May, 2020

• 23 May

  Built by oil’s riches, Houston goes all-in on solar power

  

  Bloomberg The oil and natural gas capital of the world is going all-in on solar power. Houston will begin a new five-year contact in July with NRG Energy Inc to power all of its city-owned properties, from fire stations to airports, with renewable energy. The move means the nation’s fourth-largest city will reach its goal of 100% renewable power five …

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• 23 May

  Alibaba’s sales growth hits new lows over uncertainty

  

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd expects revenue growth to slow this year, reflecting post-Covid 19 economic uncertainty at home as well as the potential for US-Chinese tensions to disrupt its business. The e-commerce giant forecast sales growth this year of at least 27.5% to more than 650 billion yuan ($91 billion), down from 35% previously and slightly below analysts’ estimates. …

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• 23 May

  Southwest Air sees flying to be cut 30%

  

  Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co expects flying capacity later this year to be down about 30% from 2019, potentially leaving the company overstaffed, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said. The carrier may be forced into the first involuntary furloughs in its 49-year history if travel demand doesn’t pick up more swiftly over the summer, Kelly said in a video message to …

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• 23 May

  EasyJet’s founder defeated in bid to oust management

  

  Bloomberg EasyJet Plc founder turned activist Stelios Haji-Ioannou lost out on an attempt to remove the UK airline’s management and block Airbus SE jet purchases. Shareholders resolved to retain four directors including Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren, Chairman John Barton and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Findlay at a virtual meeting. Haji-Ioannou, EasyJet’s top investor with a 34% stake, has spent …

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• 23 May

  Amazon Prime Air to rise fivefold to 200 jets, rivaling UPS

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc’s Prime Air fleet will grow to about 200 planes — up from 42 now — in the next seven or eight years, creating an air cargo service that could rival United Parcel Service (UPS), according to a study. “At a time when many other airlines are downsizing due to the pandemic, Amazon’s push for faster and cheaper …

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• 23 May

  UK arrivals to face fines for breaking rules

  Bloomberg Passengers arriving in the UK will be forced into quarantine for two weeks and face fines of 1,000 pounds ($1,200) if they break the rules. The plan, which will take effect from June 8, is designed to stop travelers bringing coronavirus into the country after becoming infected overseas, and is likely to have a major impact on the aviation …

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• 23 May

  Remote-controlled robonauts

  

  Bloomberg As Japan’s second female astronaut to fly up in the Space Shuttle Discovery, Naoko Yamazaki didn’t expect to spend a quarter of her time dusting, feeding mice and doing other menial jobs. It can cost more than $430 million a year to keep an astronaut in orbit, according to three-year-old startup called Gitai Inc. It’s only possible to keep …

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• 23 May

  Twitter, WhatsApp sanctions loom in privacy crackdown

  

  Bloomberg Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp are in firing line as Europe’s leading privacy watchdog for US tech giants edges closer to delivering its first major sanctions under the region’s tough data-protection rules. The Irish Data Protection Commission said on May 22 that it finalized a draft decision linked to a data breach at Twitter and has asked its …

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• 23 May

  Amazon’s Audible goes beyond books to chase Spotify in podcasts

  

  Bloomberg In recent months, Audible, the audiobook service owned by Amazon.com Inc., has been meeting with talent agencies and producers to discuss acquiring potential new podcast projects—or, in the terminology that Audible prefers, “Audible Originals.” Audible is offering anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few million dollars per show, more than every competitor except Spotify Technology SA. …

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• 23 May

  Electric cars are about to start rolling out of the Arizona desert

  

  Bloomberg On the outskirts of a small town less than 50 miles southeast of Phoenix, a 720,000 square foot electric vehicle factory is arising in the desert. If all goes as planned, a luxurious new battery-electric sedan will roll off its production line by year’s end. Lucid Motors, a US startup, is building the factory and slated to start manufacturing …

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