May, 2022

• 8 May

  Europe’s ban on Russian oil has to be realistic now

  

  The European Union (EU) is working toward a ban on imports of oil from Russia, as well as targeting the country’s wider trade through sanctions on shipping insurance. But it needs to realise that reducing Russia’s oil exports to zero is neither achievable nor desirable. Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia are already threatening the bloc’s unity over a proposal to phase ...

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• 8 May

  Industrial demand may be slowing

  

  Is industrial demand still too hot for supply chains to handle, or starting to show signs of slowing down? As a volatile earnings season draws to a close, clarity is in shorter supply than semiconductors. Most manufacturers are still growing sales on a headline basis, but almost all that momentum in the first quarter came from price increases. Industrial companies ...

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• 8 May

  California vs Florida, a Covid-19 reckoning

    California and Florida have a lot in common: Large populations, nice weather, beautiful beaches, celebrities, Disney theme parks, hundreds of thousands of acres of citrus orchards. When Covid-19 came to the US in early 2020, the two states reacted similarly, shutting down in-person schooling and indoor dining and urging residents to stay home. Through some combination of that quick ...

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• 8 May

  Globalisation isn’t just ‘American’ anymore!

    First, it was the financial crisis. Then Brexit and the election of former US President Donald Trump. Next came a trade war and a pandemic. The war in Ukraine is only the latest event to trigger a wave of claims that globalisation is dead. Since the Russian invasion began, everyone from newspaper columnists to Wall Street luminaries such as ...

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• 8 May

  Issa brothers mull piling debt on Asda to fund Boots buyout

  

    Bloomberg The owners of Asda Group are considering piling debt onto the supermarket chain to raise the money to buy Boots, another fixture on UK high streets. Brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa, alongside TDR Capital LLP, have discussed saddling the supermarket with as much as 4.5 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) of additional debt, on top of the multi-billion pound ...

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• 8 May

  Latam Air creditors vote for bankruptcy exit plan

  

  Bloomberg A majority of Latam Airlines Group SA’s unsecured creditors have voted in favour of its proposed restructuring plan, easing the Chilean carrier’s path out of bankruptcy. About 65% of the low-ranking creditors voted to accept the plan, the company said in a statement, giving Latam a crucial level of support before asking its bankruptcy judge to sign off on ...

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• 8 May

  Flying into Mexico City is getting more dangerous, says airline group

  

  Bloomberg An airline group and a pilots’ association are ringing the alarms on Mexico City’s airspace, saying they’ve seen a worrying increase in ground proximity warning events since the space was redesigned last year. Benito Juarez International Airport recorded at least 17 such warnings since April 2021 as part of an alert system that notifies when planes are in danger ...

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• 8 May

  Adidas cuts profitability goal amid China lockdowns

  

  Bloomberg Adidas SE cut its profitability targets for this year and forecast a plunge in sales of sporting goods in China as the Covid Zero policy keeps stores shut. The company also said supply bottlenecks in Vietnam have reduced the availability of products, eroding sales. The shares fell as much as 6.8%, approaching a two-year low. A fifth of the ...

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• 8 May

  Inflation hits Mother’s Day with flower prices up 14%

    Bloomberg If you’re planning to send flowers for Mother’s Day, expect to pay more. Marie Noe, owner of A Bella Mia flower shop in Norwood, Massachusetts, has raised her prices by 24% across the board in the past three years to cover costs. Some items Noe has raised even more, citing an arrangement that used to sell for $59.99 ...

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• 8 May

  E-commerce stocks sink to 2-year lows

    Bloomberg Shares of e-commerce companies from Etsy Inc to Shopify Inc tumbled after weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and forecasts deepened concern that the pace of online shopping has slowed. Etsy sank 17% after providing a second-quarter gross merchandise sales forecast that fell short of analyst expectations, while Canada’s Shopify dropped 15% in New York trading after merchandise volume and revenue ...

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