Bloomberg The first commercial deal under an Africa-wide free trade zone will take place on January 1 next year as outstanding talks are set to move online, the African Union said. While African Continental Free Trade Area entered into force legally last year, transactions that were due to start on July 1 were delayed as the virus set back negotiations …

Bloomberg The US West Coast is set to have its hottest two weeks in 70 years, putting even more strain on power grids after California imposed rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001. Excessive heat warnings and watches stretch from the Pacific Coast inland to Montana, Utah and Arizona, according to the National Weather Service. Sacramento is forecast to …

Bloomberg Hitachi Ltd subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power has been holding detailed conversations with UK government officials in recent weeks to revive plans for a proposed nuclear power plant in north Wales, the Financial Times reported. Horizon has been trying to convince ministers that plans for the Wylfa Newydd plant on Anglesey could be quickly restarted if they can produce a …

Bloomberg On the surface the rebound in US retail sales is a V-shaped recovery, but the overall figure obscures lingering economic pain across many of America’s businesses. After a third straight monthly increase, albeit a weaker gain than expected, the total value of US retail sales has rebounded above pre-pandemic levels. But the composition of spending looks substantially different than …

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s cabin crew voted in favour of a 500 million-euro ($592 million) savings pact, its union said in a statement, a day after talks with ground staff collapsed. Members of the UFO union agreed to two collective agreements, and also voted in favour of clarifying rules around state wage support and severance payments, according to the statement. …

Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp’s top executive is joining an industry push for additional federal help as passenger totals plateau at about a quarter of year-earlier levels. Airlines are “in a very, very critical situation right now,” said Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes as he called on the Trump administration and Congress to resolve a stalemate over a new economic stimulus …

Bloomberg Jumia Technologies AG is facing fresh competition from startups in the African e-commerce and logistics market after the Covid-19 pandemic increased demand for online deliveries. The US-listed firm is seen as one of the pioneers of internet trading in sub-Saharan Africa, which trails the rest of the world due to challenges including weak internet connections and unreliable addresses. But …

Bloomberg London City Airport Ltd will pause the building of the next stage of a 480 million pound ($628 million) expansion due to a slower-than-expected recovery of the UK aviation industry from the Covid-19 pandemic. The airport operator will postpone plans to extend its passenger terminal and new east pier from the end of this year, the company said in …

Bloomberg Deliveries of commercial aircraft over the next ten years will be 30% lower than previously forecast, Aviation Week Network said in a video conference. The prediction spans regional jets to widebody planes, and the latter will be hardest-hit, Aviation Week analyst Dan Williams said on the call. Covid-19 pandemic has battered demand for air travel, with most industry participants …

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve could allow inflation to accelerate above its 2% goal if has underperformed it in the past, said Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan. “I would be willing to see inflation run moderately above 2% in the aftermath of periods where we’ve been running persistently below,” Kaplan said in a virtual event with the Dallas Friday Group, a …