February, 2023

• 4 February

  Bed Bath & Beyond missed interest payments on bonds

  

    Bloomberg Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., the financially strapped home-goods retailer, missed interest payments on its bonds, a week after receiving a default notice from lenders. The retailer failed to make payments on notes that total more than $1 billion, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. The default means Bed Bath & Beyond has entered a 30-day grace ...

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• 4 February

  Finnair scraps in-flight duty free sales as on-board shopping fades

  

    Bloomberg Finnair Oyj will stop selling amenity kits, and other popular Finnish products on board its aircraft by the end of the month, reacting to slowing demand for in-flight shopping. The move has the added benefit of reducing the overall weight of the aircraft, Finnair said, at a time when carriers are seeking to cut their fuel bills. In-flight ...

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• 4 February

  Asda seeks to reduce costs with overhaul of stores, shifts

  

    Bloomberg Asda, the highly leveraged UK supermarket chain, is planning to cut jobs and change working practices to save costs. Britain’s third-largest grocer wants to axe night shifts so that staff restock shelves during late evening or daylight hours instead. That would remove the premium paid to night-shift employees who work after midnight and also cut more than 200 ...

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• 4 February

  Impossible Foods plans to lay off 20% of its workers

    Bloomberg Impossible Foods Inc., the maker of meatless burgers and sausages, is preparing to cut about 20% of its staff. The Redwood City, California-based company currently employs about 700 workers. The new round of dismissals could reduce that amount by more than 100. Impossible Foods offered voluntary separation payments and benefits to employees at the end of 2022, said ...

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• 4 February

  Southwest names new tech chief

    Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. named a new executive to oversee technology investments and data platforms, just over a month after the carrier suffered from an operational meltdown that forced it to cancel more than 16,700 flights. Lauren Woods, who has been with the company since 2010, was named chief information officer and senior vice president of technology, taking over ...

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• 4 February

  Battle intensifies over $8b Alaska oil project dubbed ‘carbon bomb’

  

  Bloomberg It’s been called a “carbon bomb” and a caribou killer. Now, climate activists have one final, brief window of opportunity to quash ConocoPhillips’s proposed $8 billion oil development in Alaska. In an unexpected twist, some opponents are quietly encouraging President Joe Biden’s administration to actually approve the project, but in such a scaled-back way that it no long makes ...

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• 4 February

  Pakistan launches $2.7b nuclear plant

  

    Bloomberg Pakistan inaugurated a $2.7 billion nuclear reactor, providing some relief as the nation grapples with an energy crisis. The 1,100 megawatts capacity power plant will generate some of the nation’s cheapest electricity, according to data from regulator National Electric Power Regulatory Authority. The facility was connected to the grid last March. It’s the second unit at the Karachi ...

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• 4 February

  French nuclear output rises to 12-month high

    Bloomberg France’s nuclear power plants were generating at the highest level in nearly a year, providing temporary relief in Europe’s fight to save natural gas this winter. The nation had 45 reactors online on Friday, producing 45,360 megawatts, according to grid operator RTE. That’s the highest since Feb. 11 last year, but about 12% lower than the average of ...

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• 4 February

  Shell sees record 2022 profit

  

    Bloomberg Shell Plc posted a fourth-quarter profit that was well ahead of expectations as its natural gas business thrived, lifting the oil major to a record performance in 2022 fuelled by soaring energy prices. After a bumpy ride earlier in the year amid volatile markets, Shell’s integrated gas unit was firing on all cylinders in the final quarter, delivering ...

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• 4 February

  OMV explores sale of oil, gas assets

    Bloomberg OMV AG is exploring a sale of some international oil and gas assets as the Austrian energy and chemicals company pushes ahead with a long-term goal to pull back from upstream production. The government-backed company is working with advisers to gauge interest in the multibillion-dollar portfolio from private equity and strategic buyers. OMV in March announced plans to ...

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