MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — World Cup tickets are expensive. Flights to North America are expensive. Hotel rooms in many places are expensive.
Then there’s the price of beer.
There are some fun — and yes, sometimes pricey — food and drink offerings at the venues playing host to the World Cup. A $75 caviar-topped tray of tater tots and a $40 empanada weighing in at 5 pounds for the daring or for sharing in Miami. Ribeye tacos for $8 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Something called a Twinkie cheeseburger that has nothing to do with dessert for $22 in Los Angeles.
Prices, in many cases, aren’t all that different from what U.S. fans would experience on NFL Sundays or college football Saturdays. But some international fans aren’t used to such pricing and are calling foul, especially over beer prices that can top $20.
“It’s unfair. It’s not right. It’s wrong,” said Thomas Schüller, an engineer from Germany in Toronto to watch his national team play over the weekend, as he held a beer that cost him 24.25 Canadian dollars (about $17). “It’s three times the cost of what I pay in my country.”
But is that stopping him?
“Well, no,” Schüller acknowledged.
Beer prices become a mild pint of discord
There is clearly some sticker shock among international visitors to this World Cup, especially when it comes to the concession prices. In Europe, it’s not uncommon for beers to be perhaps around 4 or 5 euros (about $5-6).
There’s also no shortage of intrigue on the menu at the concession stands at stadiums across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“Never seen anything like it,” said Janine Arbetter, a fan from Austria, as she waited for a hot dog, chips and soda combo in Miami last week. The pre-tip price: $19.35, which included a discount for using Visa. “It’s a lot of food for a little snack.”
Some Argentina fans happily showed off their $34 lobster rolls from a match in Kansas City on social media, but in Toronto, the brisket sandwich with chips and a bottle of soda for nearly 40 Canadian dollars ($28) had some online commenters lamenting it as “robbery.”
“It’s OK, more or less, for the World Cup,” German fan Daniel Feldmann said of the food prices while watching a match in Vancouver last week.
Concession offerings vary from stadium to stadium
FIFA, the sport’s governing body and the tournament organizer, has very specific rules on just about everything related to the World Cup — and there are guidelines that concessionaires have to follow as well. But prices can vary by market, as do the food and drink offerings. And that means the experience in one city might look, or taste, nothing like what’s offered in another.
The “Fancy AF Tots” for $75 at Miami Stadium aren’t really tots at all — it’s three deep-fried hash brown patties, with caviar, creme fraiche and chives. (For those who just want the caviar, it’ll be $70.) Southern California’s Twinkie cheeseburger is in fact a burger topped with a Texas Twinkie — a bacon-wrapped jalapeño stuffed with brisket and cream cheese.
But there’s also a slew of choices specific to a local market; for example, Vancouver offers short rib poutine along with a maple bacon smokie (smoked sausage topped with bacon onion jam that features Canadian maple syrup).
And in Miami, the signature offerings include pan con lechon (a Cuban-style sandwich with pork, infused with citrus mojo sauce and served on a toasted full Cuban loaf) and Empanada Mundial (the five-pound, handmade, chicken-and-cheese-stuffed dish named after the World Cup).
Both Vancouver and Miami have Sodexo Live as a food and beverage provider, and the typical game-day menus in both stadiums were revised a bit to accommodate a soccer crowd.
“We want it to feel like Miami when you’re here,” said Zach Williams, Sodexo Live’s vice president of operations at Miami Stadium. “Everything we do around the Miami Stadium, we want to make sure everybody understands that when they come here, they’re getting a Miami experience.”
Atlanta Stadium keeps prices low
In Mexico City, a beer could cost a day’s pay — literally. The daily minimum wage in Mexico City is just 315.04 pesos (roughly $18). Some beers at Mexico City Stadium were selling for between 299 and 310 pesos — about twice as much as fans would ordinarily pay in the same stadium when the World Cup isn’t in town.
But in Atlanta, where Falcons owner and stadium operator Arthur Blank promised the low concession prices he’s championed for many years would hold for the World Cup, pizza slices were $3, 32-ounce sodas were $4, a cheeseburger was $5, chicken tenders with fries were $6 and beers could be had for as little as $8.
Jonathan Arango, a 33-year-old from Greenville, S.C., was at a match in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and father.
“In total for what we got — three orders of tacos, a slice of pizza, two waters and a Coke — we spent like $50,” Arango said. “Compared to what we’ve paid at other events … it’s nice after you paid a lot for a ticket.”
And Schüller pointed out that even though the tournament does come around every four years, it still feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The entire football world is having fun,” Schüller said, “so cheers to that.”
KATIE Price has slammed “beggy” women after Lee Andrews is sent a saucy snap from a fan asking him to “forget” his wife.
The Sun revealed how the self-proclaimed ‘billionaire businessman’ – who had spent the last month locked up in Dubai’s notorious Al-wir prison –was freed earlier this month.
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Katie Price has slammed “beggy” women after Lee Andrews is sent a saucy snap from a fan asking him to “forget” his wifeCredit: Instagram/KatiepriceThe Sun revealed how the self-proclaimed ‘billionaire businessman’ – who had spent the last month locked up in Dubai’s notorious Al-Awir prison –was freed earlier this monthCredit: wesleeeandrews/Instagram
Katie recently shared another recovery pic of her bruised lips after lip surgeryCredit: Katie Price/Facebook/BackgridKatie explained in her post that she was embarrassed for the woman who sent the messageCredit: SplashYesterday, Katie made a cryptic post about the hardship couples who are meant to be together sometimes faceCredit: mistraesthetics/InstagramKatie’s husband Lee has been advertising a ‘new money-making scheme’ as he sends ‘fans’ birthday wishes on videoCredit: Instagram
Lee had not accepted or replied to the message and Katie slammed the woman in her Instagram stories.
Posting the conversation, she said: “Why are some girls so beggy messaging my husband?
“Have some decorum, says a lot about @***.*****, I’m embarrased for you.”
KATIE Price has made a cryptic post about the hardship couples who are meant to be together sometimes face.
The TV star, 48, took to Instagram to share a quote for her followers and left it standing alone with no extra input on her story.
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Katie Price has posted a cryptic quote to her Instagram about couples who face the ‘hardest battles’Credit: Getty Images for The Cambridge UnionIt comes shortly after the star reunited with her husband Lee AndrewsCredit: Instagram
The quote reads: “Sometimes the two people who are truly meant for each other will face the hardest battles.”
Upon clicking on the post the quote expands to share more detail, continuing to say: “Not because they are wrong for each other. But because the world will test everything real.
“Love like that doesn’t come easy. It’s built through pain. Distance. Misunderstandings. Growth.
“But if they can hold on through the chaos. If they choose each other over and over again. They’ll find something most people only dream of.
“A love that didn’t just survive the storm. But became unbreakable because of it.”
Lee claimed he was held at gunpoint and sent to prisonCredit: Instagram/wesleeeandrewsKatie appears happy to see her man againCredit: wesleeandrews/Instagram
He then praised his wife for her help in getting British authorities involved inhis release.
Posting a video of himself on social media, Lee said: “Hi everyone, this is Lee. I’ve been missing now for several weeks. I can tell you I’m now safe and healthy and with my wife.
“I was taken close to the Hatta-Oman border by men at gunpoint and then I was captured by men with assault rifles.
“They did slap me around a little bit, little s***s, and I was hand-tied, shackled and also had a hood over my head.
“From there I was taken to a black site and I had no use of my phone and from what I know it was an extended arm of the National Guard and that’s all I can reveal at the moment.
“I have signed disclaimers now with state security and from there I was put into the system.
“At no point have I faced anything to do with fraud allegations or any criminal activities such as that.
“So thank you to Katie for making such a noise where the UAE actually listened and let me go.”
However, UAE officials debunked his claims he was in jail for spying and confirmed he has spent the past four weeks behind bars on suspicion of fraud.
Katie appeared to accept his story, sharing Lee’s video on Instagram saying: “My husband is back. I love you.”
The money-saving expert said earlier in the week that he expected energy prices to drop soon in some rare ‘good news’ for hard-pressed Brits
US and Iran sign initial deal promising to end war in 60 days
Martin Lewis says that energy deals are already becoming more affordable following an agreement between the US and Iran. The money-saving expert stated earlier this week that he anticipated prices would fall soon in some rare ‘good news’ for financially stretched British households concerning energy costs.
This followed an announcement of an accord between the US and Iran to cease hostilities and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The memorandum of understanding, which is now active, was signed on Wednesday by Donald Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.
This has seen the cost of oil and natural gas decline, resulting in a reduction in energy prices. At the time of writing, Brent crude has fallen by approximately $7 a barrel and UK natural gas by roughly 14 per cent.
Mr Lewis confirmed that fixed energy deals were already being made available that were around 5 per cent more affordable. He stated: “Energy fixes have started to get cheaper, now 5% below April price cap.”
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However, Mr Lewis cautioned earlier this week that people shouldn’t anticipate a substantial reduction in the next price cap, which runs from October to December.
The next price cap is expected to be announced on August 26 by energy regulator Ofgem. Approximately 60 per cent of households in England, Scotland, and Wales remain on a standard variable tariff, meaning their costs are governed by the price cap.
The current energy price cap is due to increase on July 1 by 13 per cent. This means that a home with typical energy consumption paying by direct debit will face charges of £1,862 annually.
That marks a rise of £221 compared to the previous price cap – and Mr Lewis cautioned it could climb even higher, despite the cessation of hostilities.
He stated: “The US and Iran signing a framework deal has pushed natural gas prices down. These wholesale prices are a key driver of UK gas and electricity bills. As the six-month graph shows, though, prices still have a long way to fall before returning to pre-conflict levels.
“The good news is that this could lead to slightly cheaper fixed tariffs being launched in the coming days. However, without substantial further drops the October price cap still looks likely to be significantly higher than it is today.”
He was subsequently questioned about why he believed the price cap would increase from October. He responded: “It’s the same reason the energy Price Cap HASN’T yet risen due to the Middle East crisis. It is time-lagged. So slow to rise, slow to fall.”
US drivers may have to wait until 2027 for gasoline prices to fall below 79 cents per litre, according to Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy. He says global oil inventories could take more than a year to recover from disruptions linked to the war on Iran.
KATIE Price has emotionally reunited with her husband Lee Andrews just days after his release from prison.
The Sun revealed how the self-proclaimed ‘billionaire businessman’ – who has spent the last month locked up in Dubai’s notorious Al-Awir prison –was freed on Friday.
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Katie Price has been reunited with her husband Lee Andrews after over a month apart while he was in prisonCredit: BackGridThe married couple had an emotional reunion which saw Katie jump into his armsCredit: BackGrid
Sharing an emotional reunion on Sunday evening, the former glamour model jumped into Lee’s arms as he picked her up and hugged her.
The beaming couple were pictured kissing, hugging and holding hands as they headed to Vox Dubai, an outdoor rooftop cinema, to catch a World Cup football game.
While Katie previously told The Sun she had plenty of questions for her elusive husband upon their reunion, it appeared those could wait as the couple got straight back to PDA – with the reconciliation appearing to be a far cry from crisis talks.
Despite the many questions surrounding Lee and the untruths he has told over recent months, all appeared to be forgiven between the coupleCredit: BackGridA beaming Katie appeared overjoyed to be back with Lee after touching down in DubaiCredit: BackGridIt comes after Katie said she would be confronting the ‘businessman’ with an onslaught of questions and grilling him upon their reunionCredit: BackGridThe couple headed to an outdoor rooftop cinema to watch a World Cup game during their first outing togetherCredit: BackGrid
The mum-of-five said earlier this month that she will only divorce the suspected conman once she has questioned him herself.
She said: “I cannot just walk away from my marriage without seeing him again.”
The Sun previously reported how Lee had been locked up in Al-Awir over a “private civil matter”, believed to be related to allegations of fraud, on May 14.
Among the claims, one of the cases against the self-proclaimed businessman is understood to be over a bounced cheque.
He initially claimed to Katie that he had been arrested on suspicion of spying. Authorities in Dubai later confirmed to The Sun that this was not the case.
Failed actor is just another title to add toLee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
Lee was also mocked for repeating theexact same wedding proposalon Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.
Katie’s return to the UAE comes just a week after she headed out there in the hopes of freeing him from prison, but was told she’d need a hefty £140,000 to bail him out – which she refused.
She gave The Sun exclusive access to the trip, with Showbiz Editor Clemmie Moodie joining her.
During which, Clemmie sat Katie down to confront her about Lee and the many untruths he has told over recent months – with the full 56 minute sit down available to watchhere.
At the time, Katie admitted there were several questions she didn’t know the answer to, and was waiting for Lee to exit prison to quiz him.
KATIE Price has said that nobody knew just how bad things were for her when she experienced some very ‘dark moments’ in her life.
The TV star, 48, is gearing up for the release of her upcoming tell-all docuseries,Katie Price: Nothing to Hide – in which she will recount her 2018 and 2021 breakdowns.
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Katie Price is gearing up for her new tell-all docuseries to drop next monthCredit: Dan CharityKatie has opened up about her 2018 breakdown ahead of her new docuseriesCredit: YouTube/@WeNeedToTalk-Podcast
Her candid and unfiltered account of three decades in the spotlight is coming to Sky and NOW on July 8.
This week, Katie attended the Sheffield DocFest where she revealed that during her darkest moments and confessed ‘no-one knew how bad it was’, with this set to play out in her new series.
Katie suffered a major mental breakdown in around 2018 following a build-up of traumatic events in her life, she then suffered another in 2021.
Speaking about this at the DocFest event ahead of her Sky show dropping next month, Katie got candid and confessed: “When I had my breakdown, I don’t think people really knew how bad it was, and how it affected people in my life.
“To hear that my loved ones cried and how much they loved me is like a wake-up call for me.
“There are some really dark moments [in the series] but at the same time, uplifting.
“People have to remember that it’s actually my life, so if you’re exhausted just watching it, imagine how exhausting it is for my little pea brain.
“But I really enjoyed doing it.
“I said they should do 10 parts and they wanted to, but we were lucky to push it to four [episodes].
“There’s still so much you could put in it. Even from what you’re reading today.”
Elsewhere at the event, Katie said: “I’m an open book.
“When [the team] came to me about the documentary, I got excited because something about me and my life is perfect.
“The media narrative is so different to what I’m really like but as you say, every day, even now, there’s always something.
“My life could actually be a soap story – it just doesn’t stop. I’m normal but it’s a weird world I live in. I can’t explain it.”
She also touched on being authentic.
“I have nothing to hide, and when they asked me, ‘are there any areas you don’t want us to go?’, I said, no! You can talk to absolutely anyone you want and you can talk to me about anything you want,” she confessed.
“Luckily the duty of care was amazing. Sometimes after two hours [of interviews], I couldn’t do any more.
“There are moments where I’ve had therapy to get over some of the things in my life, and I had to relive them.
“But I think this is what makes a good show, and I love watching documentaries.
“So many people are so manufactured and they’re in on the edits, so they look like a polished turd, basically. I am not that!
“Even I’m cringing at some of the stuff in the first episode! I haven’t had time to reflect on anything in my life because there’s always the next thing, and the next thing.”
VENEZUELA Fury has furiously hit back at critics who claim she is too young to be married.
The eldest Fury offspring, who wed partner Noah Price last month, had so far remained silent on the controversy – but has now issued a defiant response.
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Loved-up Venezuela and Noah celebrate becoming husband and wifeCredit: InstagramThe happy couple shared a kiss after tying the knotCredit: Splash
In a defiant new social media post shared on Instagram, the 16-year-old shared a loved-up snap from her wedding day, with a clear message to trolls in her caption.
“For everyone who said I was too young,” she wrote, looking to silence the subject once and for all.
The photo shared showed Venezuela and Noah grinning from ear to ear on their wedding day as they posed together following the lavish ceremony.
Venezuela’s marriage raised eyebrows among some critics, who argue that 16 is too young to fully understand the lifelong commitment of marriage.
Venezuela showed off her huge fairytale wedding dress before tying the knot with NoahCredit: SplashThe 16-year-old bride wore a towering lace creation complete with a show-stopping 50ft trainCredit: Splash
The debate intensified after England and Wales raised the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 in 2022 as part of efforts to tackle child marriage.
The couple tied the knot on the Isle of Man, where 16 and 17-year-olds can still legally marry with the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
When the wedding was discussed on Loose Women, the panel were generally positive, while viewers commented on social media: “Are we really celebrating child marriage?”
Parents Tyson and Paris Fury have publicly backed the marriage, with Tyson proudly walking his daughter down the aisle on her big day.
Paris has also defended the decision, pointing out that she was engaged at 17 after meeting Tyson when she was just 15.
Venezuela left formal schooling at 11 as part of Traveller tradition and has since moved from family life into married life.
With 1.3 million TikTok followers, the eldest daughter of Tyson and Paris is reportedly being lined up to star in her own reality show alongside husband Noah, 19.
It is believed Netflix would be the frontrunner to produce the series following the success of the family’s hit show, At Home With The Furys.
KATIE Price has admitted son Harvey is happiest at home and tells her he “hates” living anywhere else.
The former glamour model revealed that while Harvey previously moved into his own flat, he is now back living with her and dreads the prospect of being away from his mum again.
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Katie says Harvey is happiest when he’s at home with herCredit: GettyKatie says Harvey misses her cuddles when he’s awayCredit: PA
Speaking on The Katie Price Show podcast, Katie opened up about how much Harvey struggles when he’s not at home.
She said: “I think people are noticing I’ve got Harvey here more than I normally do. Normally he’s in Cheltenham.”
Harvey, 24, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, attended a specialist further education college for young people with complex disabilities.
He enrolled at the residential college in Cheltenham in 2021 before his funding was cut in 2024.
Katie says she is still waiting for a permanent placement for HarveyCredit: GettyKatie revealed Harvey misses her cuddles when he’s away from homeCredit: PA
KATIE Price revealed her son Harvey suffered a painful fall at home this morning.
The 24-year-old, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, took a tumble after waking up early and heading into the kitchen when it was still a bit dark.
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Harvey Price was left in pain after falling over at homeCredit: BackGridKatie Price recently returned from Dubai where her husband Lee Andrews is in jailCredit: Louis Wood
Katie, 48, could be heard saying Harvey was left limping and in pain.
In a video uploaded to Facebook, Harvey was seen enjoying a sensory session with smellies and took a particular liking to lemongrass.
The post was captioned: “Harvey took a little tumble this morning! So lots of TLC for my baby bear!
“Smelling is amazing for his sensory Needs & Taking his mind off the situation!”
Katie recently returned from Dubai where she tried to find out more about husband Lee Andrew’s detention in Al Awir prison.
Lee, 43, claims he was arrested and detained on suspicion of espionage, but the reality is he is in for a private civil matter.
He needs to raise £140,000 to be released and asked Katie to set up a GoFundMe to help out, but she declined, stating there wouldn’t be enough public support.
The Sun’s Showbiz Editor Clemmie Moodie sat down with Katie during her Dubai trip and grilled her about Lee and the many untruths he has told over recent months.
Among them are the claims he bid to buy a majority stake in Chelsea Football Club and visited Katie’s children in person on secret trips to the UK, despite the fact he has a travel ban and can’t leave Dubai.
The full 56 minute sit down interview is available to watchhere.
LA28 reserved the first Olympic tickets for locals. To kick off the second round of ticket sales, it’s a sponsorship connection that could help fans get to the front of the line.
Before the second Olympic ticket drop officially begins Aug. 10, LA28 announced Wednesday there will be a presale for Visa cardholders that will run from July 29-31.
Visa has sponsored the Olympics for 40 years and is the only credit card accepted for payment in Olympic zones. For a chance to be selected for the presale, fans need to first confirm their status as a Visa cardholder. Fans who have already registered can log into their existing LA28 ticket account, check the “Visa presale box” and save changes. New registrants must select the Visa cardholder option during the registration process. All ticket sales during the presale must be completed with a Visa credit card.
Fans can register for the second ticket drop at tickets.la28.org until July 22. Those who already registered for Drop 1 but weren’t selected or didn’t purchase their full 12-ticket allotment do not have to sign up again and are automatically entered into the lottery for Drop 2, which will run from Aug. 10-20.
Fans who are randomly selected for the Visa presale will be notified of their time slot on July 27. Those who aren’t selected for the presale remain eligible for a time slot in Drop 2. Email notifications for Drop 2 time slots will go out from Aug. 6-7.
The second ticket drop will offer tickets across all Olympic sports at a range of price points, LA28 said in a statement, subject to inventory availability. Prices start at $28 for individual tickets, but of the total 1 million $28 Olympic tickets, half were scooped up during the Drop 1 presale that was reserved for locals living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
April’s ticketing debut frustrated fans who were surprised by high prices, a 24% service fee on every ticket and limited inventory for key events. Still, LA28 sold 4 million tickets across 85 countries, a historic number that had International Olympic Committee officials giddy for the potential of the 2028 Games.
“What we thought we were going to sell, and what we thought we were going to get for people who registered for interest, we exceeded those by magnitudes,” LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover told The Times on June 4 after IOC members visited L.A. “We were able to set Olympic records in terms of sale, but I think the broader picture about all of that is people want to be a part of something really big and be part of something here in L.A., a part of history.”
LA28, the organizing committee behind L.A.’s first Olympics in 40 years, expects to generate $2.5 billion in ticketing and hospitality to support what has been advertised as a privately funded Games. The estimated $7.1-billion operations budget is also buoyed by $2.5 billion in expected sponsorship revenue. LA28 already has $2 billion in domestic partnership money.
IT’S the story the whole nation is talking about – and The Sun’s Clemmie Moodie has the inside scoop after joining Katie Price in Dubai to find out the truth about husband Lee Andrews.
The Sun’s Clemmie has the answers to the story everyone is talking aboutCredit: Louis Wood News Group Newspapers LtdTonight Katie will reveal the damning truth she discovered about her husbandCredit: Instagram
Clemmie and Katie, 48, have embarked upon an extraordinary international trek looking for “the world’s most hated man” – and tonight, she bares her soul to The Sun in her only sit-down interview since the firestorm started.
And Katie confesses that if she doesn’t get the answers she wants from her husband, she is prepared to turn the tables in explosive fashion.
In the hour-long interview, Katie shares her sensational side of the story after initially being led to believe that Lee had been kidnapped before – following three weeks of zero contact – learning of his incarceration.
She’s someone who has lived every possible high and low, both personally and professionally, in the glare of the public eye.
But even she warns readers of her latest tell-all: “You don’t want to miss it.
“This is where you’ll see the truth.”
Katie flew out to Dubai last Monday and has visited Al Awir Central Prison several times, though her only contact with her Lee has been via the phone.
She opens up to Clemmie about Lee’s infamous flight ban – after he humiliated her by forcing her to do a live TV interview without him – and about the concerns from loved-ones and fans alike over her marriage.
And, in a shock turn of events, Katie will tell all after being confronted with some damning news about the man she loves.
You can read and watch Clemmie’s interview with Katie tonight at 7pm right here on The Sun.
In a now deleted video shared on her social media, Katie teamed up with Lee’s ex-wife Dina for an episode of The Katie Price podcast. In clips circulating online, the pair could be seen hugging and chatting about Lee.
Katie told Dina in on video: “I came to Dina about one of the cases because I thought, is Dina involved? And then obviously we had a cup of tea, as girls do, we’ve had a long chat, and that’s for us to know, and for you to find out in the future. On that note, I’m glad we met Dina.
Dina also told Katie in the clip: “To be honest with you, I really didn’t care about responding to reporters and everyone that was messaging me. I mean, just out of respect, if there’s anything that I wanted to share and kind of warn her, if anything, it would be woman to woman, you know, face to face.”
Katie Price revealed her weight has dropped as she battles to get Lee Andrews out of jailCredit: Facebook/ Katie Price / BackgridThe star’s husband is still in jail in Dubai, with Katie revealing the toll the ‘stress’ is taking on herCredit: Instagram/@wesleeeandrews
But after she spoke to him, it emerged he “needs a six-figure sum” instead.
After finding this out, Katie shared her fears for Lee, and said she was worried “he would not be released anytime soon”.
Revealing details of her last phone conversation with Lee, Katie said on Thursday: “I’m absolutely knackered, it’s the second morning because I spoke to Lee yesterday and he wants me to go to the Al Awir prison because he’s given me permission to get all his phones, his belongings.
“So I’m going there now.
“I still need to hear back from his lawyer if I can get a visit to see him.
“It’s Wednesday and I go on Friday… time is running out.”
Katie admitted she was now able to reach her husband because she had a Dubai number for him in prison.
“I’m feeling knackered today, I’m excited, but excited for what? Because I don’t know if I’m seeing Lee but at least I now know he can ring me, I’ve got the Dubai number so at least I know he can ring me,” she added.
Katie Price has revealed details of her last phone call with husband Lee AndrewsCredit: Katie Price / BackgridLee is said to be in Al Awir prison over a civil matterCredit: Instagram
But after she spoke to him, it emerged he “needs a six-figure sum” instead.
And now Katie has shared her fears for Lee, saying she was worried he would not be released anytime soon.
Revealing details of her last phone conversation with Lee, Katie said: “I’m absolutely knackered, it’s the second morning because I spoke to Lee yesterday and he wants me to go to the Al Awir prison because he’s given me permission to get all his phones, his belongings.
Katie said Lee’s given her permission to ‘get all of his phones and belongings’Credit: wesleeandrews/InstagramKatie said she was exhausted as she continues to fight to get Lee out of jailCredit: Instagram/@wesleeeandrews
“So I’m going there now.
“I still need to hear back from his lawyer if I can get a visit to see him.
“It’s Wednesday and I go on Friday… time is running out.”
Katie admitted she was now able to reach her husband because she had a Dubai number for him in prison.
“I’m feeling knackered today, I’m excited, but excited for what? Because I don’t know if I’m seeing Lee but at least I now know he can ring me, I’ve got the Dubai number so at least I know he can ring me,” she added.
“So let’s go to the prison again.”
The previous day, Katie posted a clip while at a hair salon in Dubai as she told fans she was “all glam, just to go to bed and chill”.
She said: “The time is half five, I’m going to go back to the hotel, get in bed and watch telly all night until tomorrow morning.
“That’s so bad, coming to Dubai and I’m going to bed at half six in the evening, that’s shocking.
“I could go and party, have a drink, but I’m happy to go back to the hotel for a cup of tea in bed.”
TUI has introduced a new policy where customers will be guaranteed the lowest price possible for package holidays.
For Brits going abroad, it means that if you find and book a TUI break but then find it cheaper somewhere else TUI will refund the price difference.
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The holiday must meet certain criteria and you can apply for a TUI price checkCredit: Getty
TUI has called it the ‘Price-Match Promise‘ and it applies to package holidays booked through TUI, as well as online and through travel agents.
If customers have booked a TUI break but find the same deal cheaper on another website, simply fill in the online form to request a price check.
If all the criteria are met, TUI will then either discount the package holiday booking or, if full balance has been paid in full, refund the price difference within 14 days.
There are lots of details that have to be met, however.
Firstly, the package holiday must be publicly available to book with another company at the same time – or within 72 hours of booking with TUI.
It must depart from the same airport on the same day with the same TUI flight and flight number.
The accommodation must be at the same resort or hotel with the same board basis and room type.
It has to be for the same amount of time, include transfers and at least the same baggage allowance.
TUI said: “We know that value for money is front of mind for many customers right now, and this new promise is about ensuring customers can book with confidence, knowing they won’t miss out if the same TUI package is available for less elsewhere.
“Under the new promise, customers can request a price match if they find the same Tui package holiday available at a lower price with another operator within 72 hours of booking their holiday – available in all channels – online, via our own retail stores or independent travel agents.”
TUI can guarantee the cheapest price with the ‘Price -Match Promise’Credit: Getty
It continued: “Where the criteria are met, we’ll either discount the booking or refund the price difference if the final balance has already been paid, helping ensure customers genuinely get the most for their money, without needing to shop around again after they’ve booked.”
Package holidays booked through a third-party are excluded.
AFTER returning to Instagram Katie Price has found herself with one less loyal follower – her husband Lee Andrews.
Katie was previously left fuming after her account with a whopping 2.6 million followers was removed from the platform.
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Lee has unfollowed his wife Katie Price on Instagram after she was banned over the weekendCredit: mistraesthetics/InstagramLee Andrews now follows nobody on the social media platformCredit: Instagram
The ban came at a tumultuous time for the former glamour model, following a man hunt for Lee, who is currently thought to be jailed in Dubai’s Al Awir prison.
But after regaining access to her page earlier today, she was met with a mystery.
Katie’s conman hubby Lee has hit the unfollow button on the star, something that usually points towards trouble in paradise.
Things between the pair have certainly been a rollercoaster these past few weeks as she claimed to have told him he was the “most hated man in Britain” over the phone.
The reality TV legend told fans last week that she and Lee had a two-minute phone call from which he dialled in from a prison call box.
Authorities confirmed to us he was NOT being held over spying charges and we understand he’s behind bars over claims relating to a private, civil matter.
Lee, who has “three phones” and bragged about being an “arms dealer,” is due for release today but must pay a four-figure fine.
She was furious with Lee when he “made her look a d**k” after failing to show up for their joint GMB interview but this could be the ultimate betrayl.
Podcast host Katie had her Instagram account taken away over the weekend due to her flashing her boob in one post, alongside a flurry of promotions for CBD products.
Meta, the company behind the social media giant, removed her entire profile as it investigated.
LEE Andrews’ lies, mistruths and mystery disappearance have captivated the nation following his flash wedding to Katie Price in January.
Accusations of fraud, gaslighting and emotional abuse have been levelled at him by ex-partners in recent months, all of who fell under his smooth-talking spell and promises of a happy future and financial riches.
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Lee Andrews gave his first interview to The Sun after marrying Katie PriceCredit: The SunLee has ghosted Katie in recent weeks after mysteriously disappearingCredit: mistraesthetics/Instagram
I held out little hope of it taking place when my initial request via WhatsApp was met with weeks of silence.
But then, out of the blue, Lee replied that he was keen to chat and to quash the ‘lies’ that had been spread about him.
I believe he was either that confident in his powers of persuasion that he could brazenly talk himself out of the numerous question marks around his lavish lifestyle and career, or that he viewed me as a useful idiot who could be hoodwinked into washing his tarnished reputation — perhaps a combination of the two.
Lee had an issue with the pictures used to illustrate his storyCredit: The SunKatie appears to be standing by her man despite her family and fans’ fears about their relationshipCredit: Getty
We set a date to talk the following week, but when the time came Lee revealed he was struggling with illness and would need to reschedule.
The interview was then postponed twice more with Lee still under the weather and, at this stage, it felt like I was being strung along, destined for the same fate as the Good Morning Britain producers who tried to land him for a TV interview months later.
To my surprise, he eventually made it onto the Zoom call on Friday, March 26, speaking from inside a Dubai branch of Caffé Nero.
Tanned and with salt and pepper stubble, he wore a baseball cap and T-shirt and sounded like someone coping with the last remnants of a cold.
I found him to be amiable, relaxed and open to being grilled on subjects that I thought would make him uneasy.
Off the bat I asked if he was a fantasist and compulsive liar, which he dismissed with a chuckle, telling me the claims were “comical and spin”.
For over an hour we went through everything from his dodgy CV, which he claimed was the result of errors from an unnamed personal assistant, his desire to start a family with Katie and plans for a lavish second wedding, his ability to speak multiple languages (with some muddling examples) as well as serious allegations from his ex-partners, which Lee likened to “barking dogs”.
There was also lots of business talk, full of wordy jargon that I can only assume was designed to impress and baffle someone not au fait with the workings of a cutting edge tech firm.
At the end of it all, we thanked each other and said our goodbyes.
The following day, the story ran in the paper with the humorous tag line: “I don’t really like liars myself. I do everything with honesty (just don’t look too closely at his CV).”
But I expected Lee might not see it the same way I did and the next day I was proved right when he messaged me to say: “I don’t appreciate the pictures your edit team have used or the way the article has been written.”
I politely explained that we had a duty to examine the various claims against him, that a light touch of light humour was to be expected and that there was no malice in the framing.
His follow up surprised me.
Rather than pushing back, or at least further pleading his innocence on the accusations about his wealth and past relationships, Lee reiterated that his biggest issue was with his looks.
He simply said: “I don’t like the photo at all.”
The photos in question were a selection of unedited grabs from the Zoom call, a fair reflection on Lee through the course of the interview.
What struck me at the time, and even more so now in light of his disappearance and ghosting of wife Katie, is how his visual portrayal seemingly mattered more than any harm caused to others by his actions.
It’s no secret, Lee is fixated on his appearance; his numerous photoshopped pics have gone viral time and again.
The pictures we used took that editing power away from him and the reality appeared to hurt.
In other videos on social media he can be heard referencing his looks, from his hair to his chiselled body, and commenting about filters — or the lack thereof — to ‘prove’ he’s not fake.
He also took great pains to portray himself as a wealthy businessman with links to Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk, years after his sustainable vehicle company was quietly dissolved, which he continues to insist isn’t the case.
Further interactions between us saw him insist others simply couldn’t understand the workings of his complex world.
Optics are king with Lee and it seems he’s willing to let real feelings fall by the wayside as long as he is presented as the handsome, wealthy success story he’s so desperate to be — a mindset that could have heartbreaking consequences for Katie.
BANGKOK — With summer around the corner, soaring prices and other complications from the war with Iran are straining the tourism-dependent economies of Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia.
The region’s peak tourist summer season is at risk as elevated jet fuel costs coupled with ceasefire uncertainties prompt flight cancellations and higher ticket prices.
Tourism in Asia has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, many countries are coping with the war’s repercussions on global energy supplies and prices, which hit Asia first and hardest. Some families are pulling back on travel as gas and groceries get more expensive worldwide. Crowds have thinned at some places once synonymous with travel.
“With gasoline prices rising and tourism declining, how can we make money?” asked Siv Pech, a 58-year-old rickshaw driver in Siem Reap, home to Cambodia’s centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex.
Tourism is an economic lifeline for many developing nations. It contributes nearly 13% of gross domestic product in Thailand and nearly 9% in Vietnam, and it underpins millions of jobs in Cambodia. Travelers bring in much-needed foreign currency for import-dependent economies such as the Philippines and Nepal.
Those tourism dollars are more crucial than ever as war-driven spikes in oil prices push up the cost of fuel imports, especially for parts of the world that relied on the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast as a conduit for much of their oil and gas. Iran essentially shut down the strait to commercial traffic after the U.S. and Israel launched the war more than three months ago.
The war will determine which tourism businesses can survive long enough to benefit from the eventual return of travelers, said Jitsai Santaputra of the Lantau Group, an energy industry consulting firm. “This, happening within five years of each other, first the pandemic and now the war, is horrible for the tourism industry,” she said.
Travel costs
Jet fuel shortages and surging costs have led Vietnam Airlines, the Malaysia-based AirAsia group, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and other carriers to cut flights or otherwise adjust schedules.
European carriers face a squeeze for similar reasons.
Airspace closures across the Persian Gulf early in the war and the intermittent closures of certain Persian Gulf airports cut off key layover locations for Asia-bound flights or forced commercial airplanes to take longer, costlier routes.
Airfares have jumped, with airlines such as Air India and Cathay Pacific implementing sharp increases in fuel surcharges.
Cathay Pacific’s fuel surcharge for medium-haul flights has jumped to $80, up from $34 before the war. For long-haul flights, it increased to $174, up from $73.
“Jet fuel prices remain at highly elevated levels” and have increased cost pressures, said Lavinia Lau, Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer. Travelers are booking closer to their departure dates, she said, indicating growing unease.
Sandra Awodele, a freelance travel writer in the Washington area, often plans year-round international trips and hoped this summer would be when she finally crossed off Asia from her bucket list.
In March, she began planning a long-awaited vacation to Thailand, envisioning one to two weeks of exploring. Her plans hit a wall when she checked airfares.
“I looked at flight options and that’s where it ended,” Awodele said.
On the ground, rising fuel costs in tourism-dependent Southeast Asia are squeezing taxi and ride-hailing app drivers.
Pech, the Cambodian rickshaw driver, said he used to earn up to $20 a day toting tourists around Siem Reap. That’s plummeted to about $5 a day.
His gas bill eats half of that. The rest goes to food. “Some days, I don’t earn even a cent,” he said.
Slow summer expected
Tourism is vital for many regional economies, accounting for nearly 11% of economic activity in the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
An analysis by Moody’s Analytics estimated effects from the war would probably reduce economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region by 0.1 to 0.4 percentage points in 2026.
“The conflict will weigh on growth mainly through higher production costs and consumer prices, along with weaker external demand from trade and tourism,” said Albert Park, chief economist at the Asia Development Bank.
Higher airfares and weaker travel confidence can quickly spill over into household livelihoods and public revenues in economies where visitor arrivals are a major source of jobs, income and foreign exchange, according to a recent report by the United Nations Development Program.
Travel is often the first expense people cut when the economy worsens, said Le Tuyet Lan, who runs bed-and-breakfast properties in Vietnam’s Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
In times of crisis, luxury travelers tend to shift toward mid-range options, mid-range travelers move toward budget hotels, and the cheapest tier of the market becomes the most vulnerable.
“This will disrupt the whole industry,” she said.
‘We are feeling it’
Tourism in Thailand is “a big industry and we are feeling it,” said Santaputra with the Lantau Group in Bangkok, one of Southeast Asia’s most visited cities.
The number of visitors to Thailand fell 7% year-on-year in April, while European arrivals fell almost 16% and Middle Eastern arrivals sank 57%, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
In neighboring Cambodia, Sokha Sambo, owner of the popular Sambo Khmer & Thai Restaurant in Siem Reap, said the rising price of liquefied petroleum gas used for cooking has strained her budget, hindering her ability to dish out her signature green curries.
“I’m worried about gas and goods inflation. It makes the business less profitable and difficult to cover employees’ salaries,” said Sambo, who has 14 staff members.
In the first four months of 2026, the number of recorded international and domestic visitors to Siem Reap dropped by 37.5% compared with the same period last year, according to the province’s tourism department.
“This has greatly affected all of us,” Sambo said.
Delgado and Chan write for the Associated Press and reported from Bangkok and Hong Kong, respectively. AP writers Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and freelance journalist Sinorn Thang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.
YouTuber Just Deano was travelling home from Benidorm when he tried the new Wetherspoons in Alicante Airport — but he was ‘not convinced’ by his pint of Guinness
The Guinness did not go down well(Image: Just Deano/Youtube)
The first ever Wetherspoons outside of the UK and Ireland opened back in February — but one travel influencer was recently floored by the cost of his Guinness.
The Spanish spoons is located down the coast from Benidorm at the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport — and it has proved popular with Brits travelling home after their holidays.
However, keen to test it out after a trip to Benidorm, content creator Just Deano shared his thoughts after getting a seat by the bar.
And speaking to his 41,100 subscribers, he observed: “This is the smallest Wetherspoons I have ever been in. And I don’t normally get this in Spain — but I got myself a Guinness that was €7.50… €7.50!”
Visibly shocked by the price, he went on: “I thought this was Wetherspoons? And it’s absolutely dreadful. This is not a good start.”
Despite wincing at his first sip, he ordered an all-day brunch, bringing the total cost of his meal and pint to €20.45 (approx £17.73).
After his food arrived at the spoons which is named Castell de Santa Bàrbera, he said the eggs looked “terrible”, but things dramatically improved after trying the Lincolnshire sausages.
He said: “That might be the best sausage I’ve had in Spain. It is basically a spoons sausage. Now, at home, this wouldn’t be the best sausage ever, but compared to the standard of catering of sausages of usual places, this is decent.”
Deano, who hails from Huddersfield, said the chips were just like home but noted that the eggs were “one of the worst” he has had. However, he said the bacon and beans were solid.
He again repeated that it was “the tiniest premises ever” and questioned why it was so small.
And reflecting on his order, he said: “The best part about it? The sausages. The worst part about it is probably the Guinness. Normally the Wetherspoons Guinness is a solid eight out of 10. It’s not the best Guinness in the world but it’s 100% consistent. Unfortunately in Spain, they lost that consistency.”
He said his meal was acceptable but his problem was the price, and he claimed it was double the cost of what he paid for breakfast on his initial journey to Spain.
“So, although they are calling themselves spoons, they are definitely airport prices because that’s an extortionate amount of money,” he said. “€20.45 for a pint, a bad pint, and an all-day breakfast? Yeah, I’m not convinced about that.”
Deano said he was a “huge” fan of Wetherspoons but said his experience overall was five out of 10 — and he said he would have been better off paying to eat and drink at the airport lounge.
After posting the video, which you can watch in full here, one person defended the prices, saying: “Yeah & spoons are more expensive at the airports in the UK, like double so… No difference really.”
Another said: “Wetherspoons always up the prices in airports. I paid £16.50 at Gatwick spoons for brunch and a pint so not far off what you paid.”
After the successful launch of the famous pub chain in Alicante Airport, Wetherspoons has since announced two more will open in mainland Europe.
Both will be in Barcelona-El Prat Airport — with the first opening in Terminal 1 by September 2026 with the other to be welcomed in Terminal 2 by January 2027.
KATIE Price put on an on eye-popping display in a tiny bikini as she stripped off in the heatwave.
Katie, 48, who used to go by her alter-ego name Jordan, looked like she was going back to her pin-up roots as she put all of her husband in jail drama behind her.
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Katie Price went back to her pin-up roots for her latest sexy selfieCredit: Backgrid / Katie Price / SnapchatThe star looked every inch her former alter-ego JordanCredit: Backgrid / Katie Price / Snapchat
It comes as Katie awaits for her husband Lee Andrews’ jail releaseCredit: mistraesthetics/InstagramAfter going ‘missing’, Lee was found at Dubai’s Al Awir jailCredit: Instagram
The next pic looked like she was about to burst out of the top, as she sunbathed in her garden.
Revealing that she was feeling happy that the sun was out, Katie told her fans: “The good thing about being here is it is just me, the swimming pool, the animals, no people, so I can walk around naked if I want, and I love it!”
The relaxing time in the sun comes after a VERY turbulent few weeks for the star due to ongoing speculation surrounding her relationship with her husband.
Lock in today’s painful prices, or bet that volatility breaks your way? CFOs are being forced to choose.
Commodity hedging is no longer a technical exercise buried in the treasury function. As price volatility spreads across energy, metals, and agricultural commodities, CFOs are forced to make explicit, high-stakes bets about the future — locking in costs at today’s elevated levels or staying exposed in the hope that markets turn. What was once a risk management tool has become a strategic decision with direct implications for margins, pricing, and competitive positioning.
That shift is showing up in earnings in a range of industries, a reminder that hedging decisions are increasingly tied to financial performance and investor expectations. “We are using our hedging to be able to offset against the volatility,” said Andrew Murray, CFO of Fonterra, a New Zealand farmer-owned cooperative, in the group’s March 2026 earnings call.
Others are treating volatility as an opportunity to act. In its latest earnings call, Infinity Natural Resources CEO Zack Arnold said the company had “taken this opportunity … to lock in attractive oil hedges,” stressing how companies are making deliberate market calls rather than waiting for conditions to stabilize. In some cases, the impact is measurable. In Siemens’ most recent earnings call, the global industrial giant’s CFO, Ralf P. Thomas, reported that commodity hedging contributed roughly 100 basis points to its margins, thanks to volatility in copper and silver prices.
New Visible, Strategic Role for Hedging
Power, it turns out, doesn’t come from military might anymore. It comes from metals and other elements, such as cobalt. That’s the argument threading through “The Elements of Power,” Nicolas Niarchos’ new book on the supply chains that hold modern civilization together — or fail to. Niarchos isn’t interested in geopolitics as it’s usually taught, the stuff of borders and aircraft carriers. He tracks something hard to see and now hard to ignore: the fragile networks of extraction, processing, and assembly that make electric vehicles move, smartphones think, AI infrastructure hum, and modern life move forward.
Those networks are long and exposed. Ore pulled from the ground in the Congo passes through Chinese processing facilities before it reaches a factory floor in Europe or America. A disruption anywhere, such as a mine shutdown, a trade restriction, or a sea strait closed by war, doesn’t stay local. It travels fast through prices and production timelines in ways that almost no one anticipated and fewer still knew how to hedge against.
What Niarchos documents is the moment supply chain risk graduated from a logistics problem to a strategic one. Hedging, once the quiet work of treasury and procurement desks, is becoming more like foreign policy.
Darrell E. Fletcher started his career hedging global energy for Alcoa and is now managing director of commodities at Bannockburn Capital Markets, the trading and advisory arm of First Financial Bank. He says the past two years have been “extraordinarily volatile” across energy and metals, forcing producers and fuel-consuming organizations to reassess their approach.
On the producer side, many firms are taking advantage of elevated prices to lock in forward revenues. “There has been a sharp increase in commercial hedgers … hedging the remainder of 2026 and into 2027,” Fletcher says, as companies secure cash flows above internal targets and support borrowing capacity. But strategies vary by size: the largest diversified oil majors often avoid hedging altogether, reflecting investor expectations that their equities provide direct exposure to commodity prices.
For organizations that consume fuel, the shift has been more reactive. Companies with established programs are extending hedges further in the future. Others are entering the market for the first time as price swings hit earnings. “Those who thought the exposure wasn’t meaningful realize it can be,” Fletcher says, noting a surge in conversations with CFOs and treasurers in recent months, some seeking help with a first-time hedging program.
The underlying issue may be less about timing the market than understanding exposure. “Eighty percent of any solid hedging program is: what is the exposure — and does it matter?” Fletcher says. He points to the importance of stress-testing cost sensitivity before implementing a strategy. He also warns that executives are being called out on earnings calls for failing to have a clear hedging rationale, backed by analysis. The mechanics of hedging are “the easy part,” he notes.
Plan vs. No Plan
That gap between companies with a plan and those without is something Charlie Macnamara sees firsthand. As head of commodity derivatives at US Bank — where his desk serves clients ranging from Permian Basin oil producers to auto manufacturers buying aluminum to EV companies sourcing lithium — Macnamara has a view of what separates hedging programs that work from those that don’t.
Charlie Macnamara, US Bank
“The ones that get it wrong are the ones that don’t have a plan — and those are the ones where they let the movement of the market dictate what they need to do,” he says. The result can be a company that ends up buying the top, reacting to fear or surprise rather than executing a strategy, he adds.
Among the industries and organizations Macnamara describes as getting it right, oil and gas producers stand out. Despite the sharp swings in energy markets over the past year, industry players have remained notably disciplined, layering in hedges methodically, rather than chasing prices. “It’s been very cool, calm, and collected,” says Macnamara. That skill and maturity in hedging have been building for several years, he explains.
For CFOs considering a program for the first time, Macnamara suggests starting with the balance sheet rather than the market. “The plan should stem from how impactful the commodity is on their balance sheet and their cash flow volatility,” he says. From there, he says a finance team can define the level of volatility it wants to accept and structure derivatives or other market instruments accordingly.
A Boardroom Mindset Shift
Some organizations, and especially at the board level, need to rethink what hedging means, points out Macnamara. The people executing hedges on the ground, he says, often fear that if the hedge loses money, the C-suite will conclude they’ve done a poor job. He regards this view as misguided, and one that can paralyze programs before they get started.
“If you’re hedging 25% of your cash flow volatility and you lose money on that hedge, that means you’ve saved on 75% — you’ve just bought some insurance on the 25%,” he says. The philosophical hurdle is getting the entire organization to understand that a hedge is not meant to make money. It is meant to reduce volatility. “It sounds very simple, but that tends to be the biggest friction point,” he says.
Not everyone is convinced that locking in prices at today’s levels is the right move. Rob Handfield, Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at NC State University and author of “Flow: How the Best Supply Chains Thrive,” urges caution about the assumption that financial hedging can adequately compensate for the unpredictability of physical supply chains. “Financial hedging assumes that individuals have a strong belief that supply and demand will move in one direction or another,” he says. “This is a challenging gamble.”
However, physical flows are difficult to forecast outside of periods of economic stability, according to Handfield. In the current environment, marked by geopolitical tensions, threats to key shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and the resulting energy disruptions, the variables shaping commodity markets are too numerous and volatile to model confidently.
“Unless one has insider information on how governments are making decisions, these are very risky bets,” he says of positions in oil, gold, silver, copper, and other metals. And the consequences of disruption can be long-lasting. Handfield points out that rebuilding natural gas infrastructure alone could take at least a year.
A Matter of Restraint
On the critical question of whether to lock in today’s elevated prices, Handfield argues for restraint.
“I think locking in elevated prices is a mistake,” he says, expressing the view that once geopolitical tensions ease and supply routes normalize, volatility will likely diminish, thus rewarding companies that preserved optionality over those that locked in at the peak. The deeper conceptual issue, he argues, is that supply and demand are stochastic variables: “You can predict what might happen by what is happening today, but you don’t really know what will happen tomorrow.” Hedging makes most sense when prices are historically low, not in the middle of a supply chain crisis, Handfield believes.
That divide — between market practitioners who see today’s conditions as a hedging opportunity and supply chain strategists who warn against overconfidence in financial instruments — may be the central tension CFOs face heading into 2027. Fletcher and Handfield agree on at least one thing: most companies still underestimate how much commodity exposure matters to their bottom line. Where they diverge is on the remedy.
This article appears in the May 2026 issue of Global Finance Magazine.