January, 2023

• 1 January

  Chinese jet buzzed Air Force plane: US 

    Bloomberg A Chinese fighter plane flew within 20 feet (6 metres) of a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea in what the US Indo-Pacific Command called “an unsafe maneuver.” The unusually close encounter happened on December 21 but wasn’t disclosed until later, when the command issued a statement after verifying the details and getting approval ...

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• 1 January

  Germany’s Scholz tells citizens they need to keep saving energy

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged citizens to continue their energy-saving drive and said Germany’s new floating LNG terminals will make Europe independent of Russian gas for the long term. In his New Year’s address to the nation, Scholz acknowledged that the energy crisis triggered by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a “tough test” for the continent’s biggest economy. But ...

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• 1 January

  Petrobras critic to head Brazil’s state-run oil firm

  

    Bloomberg President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has selected a senator and former Petrobras official to lead Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant with the aim of turning it into a renewable energy powerhouse. Jean Paul Prates, a senator for Lula’s Workers’ Party, confirmed Lula’s invitation in a note sent from his press office. Moments later, Lula congratulated Prates on Twitter, ...

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• 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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