July, 2020

• 2 July

  SZBA seminar explores digital impact on publishing sector

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) has explored digital impact on the publishing sector during a seminar entitled ‘Building a Digital Ecosystem for Knowledge’. Moderated by Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Director of Publishing at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, DCT Abu Dhabi, the seminar was attended by Abdulla Majid al Ali, Executive ...

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• 2 July

  Covid-19 slowdown may hinder any green recovery

  

  Bloomberg As Covid-19 spread across the globe this spring, flights were halted, commutes were cancelled and oil tankers floated offshore, waiting for a spike in demand. The coronavirus cut global carbon emissions more than any other event in the last century. But the pandemic-induced slowdown may ultimately hamper efforts to curb climate change. “If we end up in a deep ...

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• 2 July

  Japan may close 100 old coal units by 2030

  

  Bloomberg Japan may shut about 100 inefficient coal-fired power units by 2030 to reach its emissions reduction target under the Paris agreement. The powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will soon start expert panel discussions on details of the closure plan, according to an official with the ministry. The shut downs are necessary to meet targets already laid out ...

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• 2 July

  Covia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas

  

  Bloomberg Covia Holdings Corp, a supplier of sand and other mineral products to the oil and gas industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in the Southern District of Texas. The company has a restructuring support agreement with holders of the majority of its secured debt. It currently has cash reserves of about $250 million and US operations ...

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• 2 July

  Norway’s $2.6bn green bet could help whole planet

  

  Bloomberg Plentiful reserves of fossil fuels and rich seams of valuable minerals are no guarantee of national health, wealth or happiness. The “resource curse” has blighted many countries: Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, have suffered from years of graft, civil unrest and poverty. After discovering oil in the 1960s, Norway has managed to escape these troubles. ...

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• 2 July

  Shell warns of multibillion writedown

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will write down between $15 billion and $22 billion in the second quarter, as the company gave investors a wider glimpse of just how severely the coronavirus crisis has hit Big Oil. The pandemic left no part of the energy giant’s sprawling business unscathed. Shell lost money from pumping oil, fuel sales fell ...

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• 2 July

  Tanzania detains oil executives over suspicion of hoarding

  

  Bloomberg Tanzanian authorities detained executives from three oil-marketing companies overnight on suspicion that they hoarded supplies to cause a shortage, according to the utilities regulator. The Tanzania Oil Marketing Association denied the allegations, saying the companies comply with fair competition rules that prohibit cartels, and that the shortage is because of the coronavirus pandemic. Petroleum imports were cut by half ...

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• 2 July

  And, Vladimir Putin is ready for his next act

  

  After a week of voting, with plenty of inducements to get people to the polls, Russians have backed constitutional changes that could keep President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin longer than Josef Stalin. With most precincts now counted, the Central Election Commission says 78% of voters came out in favour and turnout was 65%. It’s almost too impressive — given ...

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• 2 July

  What big food can learn from Covid-19

  

  You probably need only look inside your own pantry to have some idea of what a blockbuster spring it has been for the packaged food industry. General Mills Inc reported that organic sales, a measure that excludes currency fluctuations and other factors, shot up 16% in the quarter from a year earlier as people loaded up on Gold Medal flour, ...

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• 2 July

  Gilead puts a price tag on Covid-19 relief now

  While a world awash in a pandemic awaits a coronavirus vaccine, Gilead Sciences is bringing a treatment to market. Remdesivir is an experimental drug that may help Covid-19 patients recover more quickly — but it doesn’t immunise them. Its price tag is $600 for a series of six treatments for patients who live in developing countries where Gilead, to its ...

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