March, 2021

• 21 March

  Biden is making migrant border surge even worse

  In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, President Joe Biden denied that the perception that he is softer than his predecessor has contributed to a surge of migrants at the border with Mexico. A lot of people who are well disposed to the president — including Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia and Juliette Kayyem, an official in ...

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• 21 March

  Walmart opens marketplace to non-US vendors in shift

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc. has removed rules requiring sellers on its marketplace website to be registered in the US — an attempt to close the e-commerce gap with Amazon.com Inc. and tap into China’s vast network of manufacturers. This month, the world’s largest retailer began opening up its third-party marketplace to foreign sellers, who no longer need a US address or ...

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• 21 March

  Airlines face new challenge with fuel prices on upswing

  

  Bloomberg Just as airlines start to emerge from their biggest slump on record, the industry is facing a new headache: a rapid rise in fuel prices. Escalating fuel costs will create a dilemma for carriers who unwound hedges that proved costly when demand suddenly disappeared when the coronavirus hit last year, said John Grant, senior analyst at OAG, which tracks ...

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• 21 March

  Germany’s retailer tackles debt with hefty equity input

  

  Bloomberg German beauty retailer Douglas GmbH is tackling its 2.1 billion-euro ($2.5 billion) debt pile after struggling through a series of pandemic-fueled lockdowns that shuttered its stores across Europe for almost a year. The 179-year-old firm, owned by CVC, is seeking to refinance its bonds and loans with new debt supported by a 220 million-euro equity injection. CVC was coming ...

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• 21 March

  Nike slides after supply-chain woes hit North America sales

  

  Bloomberg Nike Inc. fell the most since October after its pandemic rebound suffered a setback last quarter, when supply-chain problems kept products from reaching North America, its biggest market. The athleticwear giant, which posted surprisingly strong growth in the previous quarter, missed Wall Street estimates with its latest results. Sales amounted to $10.4 billion in the third quarter — far ...

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• 21 March

  Norse Atlantic to use Norwegian planes with fresh paint job

  

  Bloomberg Norse Atlantic Airways is copying more than just the long-haul playbook of insolvent discounter Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. It’s using the carrier’s old planes. The startup airline has agreed to lease nine Boeing Co. 787 jets formerly used by Norwegian, Norse Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Tore Larsen said in an interview. The new company, which announced that it plans ...

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• 21 March

  Canadian retail sales bounce back

  Bloomberg Canadian retailers got a boost in February after public-health authorities lifted lockdowns. Retail sales rise 4.0% on the month, preliminary data by Statistics Canada show. The bounce-back comes after a 1.1% drop in receipts in January and a 3.7% decline in December, when many businesses were forced to close because of a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. But the ...

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• 21 March

  US seeks to bolster defense ties with Quad partner India

  

  Bloomberg The US sought to further strengthen defense cooperation with India as part of President Joe Biden’s push to develop closer ties with Asian partners amid widening differences with China. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss opportunities to elevate the US-India defense partnership through regional security ...

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• 21 March

  Ex-China officials see cooperation areas after Alaska talks

  

  Bloomberg After the first high-level US-China talks during the Biden administration ended with no agreements, some top former officials in Beijing still saw potential areas of cooperation to move the relationship forward. Speaking during the government-sponsored China Development Forum, top figures including a former vice foreign minister, a senior military adviser and a prominent academic on US-China relations all outlined ...

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• 21 March

  Biden calls for new law, change of heart after Georgia murders

  

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden called on Congress to send him new legislation on hate crimes and for Americans to “change our hearts” to combat racially motivated attacks on Asian Americans, following the murders of eight people in shootings this week in the Atlanta area. Biden asked lawmakers to send him the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act to sign, which would improve ...

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