Bloomberg In the tropical climate of China’s Yunnan province, scientists are planting a key ingredient to help strengthen the country’s position as the world leader in wind power: balsa trees. Balsa, best known as a craft material for making model airplanes, is a major component of giant blades for wind turbines. China’s $60 billion wind industry sources almost all …

Bloomberg The price of powering Europe next month declined as more favourable weather conditions are set to increase generation of renewable energy. Rising wind-power generation has eased the pressure on near-term prices, which has filtered through to month-ahead values, according to Sabrina Kernbichler, an analyst at S&P Global Platts. German power for February falls as much as 3% to 183.49 …

  Bloomberg A trade association representing major US airlines asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the nation’s top communications and aviation regulators to prevent wireless carriers from implementing 5G services close to airports. Airlines for America warned in a letter that the traveling and shipping public could see “catastrophic disruptions” if the new C-band frequencies were put into service within …

  Bloomberg Unilever Plc has held talks with banks about additional financing for a potential sweetened offer for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s consumer products division, according to people familiar with the matter. Some financial firms have discussed lending enough for a bid higher than 50 billion pounds ($68 billion) — the latest of three offers Glaxo has rejected for a bundle of …

  Bloomberg Target Corp’s top executive said US consumers will drive less and consolidate their shopping into fewer trips as they adjust to pricier gasoline and the highest inflation rate in almost four decades. Shoppers are also likely to eat more at home and seek cheaper generic-brand goods in an effort to ease the blow from rising prices, Chief Executive …

  Bloomberg Two former Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd flight attendants were arrested for violating pandemic rules, Hong Kong police said, after they were identified as the source of the city’s Omicron outbreak. The pair were charged under Hong Kong’s Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation and are due to appear in court February 9. Until then, they’ve been released on …

  Bloomberg PT Social Bella Indonesia, a beauty-products startup backed by Temasek Holdings Pte, is in talks with investors to raise $150 million to $200 million for a growth push, according to people familiar with the matter. The Jakarta-based company is negotiating for a funding round that would propel its valuation past $1 billion, said the people who asked not …

  Bloomberg The balance sheets of Ireland’s biggest banks have risen by two thirds since the Brexit vote, the latest data to demonstrate how Europe’s financial landscape is shifting following the UK’s departure from the European Union. Banks in Ireland regulated by the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) saw their balance sheets increase from 300 billion euros ($342 billion) in …

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG’s Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio resigned after just nine months in the role, following a series of missteps including reported breaches of Swiss and UK quarantine rules that eroded confidence in his leadership. His departure follows an investigation commissioned by the board, Zurich-based Credit Suisse said in a statement. The bank named board member Axel P. …

  Bloomberg Executives at banking giants including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are struggling to return to Hong Kong after the city banned flights from eight countries, part of an outlier Covid Zero strategy that’s threatening its appeal as financial hub. At least a dozen Hong Kong-based managing directors at banks, also including Morgan Stanley and …