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Report ties Arizona energy storage facility fire to defective battery

Bloomberg An explosion at an Arizona energy storage facility last year was started by a defective battery cell that overheated and caused a buildup of flammable gas, according to a report. Firefighters unintentionally ignited the gas on April 19 last year when they opened a door to the facility located near Phoenix, Arizona, according to the report released by Pinnacle ...

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What Spain is telling us about the second wave!

Last week’s 750 billion-euro ($877 billion) Covid-19 rescue fund marked a high point in the European Union’s plan to tackle the economic fallout of the virus. But a new flare-up in infections on the continent is a grim reminder of the more immediate epidemiological threat. While it’s not a second wave yet, it’s a serious test of government strategies intended ...

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Taiwan’s TSMC knocks over Intel

Just 10 days ago, I noted that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) earnings and outlook served as proof that it’s truly the global king of chips. Since then, the company has grown even stronger, but more good news also increases the burden and will likely draw far more attention than it’s comfortable with. Being bigger and more indispensable sounds like ...

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Students need help in getting online in the US

With a new school year approaching, the US faces an educational crisis. Though the Trump administration wants a full reopening of K-12 schools, not all states and school districts are going along. Millions of students will still attend classes remotely, at least part of the time, and many may stay home until coronavirus vaccines are widely available. Such a prolonged ...

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Democrats can play an interim relief game

What’s the next step for House Democrats? Senate Republicans have finally agreed internally on their opening bid for the next pandemic economic relief and stimulus bill, but there’s zero chance that the parties can resolve their differences before two imminent deadlines pass: The expanded unemployment insurance payments put in place by bipartisan legislation in March and an eviction ban for ...

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LVMH profit dips due to store closures, travel restrictions

Bloomberg LVMH’s customers are curbing purchases of high-end fashion faster than the company can cut costs, and that’s hitting the Louis Vuitton owner’s profit. The French luxury conglomerate’s profit from recurring operations totalled 1.67 billion euros ($1.96 billion) in the first half, less than the 2.32 billion euros analysts expected. The shares fell as much as 4% on Tuesday in ...

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SAA’s administrators in guarantee impasse

Bloomberg The administrators of South African Airways (SAA), the state-owned airline that’s in bankruptcy protection, want the government to set aside 16.4 billion rand ($998 million) that it’s guaranteed to pay creditors. The Treasury says the current structure of its guarantees should suffice. The administrators want an agreement for the money to be paid into an escrow account — the ...

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O’Leary sees school reopening key to Europe airline recovery

Bloomberg Kids have only just started their summer break yet Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary is already counting the days until they go back to school. With fresh travel restrictions threatening to jeopardise the long-awaited summer recovery, O’Leary said he needs the re-opening of schools in September to reignite business travel and enable Europe’s largest discount carrier ...

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Revlon seeks to buy time with debt swap amid sales drop

Bloomberg Cosmetics giant Revlon Inc is asking its bondholders for more time to repay borrowings due next year as it seeks to ride out pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic. The makeup company, hit hard by store closings to contain the virus, is seeking to exchange its 5.75% bonds due in 2021 for new notes with the same coupon maturing in ...

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Asian airlines suffer 98% slump in June

Bloomberg Asian airlines carried only 724,000 international passengers in June, a 98% slump from a year earlier, as restrictions on movement suppressed air travel, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said. Average passenger load factor was just 36.3%, AAPA said in a statement on Tuesday. The group’s director general, Subhas Menon, said the prospect of a recovery in the ...

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