace in four years, as companies cut raw material purchases due to declining orders and rising fuel prices. Employment in the sector has been decreasing for the fourth consecutive month.

Russia’s metallurgy sector, long considered a flagship of the country’s economy and a stable source of foreign currency revenue, has entered a systemic crisis in 2025–2026. Profitability across the industry has dropped to 9.6%, below the cost of servicing debt. Ural Steel, a city-forming enterprise in Novotroitsk, a leader in bridge steel production and a key contractor for state defense orders, went from a profit of 11 billion rubles to a net loss of over 22 billion within a year. Tax authorities have been forced to manually defer debt collection under court rulings until the end of April to prevent the plant’s shutdown and the layoff of 9,000 employees. Meanwhile, the metallurgical giant Severstal reported a fivefold drop in profit and a 42% decline in EBITDA.

Small and medium-sized businesses have been hit by a double blow — falling demand and rising tax burdens. Nearly half of businesses recorded a collapse in profits in 2025. The number of enterprises in the trade sector alone decreased by 11,500. In 2026, an additional 250,000–300,000 companies could disappear.

At the same time, wage arrears in Russia increased 1.7 times over the year, reaching approximately 2 billion rubles. According to experts, 99% of delayed payments are due to companies lacking funds. As of the end of 2025, hundreds of thousands of workers were already on forced downtime.

The only remaining support for production is state financing, but even that is not ensuring sustainable growth. By the end of 2025, Russia’s public debt increased by 21%, or 6.1 trillion rubles, reaching 35.1 trillion rubles. Weakening investment activity and domestic demand are accelerating the transition from stagnation to a full-scale downturn.

OPEC+ countries have agreed to increase oil production in May

OPEC+ has agreed to raise oil production quotas by 206,000 barrels per day in May — a modest increase that will largely exist only on paper, Reuters reports.

The statement was issued following a video conference of eight member countries: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman.

The decision to increase production was made “to maintain market stability,” the statement said.

Oil prices have risen to a four-year high — nearly $120 per barrel — leading to a sharp increase in transportation fuel costs. This is putting pressure on consumers and businesses worldwide and forcing governments to take measures to preserve supplies.

The increase in OPEC+ quotas by 206,000 barrels per day amounts to less than 2% of the supply disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, according to OPEC+ sources, it signals readiness to boost production once shipping resumes. Consulting firm Energy Aspects described the increase as “largely theoretical” while disruptions in the strait persist.

At the previous OPEC+ meeting in March, participants had already raised quotas by 206,000 barrels per day.

Overall, OPEC+ countries have been gradually increasing oil production since October 2025 — earlier restrictions had been introduced to maintain high oil prices.

The Ministry of Economy is developing a concept for partial privatization of assets

In addition to “standard” privatization and the sale of sanctioned assets, the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine is also working at the conceptual level on the possibility of partially selling strategic assets. This was stated by Deputy Minister Daria Marchak in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

“We are talking about assets that are strategic for the state, where a controlling stake must remain in state ownership. We are currently shaping a vision for the procedure and possible instruments of such partial privatization. Among the potential mechanisms are auctions, IPOs, or private placements,” she said when asked to comment on government statements about the possible privatization of assets such as state-owned banks, Ukrnafta, and Energoatom.

According to Marchak, specific assets are being discussed within the government and with international partners in order to begin preparing them.

“The immediate goal is to prepare several companies for the possibility of attracting a minority shareholder in 2026. This is not only about the sale procedure itself, but also about ensuring transparency and clarity of all financial flows within the companies,” the deputy minister noted.

She explained that this involves issues such as public service obligations (PSOs), audit reporting, and transparent corporate governance.

“All of this represents a major body of work that needs to be carried out within each company to prepare it for the possible entry of a minority shareholder. Our task is to bring in a strategic international investor who will contribute capital, expertise, and new technologies,” Marchak emphasized.

She added that ideas such as investment accounts and a “people’s IPO” — the sale of small share packages to Ukrainian citizens — are also being discussed. However, the main objective is to ensure that state asset management and share sales can ultimately generate added value.

“We want state-owned companies in Ukraine to become the foundation of the capital market, enabling the emergence of new investment instruments and attracting foreign investment. Something akin to a sovereign fund may also appear, generating additional value for the country. However, this would be the final stage in terms of public asset management processes,” the deputy minister said.

Regarding the involvement of privatization advisors, she noted that different approaches are being considered for “standard” privatization and partial privatization. Discussions are ongoing with international partners — the IFC, World Bank, EBRD, European Commission, and the UK government — on how best to structure cooperation.

“The general approach is to involve partners who will take responsibility for specific assets and help prepare them for sale. With our international partners, we are determining who can handle which part of the work: due diligence, mitigation of legal risks, or M&A processes. In a way, we are creating a matrix of support,” Marchak explained.

According to her, it is still too early to announce anything specific, as negotiations are ongoing. However, discussions are becoming increasingly concrete, with the aim of ensuring that each major asset is professionally prepared for sale.

“Advisors are clearly needed. The question is what functions they will perform and who will pay them. In the case of full privatization, the government is unlikely to fund the preparation of each individual asset. For partial privatization, we are asking international partners to support the provision of advisory services for preparing and facilitating sales. It is up to them whether they use their own resources or hire external consultants,” she added.

Marchak also noted that during discussions with Ukraine’s investment community, experts expressed satisfaction with the privatization procedures but called for post-privatization support. Therefore, one of the key tasks for the team this year is to develop a framework for such support.

KitKat says it has found 12 tons of stolen wafers

KitKat, which is part of the agribusiness giant Nestlé, reported that the 12 tons of bars stolen en route from Italy to Poland have been recovered. This was reported by Rai News.

“We can confirm that the 12 tons of KitKat are now accounted for,” the company said.

However, no further details were provided.

The company previously stated that the products had been stolen during transportation from a factory in central Italy to their destination in Poland.

“We are cooperating with local authorities in the investigation, including analyzing the supply chain of our partners. The good news is that there is no cause for concern regarding consumer safety, and this will not affect supply,” KitKat noted earlier.

It is currently unknown exactly where the cargo was stolen or how it was recovered.

Earlier, KitKat even joked about the theft.

“While we appreciate the exceptional taste of the criminals, the fact is that cargo theft is a growing problem for companies of all sizes,” the company said in a statement.

Ukraine’s public debt decreased by $1.8 billion in February

As of the end of February, Ukraine’s total public and publicly guaranteed debt amounted to $213.18 billion, decreasing by $1.8 billion over the month, according to the Ministry of Finance.

“In February 2026, Ukraine’s public and publicly guaranteed debt decreased by UAH 1.41 billion, while in dollar terms it declined by $1.8 billion,” the statement said.

As of February 28, external public debt stood at UAH 6.93 trillion (75.25%), or $160.41 billion; domestic public debt amounted to UAH 2.009 trillion (21.82%), or $46.1 billion; and publicly guaranteed debt totaled UAH 270.55 billion (2.94%), or $6.26 billion.

It is noted that concessional loans from international financial organizations and foreign governments dominate the debt structure, accounting for 65.6%. Government securities placed on the domestic market make up 21.8%, on the external market — 9.2%, while loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions account for about 3.4%.

As of February 28, the weighted average interest rate on public debt was 4.53%, compared to 4.51% in January 2026 and 6.2% in February 2025.

At the same time, the weighted average maturity stood at 13.23 years, compared to 13.39 years in January 2026 and 11.7 years in February 2025. Thus, on a year-on-year basis, the debt portfolio has become cheaper and longer in maturity, reducing servicing costs and lowering refinancing risks in the medium term.

In the currency structure of public and publicly guaranteed debt, the largest share is denominated in euros (44.9%), followed by the US dollar (22.5%) and the hryvnia (20.1%). Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) account for 8.5%, while other currencies — including the British pound, Canadian dollar, and Japanese yen — make up 3.1%.

Georgia’s only refinery has отказed Russian oi

The oil refinery in the port of Kulevi — Kulevi Oil Refinery — the only one in Georgia, will no longer accept or use Russian oil. Black Sea Petroleum, the company operating the facility, plans to replace Russian supplies with crude from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, as well as use “other alternative sources.” This was stated by the company’s CEO, David Potskhveria.

“Our task is to completely replace the existing Russian oil,” he said.

The statement came after the Kulevi oil terminal on the Black Sea coast nearly ended up on the EU sanctions list against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Potskhveria emphasized that imports of petroleum products derived from Russian oil into the EU are prohibited, while Black Sea Petroleum’s strategic goal is to export to the European market.

Diversifying crude oil sources will allow the company to export refined products to new markets, including European countries, the CEO noted.

Potskhveria did not specify when the refinery would switch to new supply volumes but said that processing of non-Russian crude would begin after transit through Azerbaijan is agreed.

Despite an agreement on Turkmen oil supplies having been reached several months ago, deliveries from that country have also been delayed due to railway transport difficulties, he explained.

Ukraine has used only half of its wheat export potential.

Over nine months of the marketing year, Ukraine exported 9.7 million tons of wheat, which is only 55% of the projected export volume to international markets, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club.

Experts noted that the current situation in the wheat market is unusual.

“After 75% of the marketing year, we have shipped just over half of the export potential. This is 25% lower than last year’s figures. The EU, with its own harvest of 144 million tons, has effectively met its internal demand, forcing Ukrainian exporters to redirect shipments to African countries,” analysts explained.

Over the past four months, average monthly wheat exports have remained at around 600,000 tons. If this pace continues, carryover stocks at the end of the season could reach a record 7.0 million tons. This would exceed even the level of the 2021/22 marketing year, when seaports were fully blocked.

The Ukrainian Agribusiness Club outlines three possible scenarios. The first предполагает (assumes) persistently low export rates, which would put pressure on domestic prices and lead to a shortage of storage capacity for the new harvest in July 2026. The second allows for rising global prices amid the war in the Middle East and higher fuel costs, which could partially offset the negative impact of large stockpiles. The third scenario requires increasing shipments to 2.4 million tons per month, which is difficult due to damage to port infrastructure.

“For the optimistic scenario to materialize, Ukraine needs to ship about 5.4 million tons of wheat and corn combined each month. Although sea routes remain accessible, moderate global demand and logistical constraints make this a challenge for the industry. Under these conditions, carryover stocks could become a risk-hedging tool for farmers amid rising production costs,” the association added.

The government has acknowledged unequal conditions for Ukrainian metallurgists in the EU

Ukrainian businesses have called on the government to define a clear position on the CBAM mechanism and its impact on exports, particularly due to the loss of foreign currency revenues. Government officials, in turn, confirm that Ukrainian and European metallurgists operate under unequal conditions due to differing levels of state support. This was discussed at the Exporters Summit organized by Forbes Ukraine, held in Kyiv, according to the press service of the Metinvest Group.

During an industry discussion, Oleksandr Vodoviz, Head of the CEO Office at Metinvest, stated that under the guise of environmental protection, the EU has introduced a tax that is effectively a tool to protect its own market.

“CBAM is essentially a tax that has little to do with ecology; it is a tool to protect the European market and stimulate their exports. As a result, we are forced to reduce supplies because we cannot compete there. While other countries protect their markets, Ukraine is losing foreign currency earnings. So the question arises for the Ukrainian government: what are our joint actions and calculations? What is the plan?” he said.

According to Vodoviz, due to CBAM, Ukrainian producers are forced to cut supplies to the EU, limiting their competitiveness in a key market.

Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka acknowledged that the competitive conditions between Ukraine and the EU are unequal, as the level of funding differs significantly.

“European metallurgy has been developing for about 20 years through decarbonization with state support, while in Ukraine such support has been zero,” he noted.

In addition, European companies receive substantial subsidies for “green” transformation, while Ukrainian producers face only rising costs during the war. Kachka also emphasized that metallurgy markets are highly competitive and politicized, but Ukraine is negotiating with the EU to maintain acceptable export conditions.

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