February, 2022

• 8 February

  European power declines as gas drops on rising flows from Russia

  

    Bloomberg European power prices extended last week’s drop, tracking natural gas futures lower as Russian supplies of the fuel are increasing. German and French electricity for March slid about 7% each on Monday on the European Energy Exchange AG, adding weight to the notion that the market has moved beyond the worst of the energy crisis. Traders are keeping …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  BHP’s first LNG-fuelled bulk carrier all set to deliver iron ore to Asia

  

    Bloomberg One of the world’s first bulk ships to run on liquefied natural gas will deliver its first cargo of iron ore to Northeast Asia later this month, according to charterer BHP Group Ltd. The Mount Tourmaline is currently being fueled with the super-chilled gas in Singapore and will sail this week to Australia to pick up an iron …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  Texas power grid passes winter test

    Bloomberg Texas’s power grid passed its biggest test since last year’s deadly blackouts, keeping most lights on during a wintry blast. This storm, however, was far less severe than last year’s monstrous one, leaving questions whether the state is really ready for another deep freeze. While reforms politicians enacted in the past year did help keep power plants running, …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  Airbus defuses German strike threat as union reaches deal

  

    Bloomberg Airbus SE dodged the threat of strikes in Germany, reaching a labor deal that will allow continued production of its best-selling A320 jetliner. The accord rules out compulsory job cuts at restructured parts plants until the end of 2030, according to the IG Metall union. Airbus agreed to invest in the sites until at least that date and …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  Frontier to buy discounter Spirit airlines for $2.9bn

  

    Bloomberg Frontier Group Holdings Inc agreed to buy Spirit Airlines Inc. for $2.9 billion in cash and stock, uniting two ultra-low-cost carriers targeting the recovering US leisure-travel market. Spirit shares rose the most in 14 months. Spirit investors will receive 1.9126 Frontier shares and $2.13 in cash for each Spirit share, according to a statement Monday. The deal implies …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  Danish fund sells $3m Wizz Air stake in spat over labor practices

  

    Bloomberg A Danish pension fund said it will exit its $3 million stake in Wizz Air Holdings Plc after talks failed to resolve concerns surrounding the discount carrier’s labor practices. AkademikerPension, which manages around $23 billion, said Monday that it will sell the stock after Wizz rebuffed a plea for it to recognize staff rights concerning freedom of association …

  Read More »
• 8 February

  ‘Bleisure’ trips boom as travelers mix work and play

  

    Bloomberg It’s an age-old question: “Business or pleasure?” For airline passengers these days, the answer increasingly is both. The growth in so-called “bleisure” trips blending personal getaways with remote work has helped fill seats on planes during the coronavirus pandemic and marks a shift in travel patterns for an industry used to clear divisions between briefcase-toting road warriors and …

  Read More »
• 7 February

  Retail’s challenge lies in ‘number of returns’

    Bloomberg US retailers are bracing for more returns than usual, adding stress to an industry already grappling with increasing labor costs and supply-chain issues. Shoppers are expected to return more than $761 billion in merchandise sold last year, representing about 16.6% of total US retail sales, according to a survey of retailers. That’s up from 10.6% during 2020. Fraudulent …

  Read More »
• 7 February

  UK house prices rise at slowest pace since June, says Halifax

  

    Bloomberg UK house prices rise at the slowest pace in more than six months in January after a bumper end to 2021 left the average value of a home at a record high. Prices rise just 0.3% following four months of gains above 1%, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday. In a sign of a more normal market, the …

  Read More »
• 7 February

  China stocks climb most in two months in holiday catch-up trade

  

    Bloomberg Chinese shares climbed on their return from a weeklong holiday, with sentiment boosted by Friday’s jump in Hong-Kong listed names and easing concerns about regulatory headwinds for the nation’s battered tech sector. The CSI 300 Index ended up 1.5% on Monday after rising as much as 2.4%. While that marked the benchmark’s best post-Lunar New Year holiday performance …

  Read More »