Hollywood actress Jolie visits Lviv, trip interrupted by sirens Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, going to the station to meet people displaced by the war with Russia before later leaving after air-raid sirens sounded. Jolie, 46, is a special envoy for the United Nations refugee agency, which says more than 12.7 million people have fled their homes […] April 30, 2022
Actual COVID death toll near 15 million The official death toll from the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic is about 5.4 million. But according to a new World Health Organization report, the actual number is around three times higher than that. The U.N. body said on Thursday there were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of […] April 29, 2022
Pearson maintains momentum after rejecting takeover Pearson beat first-quarter forecasts and said it would benefit from a lowertax rate this year, underscoring confidence at the education group after it rejected a private equity offer in March. The British company, emerging from years of turbulence sparked by the US education market moving online, reported a better-than-expected 7 percent rise in first-quarter underlying […] April 29, 2022
Agriculture Ukraine war push egg prices higher worldwide Severe outbreaks of bird flu in the United States and France are tightening global egg supplies and raising prices for the food staple as the war in Ukraine disrupts shipments to Europe and the Middle East. Higher prices are particularly painful for consumers who rely on eggs as a low-cost source of protein and substitute […] April 29, 2022
Sustainability Regulators call for external checks on bank climate data Regulators could force banks and other financial firms to hire external auditors to check on the accuracy of their climate data, the Financial Stability Board said in a report on Friday. Financial firms are being required to spell out how climate change is affecting their business as part of government efforts to meet net-zero economy […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar Airways suffers setback in feud with Airbus A British judge has denied a bid by Qatar Airways to reinstate a jet contractcancelled by Europe’s Airbus in the latest twist to a dramatic feud playing out in UK courts. The companies have been locked in a safety dispute for months on Europe’s A350 long-haul jet. Their unprecedented bust-up widened in January when Airbus revoked a separate deal for […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Americana selects banks for Saudi and UAE listings The Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut has hired banks for a potential dual listing in Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Americana Group has selected Goldman Sachs, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Saudi National Bank (SNB) for the deal, said the source, declining […] April 29, 2022
Tourism Airbus wins backing for 2024 jet output European planemaker Airbus looks set to raise narrowbody jetliner production for 2024 after reaching a compromise deal with at least two suppliers following months of wrangling over the speed of post-pandemic recovery. The world’s largest planemaker is restoring and slightly expanding pre-pandemic output for best-selling models as traffic rebounds in the West, but has been […] April 29, 2022
Energy Repsol’s profit doubles on high oil and gas prices Spain’s Repsol posted a first-quarter profit upswing on Thursday, bolstered by higher oil and gas prices and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Commodities prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, sending further shockwaves through markets already reeling from last year’s collision between tight supplies and high demand in economies reopening after coronavirus lockdowns. Adjusted […] April 29, 2022
Energy Volkswagen and BP consider e-car charging alliance in new regions Europe’s top carmaker Volkswagen and BP are planning to deepen their electric charging partnership and could expand it to other regions and technologies, the CEOs of both companies said on Thursday. “There are so many more areas where we are complementary,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Duesseldorf […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Orsted defies Russia, refuses to open roubles account for gas payments Denmark’s Orsted has no intention of opening a rouble account in Russia to accommodate Moscow’s demand for gas payments in the Russian currency, the energy firm’s CEO said on Friday. Orsted sold its oil and gas assets in 2017 to focus on offshore wind energy but retains a long-term gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom which […] April 29, 2022
Energy Germany: Gazprombank accounts do not breach Russia oil sanctions European energy firms can open special accounts with Gazprombank to pay for Russian gas, a key demand by Moscow, without breaching sanctions if transferring euros or dollars to them fulfils their contractual obligations, the German Economy Ministry said. Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland this week for failing to pay in roubles, raising […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Sterling set for biggest drop in six years against dollar Sterling rose against the dollar on Friday but was still set for its sharpest monthly drop since October 2016, while edging higher against the euro. The dollar dropped from its recent 20-year high while still on track for its best month since 2015, bolstered by a combination of expectations for US rate hikes and growth […] April 29, 2022
Angry Credit Suisse shareholders reject 2020 discharge Credit Suisse shareholders on Friday rejected by a wide margin the board’s proposal to provide the beleaguered Swiss bank’s management a discharge from liabilities for the 2020 financial year, as investor ire over a slew of costly missteps grows. The board’s proposal to provide managers a legal discharge for 2020 — a sign of backing, […] April 29, 2022
Tourism Emirates widens refurbish plan amid delivery delays Emirates will refurbish more of its existing fleet than previously planned,its chief commercial officer said on Tuesday, as the airline faces delays to deliveries of new Boeing jets and seeks assurances over concerns with the Airbus A350s it ordered. The Gulf carrier is spending over a $1 billion to refurbish the fleet which includes installing a new premium economy […] April 29, 2022
Lifestyle Prince Charles to visit Canada for Queen’s Jubilee Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will visit Canada next month as part of celebrations to mark his mother Queen Elizabeth’s 70th year on the British throne, his office said on Tuesday. The trip, the 19th the heir-to-the-throne has undertaken to Canada, will see the royal couple travel more than 2000 miles from Newfoundland and […] April 27, 2022
Lifestyle Spain’s King Felipe says he is worth €2.6m Spain’s King Felipe VI has disclosed that his wealth is worth about 2.6 million euros ($2.8 million) in a move to make the Royal House more transparent and end the opaqueness that prevailed during the reign of his father Juan Carlos. The king’s assets include just under 2.3 million euros in checking or savings accounts […] April 27, 2022
Manufacturing Tesla’s big swoon as Musk moves for Twitter This has been a wild week in the auto business. Ford and General Motors are duking it out over which of them will be No. 1 in the US electric vehicle market by the middle of the decade. Meanwhile, the current No. 1, Tesla, got a rude slap from its shareholders. You’d think convincing skittish […] April 27, 2022
Lifestyle Turkish court sentences Kavala to life in prison A Turkish court sentenced philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison on Monday finding him guilty of attempting to overthrow the government by financing 2013 nationwide protests, in a case that Europe’s top court and Ankara’s Western allies said was politically motivated. Kavala, 64, has been in jail for 4-1/2 years without a conviction and […] April 27, 2022
Jordan’s king agreed with U.S. Biden on need to defuse Jerusalem tension Jordan’s King Abdullah agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden on the need to prevent a repeat of recent confrontations in Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites that sparked concerns of wider conflict, state media said. In a phone call on Monday, Abdullah was quoted as saying the cornerstone of peace was a comprehensive Arab Israeli settlement based on a two-state solution […] April 27, 2022
Saudi Arabia, France pledge $30m for Lebanon aid France and Saudi Arabia announced a joint development fund for crisis-hit Lebanon on Tuesday, pledging an initial $30 million to support food security and the country’s crippled health sector, a French embassy statement said. The funds will be routed to humanitarian projects to provide emergency aid, including food, to the most vulnerable populations in Lebanon, […] April 27, 2022
Dollar hits five-year high, growth concerns dent euro The dollar hit a five-year high ahead of the expected rate hike by Federal Reserve, while the euro weakened on growth concerns after Russia cut off gas supplies to parts of the region. The dollar has gained on expectations that the US central bank will be more hawkish than peers. The Fed is expected to increase rates by 50 basis […] April 27, 2022