Weekly oil prices in Brent, OPEC basket, and WTI futures 2020-2026

On March 9, 2026, the Brent crude oil price stood at 88.75 U.S. dollars per barrel, compared to 87.87. U.S. dollars for WTI oil and 115.54 U.S. dollars for the OPEC basket. Oil prices rose slightly that week.
Europe's Brent crude oil, the U.S. WTI crude oil, and OPEC's basket are three of the most important benchmarks used by traders as references for global oil and gasoline prices.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in crude oil prices hitting a major slump as oil demand drastically declined following lockdowns and travel restrictions. Initial outlooks and uncertainty surrounding the course of the pandemic brought about a disagreement between two of the largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, in early March. Bilateral talks between global oil producers ended in agreement on April 13th, with promises to cut petroleum output and hopes rising that these might help stabilize the oil price in the coming weeks. However, with storage facilities and oil tankers quickly filling up, fears grew over where to store excess oil, leading to benchmark prices seeing record negative prices between April 20 and April 22, 2020.

As with most commodities, crude oil prices are impacted by supply and demand, as well as inventories and market sentiment. However, as oil is most often traded in future contracts (where a contract is agreed upon while product delivery will follow in the next two to three months), market speculation is one of the principal determinants for oil prices. Traders make conclusions on how production output and consumer demand will likely develop over the coming months, leaving room for uncertainty. Spot prices differ from futures in so far as they reflect the current market price of a commodity.

Share of Intel and AMD x86 computer CPUs worldwide 2012-2026, by quarter

In the first quarter of 2026, roughly 60.1 percent of x86 computer processor or CPU tests recorded were from Intel processors, while 38.8 percent were AMD processors. When looking solely at laptop CPUs, Intel is the clear winner, accounting for over 70 percent of laptop CPU test benchmark results in the first quarter of 2026. 

The x86 is a family of instruction set architectures (ISA) for computer processors, otherwise known as central processing units (CPUs), which were initially developed by Intel. They refer to the way a CPU handles information, with x86 architecture of variable instruction lengths, and primarily of a complex instruction set computer (CISC) design. Although additions and developments to the x86 processor have taken place, backward compatibility has remained a key feature of the architecture; the newer x86 processors can run all the programs that older processors could run.

The x86 processor is the predominant hardware platform for laptops, desktops, and servers globally. Both Windows and Mac laptops have used x86 chips; previously, Apple’s line of Mac products used PowerPC microprocessors, with the transition to Intel x86 architecture first acknowledged in 2005. The first generation of Intel-based Mac computers were released in January 2006, a partnership that continued through until 2020, where Apple announced the switch of the Mac line from Intel CPUs to Arm-based processors. The decision was made in order to standardize on one CPU architecture for all iPhone, iPad, and Mac products.

Spotify: most streamed daily tracks worldwide 2026

On March 11 2026, "Stateside + Zara Larsson" by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson was the most-streamed track on Spotify, with around 5.48 million streams worldwide, followed by "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars, reaching 5.2 million streams on Spotify that day.

Firstly, Spotify is one of the most successful and popular music streaming services in the United States, and as of the first half of 2018 had the biggest share of music streaming subscribers in the world. With Spotify’s vast audience, featuring on the platform is a good start for emerging and popular artists hoping to make an impact.

Secondly, there is no exact science to ‘going viral’. From the famous egg photo on Instagram posted in early 2019 to wildly successful music video ‘Gangnam Style’ released back in 2012, viral content comes in all shapes and sizes. Purposeful viral marketing is one way in which something could go viral, and is one of the reasons why some songs have so many streams in a short space of time. This type of marketing involves a tactical approach and pre-planning in an attempt to push the content into the public eye and encourage it to spread as quickly as possible.

However, many artists who go viral do not expect to. Accessible, catchy content created by an already popular artist is already poised to do well, i.e. the latest song or album from U.S. singer Drake. This is an example of incidental viral marketing, when content spreads by itself partially as a result of an established and engaged audience. Indeed, Spotify’s most-streamed tracks generally originate from a well-known figure with a large following. But for smaller or entirely unknown content creators, going viral or experiencing their 15 minutes of fame can simply be a case of posting the right thing at the right time.

Public approval of the U.S. strikes on Iran in the U.S. February 2026

A survey conducted among American citizens at the start of the U.S. and Israeli military operations in Iran found that some 44 percent did not approve of the U.S. attacks. On the other hand, 34 percent did approve of such actions. A further 22 percent of respondents were unsure.

Total estimated damages during the anti-government protests in Iran 2026, by category

During the 50-day-long anti-government protest in Iran, an estimated 1,400 ATMs, 800 private vehicles, and 750 banks were damaged. Additionally, 350 mosques and 300 residential homes were reportedly harmed in the course of the events. 

The anti-government demonstrations initially broke out on December 28, 2025, due to economic issues in the country, including high inflation, the collapse of the Iranian currency, low wages, widespread unemployment, and the mismanagement of the state.

People detained by ICE in the U.S. 2019-2026

As of February 7, 2026, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the United States had 68,289 people in detention. This reflected a decrease from a previous peak of 70,766 detainees on January 25, 2025, highest number recorded over the observed period. Since the start of President Donald Trump's second term in January 2025, the number of detainees in ICE custody has grown rapidly.

Monthly annual inflation rate in the U.S. 2021-2026

In February 2026, the 12-month inflation rate in the United States was 2.4 percent higher. This measure tracks how the average cost of a broad basket changes over a 12-month period. Looking ahead, inflation is expected to ease, with the annual rate projected to fall to around 2.2 percent in 2027.

The consumer price index (CPI) sits at the heart of how America measures inflation. It tracks the cost of a representative basket of goods and services. In 2022, annual price growth surged by eight percent, driven first by COVID 19 disruptions and later by turmoil in energy and commodity markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The spike prompted the Federal Reserve to initiate a series of interest rate hikes to bring price growth back under control.

Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a way of comparing currencies by what they can buy rather than by their exchange rates. It asks whether the same bundle of goods costs more in one country than another. The Big Mac Index uses the price of McDonald’s signature burger to illustrate how far different currencies stretch. In January 2025, a Big Mac cost about 5.79 U.S. dollars in the U.S. while in Switzerland it was 7.99 U.S. dollars. This implies that the Swiss franc buys less burger per dollar than the market exchange rate alone might suggest.

Crude oil import volume in China 2024-2025, by country

In 2025, Russia was China's main crude oil supplier. That year, China imported around 101 million metric tons worth of crude oil from Russia. However, the majority of China's oil imports still originated from countries in the Middle East.

Funding value of women-led startups in India 2021-2025

In 2025, the value of startup funding deals for women-led startups was one billion U.S. dollars in India. This was a nine percent decline in funding value from a year ago.

Number of active military personnel in NATO in 2026, by member state

In 2026, the United States had the largest number of active military personnel out of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with over 1.33 million troops. The country with the second-largest number of military personnel was Turkey, at around 481,000 active personnel. Additionally, the U.S. has by far the most armored vehicles in NATO, as well as the largest Navy and Air Force. 

NATO in brief

NATO, which was formed in 1949, is the most powerful military alliance in the world. At its formation, NATO began with 12 member countries, which by 2024 had increased to 32. NATO was originally formed to deter Soviet expansion into Europe, with member countries expected to come to each other’s defense in case of an attack. Member countries are also obliged to commit to spending two percent of their respective GDPs on defense, although many states have recently fallen far short of this target. 

NATO in the contemporary world

Some questioned the purpose of NATO after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later. In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron even called the organization 'brain dead' amid dissatisfaction with the leadership of the U.S. during Donald Trump's first term. NATO has, however, seen a revival after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Following the invasion, Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military neutrality and applied to join the alliance, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.