Bloomberg Alcoa Corp warned that surging costs around the globe have rendered as much as 20% of aluminum-production capacity unprofitable. Despite rising worldwide aluminum demand, Alcoa will be pinched by escalating costs for energy and raw materials, Chief Executive Roy Harvey said during a call with analysts. “Based on June’s average prices, we estimate that between 10% to 20% ...
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The populist experiment in Italy has failed, finally!
Italy is back in crisis, unsurprisingly. The political cycle that started with a populist earthquake in 2018, bringing together fringe forces of the left and right in an unusual coalition, has ended the same way it started — with a bitter shock to the system and market turbulence over the future of Italy. Along the way, it has fuelled the ...
Read More »Is Amazon’s private-label a losing idea?
Last month, comedian John Oliver delivered a scathing episode on tech monopolies for his show “Last Week Tonight.†Between jokes, he laid out some key Big Tech antitrust concerns. Apple Inc controlling the App Store. Alphabet Inc’s Google favouring its own properties in search results. Amazon.com Inc reportedly using third-party seller data to create knock-off private label products. However, a ...
Read More »BOJ must not meddle in financial markets
Whatever else killed George Washington, the draining of more than a third of his blood in less than half a day would probably have done him in anyway. Well into the 19th century, bloodletting, as it was called, was the favoured treatment of doctors for pretty much everything for two reasons: First, it was based on a generally accepted ...
Read More »The Federal Reserve is failing in four ways
Global economy watchers and market participants will be paying a lot of attention next week to how the Federal Reserve describes the US economic outlook, to the magnitude of its interest rate increase and whether it changes the pace of its balance-sheet contraction. Yet for the well-being of the US and global economy, the answer to these questions is ...
Read More »Airbus bags mainstay jet deal after lackuster expo
Bloomberg The first all-new order for Airbus SE’s mainstay A320 jet of this week’s Farnborough International Airshow was distinctly lacking in the hoopla that usually accompanies deals unveiled at the world’s leading aviation expo. The $2 billion transaction from Latam Airlines Group SA of Chile was communicated by email at the show in the UK, when most show delegates were ...
Read More »Akasa Air starts ticket sales in crowded India
Bloomberg Akasa Air, India’s newest carrier backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, started ticket sales for its debut flights. The low-cost airline will initially fly Boeing Co 737 Max jets to four Indian cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kochi, according to a statement. The carrier will start operating 28 weekly flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on August 7, followed ...
Read More »Lufthansa’s union of pilots to hold a vote on possible strike
Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s pilots’ union is holding a vote on whether to strike, a move that would further disrupt the airline’s crucial summer travel season. The VC pilots’ union is gauging support for a walkout as talks with the airline over pay and conditions stumble, according to a spokeswoman for the labour organisation. A strike could then take place ...
Read More »UK retail sales fall less than expected as food spending jumps
Bloomberg UK retail sales fared better than expected in June as a jump in bank holiday food sales helped mask the impact of the wider cost of living squeeze. The volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 0.1%, following a 0.8% drop in May that was bigger than previously reported, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Economists ...
Read More »United CEO offers apology to Buttigieg after FAA criticism
Bloomberg The head of United Airlines Holdings Inc apologised to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg after the carrier publicly faulted regulators for worsening flight delays. Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive officer, said he reached out to clarify comments in a staff memo earlier this month. In it, a United executive said half of its delay minutes and the majority ...
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