Bloomberg Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton reiterated his earlier claims that the US could provide Australia with two nuclear submarines by 2030, without providing material evidence that such a deal would occur. Speaking on the national broadcaster’s “Insiders” program Sunday, Dutton said he had visited counterparts in Connecticut and “spoken with them there” about acquiring the equipment, even though the ...

  Bloomberg Biden administration officials have decided to reject a vague new assertion by China that the Taiwan Strait is not “international waters” and are increasingly concerned the stance could result in more frequent challenges at sea for the democratically-governed island, according to people familiar with the matter. Chinese officials have made such remarks repeatedly in meetings with US counterparts ...

  Bloomberg Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists are heading for a heavy electoral defeat in the country’s most populous region of Andalusia on Sunday, highlighting the scale of the challenge he faces to win re-election in a national vote due next year. Sanchez and his government have been struggling to cope with the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of ...

Bloomberg Italy is in the depths of one of its worst droughts, with the country’s largest river, the Po, hitting its lowest level in 70 years, threatening crops and raising the specter of power outages. While much of Europe has had drier-than-average conditions this year, northern Italy’s Po valley is worst hit, according to the JRC Global Drought Observatory. Several ...

Bloomberg US factory production unexpectedly declined in May for the first time in four months, restrained by ongoing supply challenges and hints of cooler demand for some big-ticket consumer goods. The 0.1% decrease followed 0.8% increases in the prior two months, Federal Reserve data showed. Total industrial production, which also includes mining and utility output, rises 0.2% last month. Median ...

  Bloomberg General Motors Co. plans to return to Europe with battery-powered models starting with the Cadillac brand and is considering selling the hulking Hummer electric vehicle. The carmaker may start importing the electric Cadillac Lyriq model, which is already on sale in the US, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Broadening GM’s offering would ...

  Bloomberg A UnitedHealth group Inc unit has agreed to acquire Emis group Plc in an all-cash deal that values the UK health-technology company at about £1.24 billion ($1.51 billion). The companies said in a statement that Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, an affiliate of UnitedHealth’s Optum business in the UK, has agreed to buy Emis for 1,925 pence in ...

  Bloomberg SpaceX has fired “a number of employees” responsible for an open letter critical of the behavior of CEO Elon Musk, according to an internal memo, an unusual clash hinting at growing discord over the billionaire’s controversial comments. The open letter called Musk’s behavior and tweets “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.” The ...

  Bloomberg Electric-vehicle (EV) prices are going up at a dizzying pace these days. Tesla raised prices by as much as $6,000 per car this week. Rivian bumped up the ask on its battery-powered R1T pickup truck in March, while Ford hiked the sticker on the Mach-E. Add it all up and an electric car now costs $61,000 on average, according ...

  Bloomberg Close to a third of all vehicles sold in India are expected to be electric by 2030, but they will mostly be two- and three-wheelers, as expensive battery-powered cars would be outside the reach of many consumers in the world’s fourth-largest automobile market. By that time, nearly one in every 10 electric vehicles sold worldwide will be in ...