While Putin’s war in Ukraine is delivering shocks to the energy market and driving up fertiliser prices, the bigger problem has become the soaring cost of wheat. Russia is steering the world toward an increasingly severe food security crisis — compounding the shortages already caused by the pandemic and climate change. More than 70% of Ukraine is prime agricultural land ...

With China’s technology giants facing a plethora of struggles, Southeast Asia was supposed to be the hip new market that offered a well of fast-growth companies. That’s coming at a heavy cost. Earnings reports from e-commerce and gaming provider Sea Ltd as well as food and deliveries giant Grab Holdings Ltd are a stark reminder that years of break-neck speeds ...

  When it comes to the Federal Reserve and monetary policy, there are no shortages of talking heads who say the central bank can’t raise interest rates too much or else it would trigger a “debt bomb.” What this means is that because the federal debt is so high, even a relatively small increase in rates might force the government ...

  The US Federal Reserve’s next policy-making meeting in mid-March will be one of the most consequential in recent memory, with inflation running at a 40-year high and Europe riven by armed conflict. Yet with several nominations stuck in the Senate, the central bank is troublingly under-prepared to rise to the occasion. It’s a weakness that legislators must urgently resolve. ...

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd flagged a period of higher air fares to claw back rising fuel costs as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends oil prices soaring. “The group is very well placed to be able to recover the cost of fuel if it stays at the levels that it is at the moment,” Qantas Chief Financial Officer Vanessa Hudson said ...

  Bloomberg Adidas AG halted sales in Russia, following other athletic-wear makers like Puma SE and Nike Inc in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The German sports company said it was suspending the operations of its stores and e-commerce site in Russia and stands “in solidarity with those calling for peace.” Adidas, in a separate move, replaced the ...

  Bloomberg In late January, staff of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd were invited to an online meeting with senior management. It was supposed to be a debrief on the airline’s financial performance, but when the floor was opened to questions, the first was whether Hong Kong’s flag carrier would be taken over by its state-owned shareholder Air China Ltd. Clearly ...

Bloomberg Airlines are seeing prospects for a strong profit rebound from two years of coronavirus turmoil rapidly slip away after the price of oil reached $125 a barrel. An oil shock triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine is the latest blow to carriers that have already had to cancel flights and reroute long-haul journeys to avoid shuttered airspace. The price ...

  Bloomberg Kenya Airways Plc said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will result in airlines increasing ticket prices after crude oil surged, while uncertainty may reduce demand for travel. “We have started seeing many of the airlines taking action on this to ensure that they are able to keep on flying,” Commercial Director Julius Thairu said in an interview. The war ...

Bloomberg North Korea is undertaking construction work at its main nuclear weapons test site for the first time in about four years, according to an analysis of satellite imagery, raising fresh security concerns as South Korea elects a new leader. Images captured show “very early signs” of activity at the mountainous area of Punggye-ri, including the construction of a new ...