August, 2020

• 25 August

  Japanese firm to sell bonds with coupons linked to green goals

  Bloomberg A Japanese real estate developer is planning to sell a bond whose coupon increases if it misses environmental targets, in the first issuance of its kind in the nation. Hulic Co plans to offer 10 billion yen ($94 million) of 10-year so-called sustainability-linked bonds in October, according to a filing on Tuesday. If the company isn’t able to meet ...

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• 25 August

  China likely to skip winter LNG feast

  Bloomberg Don’t expect an LNG buying binge ahead of winter from the world’s fastest growing consumer of the fuel. China will likely pull back on spot purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) before the peak demand season as a flurry of earlier bargain buying nearly maxed out storage space. “There is a big question about whether demand will recover enough ...

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• 25 August

  Trump’s convention will be all about Democrats

  

  President Donald Trump is in much worse political shape as the Republican convention begins than he was at the start of the year. He was unpopular even then. At the end of January, he was about five points behind Joe Biden in national polls, which also showed that a small majority of the country disapproved of his job performance. But ...

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• 25 August

  Impact of virus deaths in New York

  

  The Covid-19 pandemic has been traumatic for New York City. How traumatic, by historical standards? Well, city health authorities started keeping more or less consistent track of deaths in 1804. Every year, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene publishes a remarkable chart on the cover of its vital statistics report of mortality rates since then, labeled “The Conquest ...

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• 25 August

  India’s ‘economy’ can’t be a monopoly board

  Two years ago, India rolled out a laudable plan to unlock the capital trapped in some of its smaller airports. But the actual outcome from privatisation was less than reassuring: All six airfields put on the block went to one bidder. If that wasn’t enough, multiple media reports now say that Ahmedabad, Gujarat-based billionaire Gautam Adani, an early and enthusiastic ...

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• 25 August

  The US needs a realistic Russia strategy now

  The suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny underscores the dangers Russians face for speaking out against President Vladimir Putin. It’s also a warning to those currently protesting for democratic change in neighbouring Belarus. So long as Putin remains at the helm, Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to democratic values, in its periphery and beyond. A ...

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• 25 August

  Virgin Atlantic creditors to vote on $1.6b rescue plan

  

  Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd is set to find out whether it has enough support from creditors for a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.6 billion) rescue or if it will need a judge to overrule them in order to stave off collapse. The UK carrier founded and controlled by billionaire Richard Branson has already secured the backing of three creditor classes and ...

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• 25 August

  Qantas Air plans to cut 2,500 more jobs

  

  Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd plans to cut as many as 2,500 more jobs by offloading ground operations like baggage handling and aircraft cleaning as the cost of the coronavirus pandemic mounts. The reductions follow previously announced plans to eliminate 6,000 jobs, or 20% of the workforce, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. “Airlines have to change how they ...

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• 25 August

  Seven-day virus killer is cleared for American Air planes

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration gave American Airlines Group Inc emergency approval to deploy a new weapon against Covid-19: a surface coating that kills coronaviruses for as many as seven days. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the emergency declaration for Allied BioScience Inc’s SurfaceWise2 product, allowing it to be used in some American Airlines planes and airport facilities, as well ...

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• 25 August

  Itochu aims to take FamilyMart private as tender offer succeeds

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s second-largest convenience store operator FamilyMart Co will become a wholly owned subsidiary of top shareholder Itochu Corp after the trading house succeeded in its tender offer for the retailer’s shares. The deal will lift Itochu’s stake in FamilyMart to 65.7% from 50%, allowing the trading company to begin the process of delisting the convenience store operator from the ...

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