Bloomberg Auxin Solar Inc is asking the US Commerce Department to investigate possible efforts to circumvent tariffs with the imports of equipment from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The company alleges the solar imports use parts or components from China, and that producers are assembling equipment in the Southeast Asian nations as a way of skirting duties, according to ...
Read More »Europe needs 65 million EV chargers by 2035
Bloomberg Europe will have 130 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2035, according to a joint report from Ernst & Young and the electricity industry trade association Eurelectric. The report’s projections show Europe’s EV fleet growing from its current base of less than 5 million to 65 million by 2030 and then doubling over the following five years. ...
Read More »What can anti-Trump Republicans actually do?
After the Republican National Committee censured Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and claimed that the Jan. 6 committee they’re serving on is persecuting people for “legitimate political discourse,†several Republican senators were quick to criticize their own party’s leadership. Most notably Utah’s Mitt Romney: “Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth ...
Read More »EVs are getting bigger and heavier
The brilliant thing about technology is how it tends to become smaller (and cheaper) over time. One glaring exception has been the most expensive piece of kit many of us buy: the automobile. Due to the popularity of bulbous, gizmo-laden SUVs and pickup trucks — some driven no further than a supermarket parking lot — modern vehicles have piled on ...
Read More »The global real yield tantrum of 2022 is here
Central bankers are no longer patient when it comes to inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made that clear at last week’s meeting when he basically confirmed a March interest-rate hike. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde refused to repeat previously-made comments that a rate hike this year was “very unlikely,” and instead indicated there was “general concern” among ...
Read More »The digital rupee needs more thought, less haste
India has surprised the payments world by announcing that its central bank will issue a digital currency as early as the coming financial year, a crucial decision that most other major economies are refusing to make in a hurry. According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, an electronic representation of India’s legal tender will give a big boost to its ...
Read More »Pilots made to wear trackers as Hong Kong boosts Covid rules
Bloomberg Hong Kong is further tightening quarantine rules for airline staff, with cargo pilots isolating at home to be tracked with electronic monitoring bracelets and crew on passenger planes who have been in countries with high levels of the virus made to quarantine for 14 days. The updated rules, set out in a document seen by Bloomberg News, was ...
Read More »EU to send Russia joint security reply, snubbing Lavrov demand
Bloomberg The European Union will snub a request by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the bloc’s member countries to respond individually to Moscow’s demands on the region’s security framework. Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, will respond on behalf of the 27 EU members, according to a draft of the letter seen by Bloomberg. The EU response ...
Read More »Congress is ‘running out of runway’ to devise any Russia sanctions
Bloomberg Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell expressed skepticism about the effectiveness a sanctions bill would have in swaying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decisions on Ukraine. “I don’t think Putin will be deterred by any piece of legislation in the Senate,†he said. McConnell said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline should be blocked now and that President Joe Biden already ...
Read More »US-led group slams ‘attacks’ on HK press freedom
Bloomberg A US-led group of democracies condemned China for “suppression†of Hong Kong’s press freedoms in a statement that was “firmly rejected†by China, highlighting lingering tensions over human rights. Calling themselves the Media Freedom Coalition, 21 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada and Japan said in a statement released by the State Department that they “express ...
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