September, 2021

• 19 September

  Next best electric car battery is here

  

  There’s no shortage of excitement for electric vehicle battery startups or multibillion dollar investments in the industry, as companies, backers and scientists look for the winning play. China, though, is moving on to the next leg in the race — one that isn’t dependent on a big, bold breakthrough — with sodium-ion batteries. Done right, this technology could lead to ...

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• 19 September

  A skirmish in war of France’s billionaires

  Billionaires Bernard Arnault and Vincent Bollore made a spectacular entrance into the activist fight over Lagardere SA last year. Fast forward to today, and Bollore-controlled Vivendi SE is on the verge of taking over the storied media group behind Paris Match, while the London-based activist who started the saga looks poised for a tidy exit. The puzzle is why the ...

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• 19 September

  Where Apple sees the future of streaming

  The small but diverse group of classical-music lovers is in deep mourning after one of the pillars of its community died. Primephonic, a Dutch-American app that streamed a wide catalogue of classical music went dark last month, after being acquired by Apple Inc, which aims to fold the service into Apple Music. But why would the world’s largest company be ...

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• 19 September

  UK eases tests for vaccinated arrivals in boost to travel

  

  Bloomberg The UK government eased coronavirus testing requirements for fully vaccinated people arriving in England, removing a significant barrier to travel and boosting airlines and tourism firms. Those with two doses flying from nations that aren’t high risk will be exempt from a pre-departure test, while screening after arrival will be downgraded to quicker and cheaper lateral-flow tests, according to ...

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• 19 September

  Airbus union warns of more strike in Germany

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE union IG Metall said it could call for further industrial action in a dispute over the planemaker’s plans to restructure German parts operations. The labour group held a day of strikes and rallies to protest plans to overhaul subsidiaries that make wing and fuselage sections. The move, first announced in April, would involve the creation of new ...

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• 19 September

  BA’s ‘CO2-neutral’ flight exposes problems cutting emissions

  

  Bloomberg British Airways operated what was billed as a “carbon neutral” flight this week between London and Glasgow, as it tries to burnish its green credentials in the lead-in to next month’s COP26 climate summit in Scotland. While it was a lower-emissions flight, the attempt by IAG SA’s flagship airline to apply a zero-carbon label exposes the problems that the ...

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• 19 September

  John Lewis partnership loss narrows in H1of ’21

  Bloomberg John Lewis Partnership Plc’s loss narrowed in the first half as the British retailer’s turnaround efforts started to pay off. The operator of the John Lewis department store and upmarket grocer Waitrose said the $40 million pretax loss came after taking almost 100 million pounds of exceptional costs related to store closures and redundancy payments. This is a significant ...

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• 19 September

  Biden upsets allies like Trump as France recalls ambassadors

  

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden came to office promising to restore competency to US foreign policy after four years of Donald Trump’s diplomatic bomb-throwing. But eight months later, a series of missteps have angered allies, drawn criticism even from supporters and raised concern that Biden isn’t as sure-footed in international affairs as advertised. France even recalled its ambassador, a dramatic escalation ...

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• 19 September

  China conducts naval, aerial military exercises southwest of Taiwan

  

  Bloomberg China announced naval and aerial military exercises were conducted in areas southwest of Taiwan, the second time in a month. Combat ships, early-warning aircraft and bombers were among the forces that joined the exercises “to improve integrated operational capability” in territory southwest of Taiwan, Shi Yi, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement, ...

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• 19 September

  AUKUS alliance may lead to arms race, says Malaysia

  Bloomberg Malaysia joined Indonesia in expressing concern that a new security pact involving Australia, the US and the UK may spark a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison called his Malaysian counterpart Ismail Sabri Yaakob to explain that the formation of the tripartite group — known as AUKUS — was to help it acquire ...

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