EU countries’ efforts to avoid big shortages likely to ‘successfully solve’ Russian cuts, says bank
European countries can withstand Russia’s gas cuts this winter as supply headaches may have been “successfully solved”, according to analysis by a leading US bank.
Goldman Sachs said the price of gas was likely to more than halve this winter as efforts by EU countries’ to avoid big shortages this winter prove effective.
Continue reading...Sprawling group owns assets including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Wolverhampton Wanderers
China’s biggest banks and state-owned companies have been told to check their financial exposure to Fosun, the sprawling conglomerate that owns assets including the Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the heavily debt-laden group struggles from the impact of downturn in the property sector in its home market.
The financial strength of the Shanghai-based group, co-founded in 1992 by the billionaire Guo Guangchang and built into one of China’s largest non-state-owned conglomerates, has come under scrutiny after a huge sell-off in property bonds that began in June.
Continue reading...Brexit chief extends olive branch in effort to bring UK back to negotiating table in long-running dispute
The EU has initiated a fresh attempt to end the Northern Ireland Brexit dispute with the UK with a proposal to reduce checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea to a near “invisible manner” involving just “a couple of lorries” a day.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said physical checks would be made only “when there is a reasonable suspicion of illegal trade smuggling, illegal drugs, dangerous toys or poisoned food”.
Continue reading...Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth
Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.
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Continue reading...‘Blatant efforts’ by companies criticised by campaign group Transport & Environment
Britain’s biggest housebuilders privately lobbied for the government to ditch rules requiring electric car chargers to be installed in every new home in England, documents have revealed.
The FTSE 100 construction firms Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey were among the companies who argued against the policy in responses to an official consultation seen by the Guardian. The “blatant lobbying efforts” were criticised by Transport & Environment, a campaign group.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Labour peer calls on US president to follow UK in banning firm over misconduct in South Africa
Joe Biden should follow the UK in banning the global management consultancy firm Bain & Company from future government contracts, the Labour peer Peter Hain has said.
In a letter shared with the Guardian, the former minister and anti-apartheid campaigner urged the US president to “act on this matter and establish a clear precedent that will signal to all US global companies, consultancies, lawyers, auditors and financial advisers that collusion with corrupt politicians and their business cronies in other countries will not be tolerated”.
Continue reading...Posts by Playmobil and Legoland Windsor provoked comment, as did the Queen Elizabeth II workout
Content is king, in #marketingspeak at least, but many brands have discovered that the Queen is not content.
In the tumult of reaction to news of the Queen’s death, social media managers struggled to work out the best way to communicate to their customers.
Continue reading...August slump leads to online fashion retailer downgrading annual growth forecast to about 2%
Asos said sales in August were weaker than expected and warned that full-year profits would be at the bottom end of its guidance, with the cost of living crisis hitting cash-strapped shoppers.
The online fashion retailer, which made more than £190m in profits last year, expects profits for the year to the end of August to be about £20m.
Continue reading...Talks expected to be complex, with some member states strongly against proposed price cap on Russian gas
EU energy ministers will gather for emergency talks in Brussels on Friday to thrash out common measures in an effort to counter a gas and electricity price crisis that threatens to make energy bills unaffordable for households and businesses and tip Europe into recession.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has set out a five-point plan, which includes a price cap on Russian gas that is likely to draw strong opposition from some member states.
Continue reading...Bailout fund provided amid soaring market prices and fears of another wave of collapses
The Bank of England will lend UK energy companies as much as £40bn to deal with soaring market prices amid fears of another wave of energy company collapses.
Prime minister Liz Truss, on her third day in office, said she wanted to make sure energy companies have the cash they need to buy energy if prices jump. Reports this week said British Gas owner Centrica was in talks with banks to secure extra cash as Vladimir Putin continues to choke off Europe’s supply of gas.
A review of the UK’s energy regulation that promises to deliver “fundamental reforms to the structure and regulation”
An energy supply taskforce, led by Madelaine McTernan, who currently heads the government’s vaccines taskforce, that will seek to agree long-term contracts for energy supply at steady prices
A review of the UK’s 2050 net zero target to ensure it is “not placing undue burdens on businesses or consumers”
Continue reading...UK online car retailer will make all of its employees in France, Germany, Italy and Spain redundant
Online car retailer Cazoo has announced it will abandon its business in Europe and cut 750 jobs in the latest sign of retreat by a business that had hoped to transform its sector.
The company will make redundant all of its employees in France, Germany, Italy and Spain as it closes the operations, leaving it operating in only the UK as it tries to preserve cash.
Continue reading...Crisis at debt-laden Chinese property developer deepens in wake of default last year and failure to sell building
Lenders to the struggling Chinese developer Evergrande Group have appointed a receiver to seize its Hong Kong headquarters, two sources have said, as the world’s most indebted developer struggles to emerge from its debt crisis.
Evergrande is saddled with more than $300bn (£260bn) in liabilities and has been kept alive by a government-run rescue operation since it defaulted on $22.7bn of overseas debts in December last year.
Continue reading...Economy minister says ‘demand shock’ must be addressed, as economists raise fears of recession
Germany plans to extend a scheme subsidising energy costs for big businesses that are heavily dependent on energy to all small and medium-sized businesses, as part of a package of measures designed to avoid a wave of insolvencies.
Robert Habeck, the economy minister, said he anticipated that the subsidies would be in place for a limited time, until efforts on the national and European level to bring down high electricity and gas prices take effect.
Continue reading...All passengers were escorted out of the screened area of Melbourne airport because one passenger had bypassed screening in Sydney
All passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney on Wednesday evening were escorted off the plane by police to the unscreened area of Melbourne airport, after one passenger managing to bypass screening.
A Qantas spokesperson said “a passenger on a Sydney to Melbourne service (QF487) boarded the flight after inadvertently passing from an ‘unscreened’ to a ‘screened’ part of the airport in Sydney.”
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Continue reading...Cap says mobile and broadband users must get clear information about inflation-busting bill increases
The UK advertising watchdog has launched an investigation into whether telecoms companies are misleading consumers about inflation-busting bill increases when promoting deals in their marketing campaigns.
Telecoms companies make billions of pounds annually by instituting price rises to mobile and broadband bills midway through contract periods – increases that will add to the biggest squeeze on the cost of living facing households in generations.
Continue reading...Health secretary says Truss did not focus too much on rewarding friends as new ministers attend first cabinet meeting
According to a report by Jason Groves in the Daily Mail, Liz Truss may announce an end to the ban on fracking this week. During the leadership campaign she said she wanted to allow fracking, but only in areas where there was a clear public consensus in favour.
On the Today programme this morning Lord Deben, the Tory peer who chairs the Committee for Climate Change, said fracking was not a solution to the UK’s energy problems. He explained:
The price of gas is not affected by the relatively small amount that we can get, in addition to the North Sea or indeed from fracking.
This is an international price and we would be paying the same price we got out of the fracked gas as we are for the gas we’re using now.
Continue reading...Move comes as Biden administration outlines plans to boost domestic production of semiconductors
US technology firms that receive government funding will be banned from building “advanced technology facilities” in China for a decade, the Biden administration has announced, as it outlined plans to increase domestic production of semiconductors.
The requirements come under the US government’s near-$53bn (£46bn) plan to scale up manufacturing of semiconductor chips – the “brain” in every electronic device from cars to household appliances – which are predominantly produced in Asia.
Continue reading...Albanese government looks forward to military cooperation as Jose Ramos-Horta calls for help to develop Greater Sunrise gas fields
Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Timor-Leste, one of its closest neighbours in the Indo-Pacific, allowing increased military cooperation, particularly in the waters between the two nations.
The deal was announced as the Timor-Leste president, Jose Ramos-Horta, prepared to address the National Press Club on Wednesday, where he called on Australia to do more to help Timor-Leste’s economy develop.
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Continue reading...E-cigarette company, whose products are blamed for a surge in youth vaping, also faces new marketing restrictions
The electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs will pay nearly $440m to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products, which have long been blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.
William Tong, the Connecticut attorney general, announced the deal on Tuesday on behalf of the states plus Puerto Rico, which joined together in 2020 to investigate Juul’s early promotions and claims about the safety and benefits of its technology as a smoking alternative.
Continue reading...But there remains strong support in many countries for Russian military withdrawal from Ukraine, survey finds
The cost of living is ranked by most voters globally as a more important issue than liberating Ukraine from Russian occupation, but there is still strong support for a Russian military withdrawal, according to a survey showing global preoccupations.
Majorities in 16 of the 22 largest countries believe Russia should leave the territory it has occupied in Ukraine, the survey shows. The polling in 22 countries of more than 21,000 citizens also underlines the extent to which the global south is less engaged with the war in Ukraine than Europeans.
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