Leaders of the top US industrial companies gathered virtually for the annual Morgan Stanley Laguna conference. Unsurprisingly, much of the discussion centered around the rising cost of raw materials, labor and logistics and the increasingly difficult challenge of getting enough supply to keep up with demand. “The inflation is unprecedented,” 3M Co Chief Financial Officer Monish Patolawala said at the ...

Europe has an energy problem, and it could get worse once winter grips the continent. Gas and electricity prices are soaring, windmills are standing idle for lack of wind and shuttered coal-fired power plants are being brought back into use. There are even suggestions to use diesel generators for private generation. But oil isn’t the solution to the continent’s energy ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s largest clothing retailer sees a successful Covid-19 vaccination rollout as key to reopening the economy and adding new stores, helping to address the world’s highest unemployment rate. “If we get people vaccinated, the economy can normalise quickly,” Pepkor Holdings Ltd CEO Leon Lourens said in an interview. “If the economy normalises, we can create jobs.” The government ...