February, 2022

• 12 February

  South Africa to open power grid to competition

  

    Bloomberg South Africa published proposed changes to the electricity regulation act that will facilitate the opening of the national power grid to private generators. State-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has been the dominant supplier of power to Africa’s most industrialized economy for nearly a century, but its inability to meet demand from its poorly maintained coal-fired plants has resulted ...

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• 12 February

  Cash-loving Japan warms up to cryptocurrency

  

    An inflation hedge in deflation-prone Japan? At least that’s what Mitsui & Co. is preparing to offer via a coin that may be available as early as this month. According to Nikkei, the trading house is planning a cryptocurrency linked to the yen-denominated price of one gram of gold. Gold is a sideshow in the blockchain world. When it ...

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• 12 February

  Chip deals are going to get a lot harder

  

  Nvidia Corp.’s aborted attempt to buy British semiconductor company Arm Ltd. isn’t the only chip deal to fail at the hands of regulators, yet its high-profile defeat portends a tough outlook for mergers and acquisitions in what has become one of the world’s most politicised industries. GlobalWafers Co, a Taiwanese maker of sliced silicon upon which chips are produced, has ...

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• 12 February

  Amazon can’t keep thriving without fixing its culture

    Bloomberg columnists Justin Fox and Allison Schrager have each pointed out, it’s front-line and blue-collar workers — not office workers — who have been leaving their jobs at historically high rates. And even so, the quits rate is still only about 3%. And it’s a metric we’ve only tracked for about 20 years. But managers still need to remember: ...

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• 12 February

  Despite inflation surge, Fed should keep steady

    A further spike in US inflation — prices were 7.5% higher than a year ago, the fastest increase for 40 years — was the last the thing the Federal Reserve wanted to see as it weighed its next moves in monetary policy. It had led investors to expect a very gradual increase in interest rates starting next month. Already ...

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• 12 February

  Hong Kong extends flight ban as virus cases top 1,000 again

  

    Bloomberg Hong Kong reported another record number of coronavirus cases, as well as two more deaths, with the worsening outbreak straining health-care resources and ramping up pressure on the government’s steadfast push for Covid Zero. Authorities announced 1,325 infections on Friday, alongside more than 1,500 preliminary positive cases. That’s up from just 614 on Monday. The city said it ...

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• 12 February

  Gatwick Airport to reopen second terminal in March

  

    Bloomberg London’s Gatwick Airport will reopen its second terminal as easing Covid-19 restrictions give airlines confidence to add flights amid a budding travel rebound. The south terminal, mothballed nearly two years ago to cut costs, will help meet expected strong demand this summer, Gatwick said in an emailed statement. It will open on March 27, three weeks before Easter, ...

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• 12 February

  Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary sees ‘dramatic’ jump in ticket bookings

  

    Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc has seen a “dramatic recovery” in bookings over the past two weeks as the easing of pandemic travel curbs across Europe encourages people to fly again. The Irish low-cost carrier’s planes are flying about 75% full and could reach 90% of capacity by the peak of the summer high season, Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary ...

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• 12 February

  Frontier-Spirit Air deal expands Franke’s sphere in discounting

  

    Bloomberg Frontier Group Holdings Inc.’s planned $2.9 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines Inc., positions Bill Franke, the self-proclaimed father of ultradiscounting, to expand his global network of carriers that offer bargain-basement fares while maintaining a laser focus on low costs. The deal comes as the industry’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic leans on domestic markets and leisure travelers —the ...

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• 12 February

  Italian piazzas go dark as energy bills bite

    Bloomberg Thousands of Italian cities shut off power at some of their biggest tourist attractions to protest spiraling energy costs. Municipal authorities from across the political spectrum banded together to highlight their call for 550 million euros ($627 million) in energy-cost relief from the government, as gas and electricity bills have risen by more than 30% this year. Italy ...

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