In this week’s wrap up, we talk about the spike in LNG shipping costs, how Dubai became one of the largest gold hubs in the world, why cocoa farmers are abandoning cocoa farming, the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and why cash in circulation is rising even as digital payments boom.

Also, in this week’s Markets edition we talk about the falling markets and what ‘buying the dip’ really means. You can read it here.

With that out of the way, let’s look back at what we wrote this week.

The cost of global trade

For decades, companies believed geography no longer mattered. Goods could be manufactured thousands of kilometres away and still remain competitive because shipping was cheap.

But that assumption breaks down the moment shipping becomes expensive.

Last week, LNG shipping rates surged by more than 650%, briefly touching $300,000 per day as tensions in the Middle East disrupted vessel availability. And when freight prices spike like this, the cost of transporting energy rises even if the price of gas itself doesn’t.

Which raises a bigger question: If shipping suddenly becomes expensive again, could distance start reshaping global trade all over again?

Read our Monday story to find out.

How did Dubai become the 'City of Gold'?

When geopolitical tensions rise, investors usually rush to safe-haven assets. And gold is often at the top of that list. But over the past week, something odd has happened. Gold prices have actually slipped instead of rising.

That’s partly because higher US bond yields and margin calls are pulling money elsewhere. But there’s also an unexpected factor at play: Dubai.

The Middle East conflict has disrupted cargo routes through one of the world’s biggest gold trading hubs, forcing traders to sell at discounts.

Which raises a fascinating question: how did a city with no gold mines become the world’s “City of Gold”?

That’s exactly what we dug into in Tuesday’s story. You can read it here.

Why cocoa farmers are abandoning chocolate

Everyone loves chocolate, except the farmers growing them. Chocolate prices have surged in recent years due to supply shocks like El Niño, which devastated cocoa harvests and pushed global cocoa prices as high as $10,000 per tonne in 2024. But paradoxically, this volatility hasn’t necessarily benefited farmers.

Most cocoa farmers in countries like Ghana and Ivory Coast earn very little because prices are tightly controlled by the cocoa boards and supply chains dominated by traders and large chocolate companies. At the same time, farming cocoa has become increasingly difficult due to ageing trees, disease, climate change and rising input costs.

In Wednesday’s story, we explain how this is happening and how farmers are earning in other unconventional ways.

The Draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 explained

Across India, electricity workers recently stepped out of offices and power plants to protest the government’s proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025.

At the heart of the reform is a simple but controversial idea. The government wants to allow multiple electricity distributors to operate in the same area, much like telecom operators compete today. The goal is to improve efficiency and fix the financial stress plaguing state-run DISCOMs.

But unions fear something very different. They worry the reform could pave the way for privatisation, reduce subsidies, and leave public utilities stuck serving the least-profitable consumers, while the private sector serves only the most lucrative ones.

So is this reform a solution to India’s power sector problems, or the start of a much bigger political battle?

Read our full story to find out.

If UPI dominates, why is cash still growing?

ATMs might feel like a thing of the past. But what’s happening now makes you think otherwise. While it may seem like UPI has completely taken over India’s payment landscape, the truth is a little more complicated. Digital payments may dominate everyday transactions, but cash hasn’t lost its relevance.  For some, it’s a precautionary stash during uncertain times. For others, it’s a way to avoid leaving a digital trail.

For some, it’s a precautionary stash during uncertain times. For others, it’s a way to avoid leaving a digital trail. And sometimes, it simply reflects how wealth moves through the system — like when people sell gold or unlock value from assets and temporarily hold the proceeds as cash.

In yesterday’s story, we talked about why cash use is growing despite us having one of the most successful digital payment networks in the world.

Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 🧠

Hey folks! As you probably already know, the Finshots Weekly Quiz has a new avatar. If you missed out on it in the last couple of months, don’t worry. Click here to check out the rules and set a reminder to participate consistently starting next month!

But for now, it’s time to announce the winners. First up, the winner of Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 for February 2026. Drumroll, please… 🥁 Sejal Singla! Congratulations.

Next, let’s move on to the top scorers from our previous weekly quiz. There were a whole bunch of you who participated, and many of you ended up with the same scores. So we’re calling you Bulls, Bears, Unicorns, Blue Chips, and Rising Stars. Here’s how the leaderboard looks right now:

If your name has been featured on the leaderboard, then congratulations! If not, don’t lose hope. If you attempted last week’s quiz, keep at it and answer all the weekly quizzes this month. You never know when the turntables! Click on this link to take this week’s quiz, which is open till 12 noon, Friday, 20th of March, 2026. The more answers you get right, the better your chances of appearing on the Finshots Weekly Quiz leaderboard. We’ll publish it every Saturday in the Weekly Wrapup. And the winner will be announced in the first week of April.

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