January, 2023

• 1 January

  Fossil fuel power falls 68% as blackouts hit US south

  

    Bloomberg Power plants that burn coal and natural gas to produce electricity had significant drops in generation as a winter storm hit the US Southeast, forcing blackouts that left hundreds of thousands in the dark. Duke Energy Corp. and the Tennessee Valley Authority cut power to homes and businesses during the holiday season as an extreme winter storm pummeled ...

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• 1 January

  South Africa’s Eskom backtracks, continues with rolling blackouts

  

  Bloomberg South Africa’s state-owned power company, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., will carry on cutting 2,000 megawatts of electricity from the national grid indefinitely due to the breakdown of five generating units, reversing plans to suspend the outages on New Year’s Eve, the utility said in a text message. Eskom has cut power on a record 205 days this year, with ...

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• 1 January

  China’s economic activity at slowest since February 2020

  

  Bloomberg China’s abrupt reversal of its Covid Zero policy pushed economic activity — its service sector in particular — to the slowest pace since February 2020, as the virus swept through major cities and prompted people to stay home and businesses to shut. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 47 this month from November’s 48, the National Bureau ...

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• 1 January

  Tesla offers incentives in China to prop up sales

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc is starting 2023 as it ended 2022: with incentives aimed at propping up sales in China. The carmaker is offering Model 3 sedan and Model Y sport utility vehicle buyers as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,450) if they take delivery by February 28, according to Tesla’s website. The company is extending a 6,000-yuan subsidy it started offering ...

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• 1 January

  Taiwan set to deploy $12.4b funds to support economy

    Bloomberg The Taiwanese government is planning to deploy NT$380 billion ($12.4 billion) of funds to support the local economy and combat inflation amid global uncertainties, the presidential office said. Some of the funds, which come from higher-than-expected tax revenue this year, will be used to meet a shortfall in the labor and health insurance system and to provide subsidies ...

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• 1 January

  South Korea exports extend drop after risks to economy escalate

  

    Bloomberg South Korea’s exports continued to decline in December in a sign of cooling global demand as higher interest rates weigh on consumption. Overseas shipments dropped 9.5% from a year earlier, compared with economists’ forecasts for an 11.1% decline, according to data by the trade ministry. Imports fell 2.4%. The trade shortfall was $4.7 billion in December, resulting in ...

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• 1 January

  Indonesia scraps mask mandate

    Bloomberg Indonesia will do away with indoor mask mandates and remove the requirement to show proof of vaccination when entering buildings, becoming one of the last few countries to completely end Covid-19 restrictions. The decision was taken as almost all of Indonesia’s population had immunity against the virus, said President Joko Widodo. “We once failed in containing Covid, but ...

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• 1 January

  Vietnam pulls off Asia’s fastest growth as economy powers on

  

    Bloomberg Vietnam’s economy grew at the fastest pace in Asia in 2022, signalling momentum just before risks from a global slowdown began to materialise. Gross domestic product rose 8.02% in the year to December, according to official data reported. That was faster than the government’s initial target of 6%-6.5% growth and was aided by a quicker-than-expected 5.92% expansion in ...

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• 1 January

  Kim vows nuclear buildup to take on US, South Korea

  

  Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to increase his nuclear arsenal in the new year to stifle US and South Korean hostile acts, in a policy-setting address where he left almost no opening for a return to long-stalled disarmament talks. In a speech that came at the end of a nearly weeklong meeting of his ruling Workers Party, Kim ...

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• 1 January

  Kosovo PM calls for more Nato troops

  

    Bloomberg Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti is calling for a bolstered presence of Nato peacekeeping forces in his country. “A massive bolstering of Nato troops and military equipment in our country would improve security and peace in Kosovo and the entire West-Balkan region,” Kurti said in an interview with German newspaper WELT. Following recent tensions between Kosovo and neighboring ...

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