October, 2022

• 22 October

  Europe racks up $700 billion energy tab as budgets strain

  

  Bloomberg European Union (EU) governments have pledged more than 550 billion euros ($536 billion) to protect citizens and businesses from soaring energy costs over the past year, highlighting the enormous fiscal burden the bloc’s leaders face as they jostle over how to pay for it. That figure climbs to 710 billion euros when support for utilities via loans, bailouts and ...

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• 22 October

  Enel in talks on $15.8 billion credit line for power price hit

  

    Bloomberg Italy’s Enel SpA is in talks with banks on a new €16 billion ($15.8 billion) state-backed credit line to cover derivatives risks linked to spiking energy prices, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the plan, the country’s trade-credit insurer Sace would provide guarantees for around 70% of the total amount, said the people, asking not to ...

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• 22 October

  Germany risks wasting billions on LNG projects

  

    Bloomberg Germany is at risk of wasting billions of euros on boosting liquefied natural gas imports instead of moving towards sustainable alternatives like energy efficiency, according to a new report. The country faces about 200 billion euros ($196 billion) of additional costs for gas imports by the end of the decade, causing a doubling of bills for consumers, the ...

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• 22 October

  Chinese city plans offshore wind farm that could power Norway

    Bloomberg A city in southern China is planning an offshore wind farm bigger than all of the power plants in Norway combined. Chaozhou, in Guangdong province, intends to start work on the 43.3-gigawatt project before 2025, according to a copy of the city’s five-year plan posted on industry publication bjx.com. The wind farm will be built between 75 and ...

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• 22 October

  BP to acquire US biogas producer

    Bloomberg BP Plc agreed to acquire biogas producer Archaea Energy Inc. for about $4.1 billion including debt, the latest step in the UK energy giant’s expansion into into lower-carbon fuels. BP will pay $26 per share, a 38% premium to the average share price in the 30 days to Oct. 14, Archaea said in a statement. The Houston-based company, ...

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• 22 October

  Indonesia eyes sugarcane-mixed biofuel to cut emission

  

    Bloomberg Indonesia plans to sell biofuels made from a blend of sugarcane extract and oil from next year as the world’s largest exporter of dirty coal seeks to reduce emission and curb fuel imports. State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina Persero will begin selling A20 fuel, which is a mix of 80% gasoline, 15% methanol derived from natural ...

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• 22 October

  The one thing Xi needs to give Chinese tech firms

  

  Every Chinese leader stamps their mark on the country they rule for five, 10, (or 15) years. Xi Jinping’s brand is indelible, but the technology companies which have powered China’s economic rise over the past decade will be searching for clues on how to navigate his third term. When Xi took power in March 2013, Tencent Holdings Ltd. stood at ...

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• 22 October

  Apps bury the case for pan-Asian currency

  

    Unrealistic as it was technically, the idea of a pan-Asian currency always had some political support: Since 2005, the Japanese have published the exchange value of something called the Asian Monetary Unit, a precursor to what would one day become the region’s equivalent of the euro. The debt crisis in southern Europe — and the threat it posed to ...

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• 22 October

  US Supreme Court will end the era of college diversity

    At the end of this month, the US Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments in two closely watched cases on affirmative action in higher education. They’re widely expected to overturn the 1978 case that allowed racial diversity to become an organizing principle for college admissions. Like Roe v. Wade, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke is ...

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• 22 October

  There is a growing need to build a better flu shot

    It’s the time of year when US public health officials are practically begging people to go out and get a flu vaccine. This year, their message is particularly urgent: Protect yourself now because the country might be in for a bad flu season that coincides with a resurgence in Covid cases. Last week, I took their advice and got ...

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