February, 2021

• 21 February

  International Defence Conference kicks off in Abu Dhabi

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the International Defence Conference 2021 kicked off on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. For the first time, the International Defence Conference 2021 is being held as a hybrid event. The conference brings together more than 24 experts and specialists in the defence sector, physically ...

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• 21 February

  US singles out Russian ship for ‘new sanctions’

  

  Bloomberg The Biden administration singled out a Russian ship for violating US prohibitions on constructing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, clearing the way for a new round of sanctions as part of its effort to stop the nearly-completed project. In a report, the US cited the ship, the Fortuna, and its owner, KVT-RUS. The report also ...

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• 20 February

  UK deserves some credit for leading Covid-19 fight

  

  When it comes to managing Covid-19, few countries have a spotless record. This includes the UK, where early mixed messages from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, too-soon reopenings later on and some potentially risky vaccine strategies marred the response. I have been critical, for instance, of Britain’s decision to extend the dosing interval of the Pfizer Inc-BioNTech SE vaccine without any ...

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• 20 February

  Is Walmart making the right call now?

  

  Time and again during the past year, we’ve seen how the pandemic has accelerated shifts in consumer behaviour. So it stands to reason that a retailer would respond to that sped-up pace of change by pulling forward investments to accommodate it. That’s the lens through which to view Walmart Inc’s fiscal-year guidance, which includes $14 billion in capital spending, a ...

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• 20 February

  The simple lesson of Texas’s power outage

  The details of what went wrong in Texas — most likely the biggest forced blackout in US history — will take time to establish. So will exactly what to do about it. But this emergency already underlines something that should’ve been obvious before. As the growing threat of extreme weather puts vital economic systems at risk, climate resilience needs to ...

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• 20 February

  After Trump, can the US repair its politics?

  One week after Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate, and not before time, attention is turning more squarely to President Joe Biden and his agenda. Unfortunately, it’s already clear that moving past the political turmoil that Trump inflicted on the US will be difficult. Biden hopes to unite the country around efforts to support the economic recovery. He restated his ...

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• 20 February

  Cathay crew to work 21-day stints to avoid quarantine

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is taking extreme measures to cope with new rules that will require flight crew to quarantine in Hong Kong from Saturday, introducing a rotation policy that puts staff out of action for almost one month at a time after they’ve completed 21-day shifts. Crew who volunteer to take part in the airline’s so-called closed loop ...

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• 20 February

  UK airlines urge PM for travel reopening

  

  Bloomberg The UK airline industry stepped up a campaign to persuade Prime Minister Boris Johnson that travel should be included in his plan to reopen the economy, calling for a clear road map to ease travel restrictions ahead of the crucial summer season. In a webinar organised by lobby group Airlines UK, heads of carriers including EasyJet Plc and Virgin ...

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• 20 February

  FAA tracking all 737 Max flights around world with satellites

  

  Bloomberg All Boeing Co 737 Max flights around the world are being tracked by US regulators who are keeping watch on the plane after its 20-month grounding. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using a network of satellites capable of tracking planes in even the most remote regions as if they were under surveillance by local radars, according to the ...

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• 20 February

  Macy’s mulls bond sale amid demand for high-yield debt

  

  Bloomberg Macy’s Inc is sounding out investors on a potential debt sale that would further aid the retailer through the pandemic, as a string of troubled companies look to capitalise on record-low borrowing costs. The department store chain is considering issuing new debt to bolster its liquidity, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Talks are in the early ...

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