U.S. forms team to set national strategy on flying air taxis
Reuters
23-05-16 13:24
The Biden administration has created an interagency team comprised of several federal agencies to develop a national strategy on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, popularly known as flying taxis. This step comes as eVTOL companies have been gaining widespread interest from investors, bolstered by recent IPOs. The group includes the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Transportation Security Administration, and NASA.
The effectiveness of international sanctions is being challenged as Russia, China and Iran implement alternative financial systems, which blunts the impact of US policies and allows them to hide questionable behaviour. While the alternative financial system is currently limited, more nations will enter Beijing's orbit as China's economy grows, and the alternatives to the dollar will rise in popularity. It is essential that the US revitalises domestic manufacturing and makes and keeps friends. The US must build a coalition of its own to balance Beijing’s growing anti-American coalition, and to keep the dollar as strong as possible.
Chelsea have prevented Carney Chukwuemeka's call-up to the Under-20 World Cup, leaving England with a squad of just 16 players, including three goalkeepers. The midfielder wanted to join Ian Foster’s squad, but his club opted to keep him for their remaining Premier League games. Chelsea have nothing to play for in their final three matches and will use Chukwuemeka who was signed from Aston Villa last summer for a deal starting from around £20m. Before Foster selected his team, Juventus blocked Samuel Iling-Junior’s call-up, while Jamie Bynoe-Gittens also stayed with Borussia Dortmund.
BlackRock, the world's largest money manager with over $8tn under management, has told its employees they must return to working in the office for at least four days a week from September. The shift towards the move from remote work is reminiscent of the pre-pandemic norm as leaders of large companies are seeking to restore the energy of the past and grow the new generation of leaders within their organisation. The new policy follows JP Morgan's recent announcement telling its senior bankers they had to return to the office for a full five days.
Y. Michele Kang, who purchased the Washington Spirit last year for $35m, will create a multi-club organisation spanning the globe to promote women's soccer. The company will combine Kang's majority share in the Spirit with French club Olympique Lyonnaiş, which has won the UEFA Women's Champions League eight times, and could bring together three or four clubs under its banner by the close of the year. Each club, which will keep its established identity, will be able to leverage strengths in areas such as player data analysis and coaching, the founder of the organisation said in an interview. The deal is subject to third-party and league approval, and is expected to be concluded by the end of June.
The US may soon default on its debt due to political gridlock, which could lead to a pummeling of stock prices and a run on banks, and while the impact on the dollar is uncertain, it could enhance the currency's safe-haven status as money flocks towards stable investments. The dollar has been the world's major reserve currency since World War II, but views are mixed as to whether a default would further strengthen its status.
A Chinese native has been charged by the US Department of Justice with stealing trade secrets from Apple, including information on autonomous vehicle technology. Weibao Wang, a former software engineer accused of stealing thousands of documents, is one of five individuals to be pursued as part of a government task force created to combat the theft of critical technology by foreign countries. Wang, who told investigators he had no plans to travel to China, immediately flew to Guangzhou upon being questioned by law enforcement officers who discovered a large volume of Apple data at his California home in 2018.
Japan's GDP figures for the first quarter are set to be the highlight for Asian markets on Wednesday, with expectations of annualised growth of 0.7%, the fastest rate in three quarters, leading to Tokyo stocks opening up 0.2%. China's weaker than expected economic data for April has resulted in slumps across Chinese financial assets, with April house prices also due on Wednesday. Although offshore investors have a new scheme to link Hong Kong with the mainland in order to access interest rate derivatives to help hedge their Chinese bond exposure, concerns about debt demand have cast extra doubt over the yuan's ability to gain reserve currency status.
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss will say during her visit to Taiwan on August 18 that the West must stand firm against China and offer unwavering support to the independent state. This follows a period of strained relations between Britain and China in recent years, including the increasingly aggressive foreign policy stances taken by China's government. Truss disagrees with the engagement model currently favored by the UK's conservative government, which seeks to engage economically and avoid national security threats. The statement by Truss follows similar calls by the US government in light of China's human rights abuses in Hong Kong and its occupation of Taiwan.
Australian basketball star Matthew Dellavedova has left the NBA and signed with Melbourne United in a push to compete at the FIBA World Cup in August, with an sights set on competing in the Paris Olympics. The 32-year-old point guard, who hopes to have another shot at helping Melbourne United clinch the NBL title after the team's semi-finals loss last season, can switch focus back to the Rio Olympics after a training camp where he will fight for the right to wear the Australian basketball jersey.
Prince Harry has five ongoing lawsuits in the UK, including one against the Home Office over the decision to no longer give him full protective security. In addition to his suit against the Home Office, Harry is suing a number of UK newspapers for unlawful information gathering including Associated Newspapers Ltd, News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers. His total legal bills are already considerable, especially given his wife Meghan only had 90% of her legal costs covered when she won her claim against the Mail on Sunday for breach of privacy and copyright.
Japan's J.League is gaining a bigger fanbase in Thailand with interest among Thai viewers reaching 61% last year, triple the level seen in 2013, according to a survey by the league. The J.League has reportedly pushed deeper into the Thai market, while a grassroots surge has also helped the league gain in popularity. A poll conducted by a US firm showed interest in the league more than doubling over the past few years to 49%. Although behind England’s Premier League and Spain's La Liga, which garnered 84% and 62% of Thai interest respectively, analysts noted these were still positive numbers. Thai fans of the J.League are expected to account for a growing audience over the next few years, helped by the recent success of Thai player Chanathip Songkrasin at the Japanese club Consadole Sapporo and official J.League merchandise and events in Bangkok.
Japan's economy grew by an annualized rate of 1.6% in Q1 2016, beating expectations of 0.7%. Firm private consumption and an unexpected rise in capital expenditure offset weak external demand. Private consumption accounts for more than half the economy, grew by 0.6% QoQ in Q1. Capital expenditure, a key engine of growth, gained 0.9% against expectations and external demand, or net exports, shaved off 0.3 percentage point of the gain, which was more than compensated by positive domestic demand contribution of 0.7 percentage point.
Stellantis, which makes cars under brands including Vauxhall, Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot, has warned that Brexit trade rules threaten the UK's automotive sector. The company said it had invested in the UK because it was meeting the strict criteria of the post-Brexit trade deal. However, it is no longer able to meet new rules on where parts are sourced, causing costs to rocket. To cut costs, the firm plans to move production out of the UK unless rules are revised by December. In 2024, 45% of EV components must come from either the UK or the EU to qualify.
India's Jindal Steel's Q4 profit down 70% as prices fall, expenses rise
Reuters
23-05-16 22:30
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd has reported a 69.5% fall in quarterly profit due to lower steel prices and higher costs of raw materials including iron; the weak steel prices are also affecting their rival Tata Steel. However, the slump could ease after Pokemon Go fever caused prices for the metal compounds needed to make smartphones jump. Additionally, India's Ministry of Steel is determined to ensure stable iron ore supplies and reduce prices so as to boost profitability for local steelmakers such as JSPL, Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India. The weak global steel prices are mainly due to a China-driven supply glut.
Jenny Odell offers her perspective on the present, likely from a future time where humanity has faced several crises. The article presents the feeling of hopelessness and despair that some may experience of a future where they know about the challenges but have not acted radically enough. Despite the improving situation between her lifetime and the reader's, fossil fuel companies have continued to open new oil and gas fields, new coal plants were being approved, and species continue to disappear. She speaks of a time of amnesia where people were inattentive to the struggles of the past. There was an acceptance of the world's decline that led people to believe in seeing society gradually coming to its senses without any action being taken. Others believed in technology and a certain type of knowledge being the solution to all challenges.
Odell refers to an artist born in the Philippines, who taught her bahala na. This Tagalog phrase was an acceptance of the present with everything one had at their disposal, an improvisational spirit that reflected the experience of living amid volcanoes and typhoons, close to the vicissitudes of the earth. Bahala na is like a leap of faith into present circumstances, not away from them. She suggests that through love of the present and ourselves in it, the future is won, from an empty space that each generation inserts itself into between the past and the infinity of the future. The author concludes by offering the lesson she has learned from everyone who has deviated from the timeline of history, taken a leap of faith, and remade the world in the process – Bahala na!
Motorists around the world have resorted to self-made fixes for potholes plaguing their roads, such as an Italian pensioner who poured cold bitumen into a pothole to the annoyance of the council, and a teenager in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, who created a crazy golf course using potholes to force the council to tackle them. An Auckland motorist felt authorities were taking too long to fix potholes in his area, so began spray painting neon green penises around them, until police intervened and he switched to yellow rubber ducks. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently filled in a “giant pothole” in his neighbourhood with a team of labourers and shared his efforts on Twitter, but it was later revealed that it was in fact an essential service trench being undertaken by Southern California Gas Company. In desperation, the father of a boy killed in a Mumbai road accident caused by a pothole has filled in 600 of them himself, hoping to prevent a similar tragedy.
UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, has called for greater UK and US collaboration on energy security. Speaking ahead of his address at America's largest civil nuclear conference in Washington DC, Kwarteng emphasised the importance of both countries working together on state-of-the-art technologies and creating the conditions for renewable businesses to thrive. Kwarteng argued that the UK was already demonstrating its energy innovation, citing the country's large offshore wind farms and potential for reviving nuclear power.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it is open to an India-Pakistan match in Australia if there is enough interest. The two sides most often meet outside major competitions, such as the World Cup, due to political tensions between the two states. Pakistan's last series against India played in any format was in 2013, and the countries' last Test meeting was in December 2007. The prospect of a Pakistan-India match in Australia comes amid fears of a World Cup boycott owing to a scheduling disagreement between the two countries.
The pandemic has created the wrong sort of decoupling for emerging markets, hurting their performance over the past three years, warns John Authers in Bloomberg Opinion. However, he added "none of this means that there won’t be a decoupling; but it’s not going to be the panacea that many have long wanted it to be". If China becomes the pole of what is effectively a different financial system, reshoring and deglobalisation will create opportunities in the emerging world, but it will also make them much harder to take advantage of, warns Authers. Nevertheless, these markets are experiencing some signs of recovery after a decade of underperformance, following the brief bull market which came to an end in the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.
Meanwhile, there is concern over the budget strategies of the US. Ted Decker, CEO of Home Depot, expects comparable sales to drop as much as 5% this fiscal year — the first annual decline in 14 years. Despite problems so far being driven by unusual conditions such as the price of lumber falling, according to Authers, if the recession risks loom larger over the US economy, and workforces normalize with new return-to-office policies, then support will fade for such firms that have been doing so well during the pandemic’s economic conditions. This would spell the end of the trends that Authers calls the home-building boom, e-commerce and working from home/home improvement.
