Trade sources said freight for shipping Urals crude from Russia's western/Baltic ports to Asia slid from early-November peaks as global oil prices and tanker rates fell. Sources added that recent drone strikes on Russian refineries have diverted more crude to export, and November loadings could exceed plans, which may limit further downside in Urals freight. In late October, freight to India hit record highs of about $30/blk or higher; rates have eased to roughly $25/barrel. Owners report one-wa

ANTHROPIC opens Claude Fable 5.2 to all paid users effective today on the Claude Platform and on major cloud platforms. Pricing is $8 per MLN input tokens and $40 per MLN output tokens, down from $10 and $50 previously.

At a Q3 2026 earnings briefing, Wang Li, acting general manager, said Kweichow Moutai is shifting to a consumer‑centred, demand‑driven distribution model and abandoning channel stockpiling via prepayments. Self‑operated channels now reach consumers directly and some social‑channel SKUs are sold on consignment (ownership not transferred), both of which do not generate advance receipts. The company has implemented a dynamic allocation model that assigns product by region and dealer based on sell‑through and inventory, and collects payment only immediately before allocation to preserve channel health. As market‑driven operations deepen, industry prepayment practices no longer reflect end‑consumer demand; advance‑receipt balances should not be treated as a primary supply‑demand indicator.