August, 2022

• 7 August

  Nuclear-plant disaster in Ukraine is ‘real risk,’ IAEA says

  

  Bloomberg Ukrainian officials said Russian forces shelled the area around Europe’s largest nuclear plant for a second day, hours after the head of the UN’s atomic safety agency warned of “potentially catastrophic consequences.” Russian shells landed near spent nuclear fuel stored at the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant on Saturday evening, wounding one worker, according to Energoatom, the facility’s operator. “This ...

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• 7 August

  Ukraine’s grain corridors still need ships to ease food crisis

    Bloomberg Ukraine’s first shipments of grain since being invaded by Russia are a harbinger of relief for squeezed global markets, but many challenges remain before the millions of tons of food stuck in the country can be released. Perhaps the biggest is the willingness of shipowners to send their vessels into harm’s way, as the waters are littered with ...

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• 7 August

  China relationship casualty of battle to lead Britain

    Bloomberg The rivals to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson are locked in a battle to take the toughest line on China, firmly drawing a line under the vaunted golden era for Sino-British ties. Liz Truss, the front-runner in the Conservative leadership race, has branded Chinese tech giants a security risk, called to arm Taiwan and, in private, labeled China’s ...

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• 7 August

  UK’s biggest container port to be hit by eight days of strikes

  

  Bloomberg Almost 2,000 dock workers at Britain’s biggest container ship port plan to strike for eight days this month after failing to reach a pay deal, threatening to sever one of the UK’s most important trade routes. Workers at Felixstowe will strike from August 21 to August 29, the Unite union said in a statement. Talks failed after the port, ...

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• 7 August

  US consumer borrowing jumps by $40bn in June

  

    Bloomberg US consumer borrowing surged in June, reflecting a jump in credit-card balances and a record increase in non-revolving lending that includes auto and school loans. Total credit increased $40.2 billion from the prior month, second only to March’s $47.1 billion spike, Federal Reserve figures showed. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $27 ...

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• 7 August

  Pfizer in talks to acquire sickle-cell drugmaker

    Bloomberg Pfizer Inc is in advanced talks to buy Global Blood Therapeutics Inc., the maker of a therapy for sickle-cell disease, for about $5 billion, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The New York-based drug giant is looking to finalise a deal in the coming days, the Journal reported. Bloomberg News had reported earlier this week that biotech was ...

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• 7 August

  Iceland is using its volcanic eruption to attract tourists

  

    Bloomberg As volcanic activity in Iceland starts, the country’s tourism industry kicked into high gear, grasping an opportunity to revive the business after the pandemic had banished most visitors from the Atlantic island for more than two years. With reports emerging of sightings of lava, the shares of Icelandic airlines Icelandair hf and Fly Play hf, which flies under ...

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• 7 August

  Moody’s cuts Italy’s outlook to negative

    Bloomberg Italy’s sovereign rating outlook was lowered to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited accumulated risks from Russia’s war in Ukraine to departure of PM Mario Draghi. Italy’s finance ministry called action “questionable.” The credit quality of the European nation, which is rated Baa3 by Moody’s, is under pressure from heightened government risk that could impede structural reforms, ...

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• 7 August

  Canada cuts jobs for second month as labour force shrinks

  

  Bloomberg Canadian employment unexpectedly falls for a second straight month in July as workers dropped out of the labour force, adding to evidence the economy is losing momentum. The country shed 30,600 jobs last month, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa, a surprise negative reading compared to the 15,000 gain anticipated by economists. Still, the unemployment rate held at a record ...

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• 7 August

  Plug-in hybrid cars are running out of road

  

    Bloomberg Everybody likes to have options to choose from, or at least they think they do. That’s part of what led some automakers to bet heavily on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, which offer consumers a way to get a sampling of the EV experience without jumping fully in. PHEVs are often described as a transition technology — ...

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