BUSINESS
Rising EV sales in Latin America, India are reasons for optimism
Somewhat quietly, electric vehicles are gaining traction in Latin America, with luxury-car buyers driving the uptick. Passenger EV sales have doubled almost every year since 2016 and did so again in 2021.
BUSINESS
China’s energy map to 2025 plans massive boost in power capacity
The country aims to have 3,000 gigawatts of generating capacity installed by 2025, up from 2,200 at the end of 2020, according its 14th five-year plan for energy development released Monday. The 800-gigawatt growth goal is about twice the size of India’s entire power fleet, according to BloombergNEF data.
BUSINESS
Europe is heading for a diesel shortage, traders Trafigura and Gunvor Say
Europe’s leading diesel external supplier has seen its exports of crude oil and petroleum products slide by about 2 million-2.5 million barrels a day since the invasion, Trafigura Group Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Weir said at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Recession is unavoidable without Russian oil, Dallas Fed study says
“If the bulk of Russian energy exports is off the market for the remainder of 2022, a global economic downturn seems unavoidable,” economists Lutz Kilian and Michael Plante wrote in an article posted by the Dallas Fed Tuesday. “This slowdown could be more protracted than that in 1991.”
BUSINESS
This is now the worst drawdown on record for global fixed income
The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index, a benchmark for government and corporate debt, has fallen 11% from a high in early 2021. That’s the biggest decline from a peak in data stretching back to 1990, surpassing a 10.8% drawdown during the financial crisis in 2008.
BUSINESS
China Plane Crash: Pilots didn’t answer calls; fast dive
Investigators have offered no major insights as to why the Boeing Co. 737-800 jet carrying 132 people crashed near Wuzhou in southern China on Monday, saying at a press conference late Tuesday it was too early draw clear conclusions about the cause. All 123 passengers and nine crew are presumed dead.
BUSINESS
The world is moving from just-in-time manufacturing to just-in-case management
The pandemic, Climate Change and geopolitical upheaval have shredded the certainties that CEOs once took for granted
BUSINESS
Chinese wind company wins India turbine orders in overseas push
Envision Energy Co.’s combined orders amount to the largest capacity that a Chinese wind manufacturer has sold to a single foreign country, the Shanghai-based company said in a press release Tuesday. Envision didn’t detail over what time period the orders were received.
BUSINESS
China Jet’s nosedive from 29,000 feet baffles crash specialists
That’s about all that is known for certain about the unusual crash that feared killed all 132 people aboard the aircraft Monday in China’s worst commercial aviation accident in more than a decade.
BUSINESS
Central Banks, BIS develop digital currencies platform prototype
The two prototypes demonstrate the technical viability of such a platform, the BIS said in a statement Tuesday with the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the South African Reserve Bank.
BUSINESS
Jerome Powell is ready to back half-point hike in May if necessary
Policy makers raised the benchmark lending rate by a quarter point at their meeting last week -- ending two years of near-zero borrowing costs -- and signaled six more hikes of that magnitude this year, based on the median projection.
WORLD
The US Fed needs a boring bank regulator
US President Joe Biden needs to appoint an apolitical Fed staffer
WORLD
The US Fed’s actions don’t match Jerome Powell’s words
Economists who think the Fed has a lot of catching up to do are entitled to be puzzled. They heard the central bank say it agrees with their analysis but for some reason isn’t going to do what that analysis demands
BUSINESS
Previous crashes may give clues to China jet’s mystery plunge
While most plane crashes occur during take off and landing, violent descent incidents such as Monday’s crash account for an outsize portion of aviation deaths because they almost inevitably kill everyone aboard.
BUSINESS
Alibaba hikes buybacks to $25 billion as crackdown signals ease
The board of China’s e-commerce leader has approved the program, which will run for two years through to March 2024, the company said in a statement.
BUSINESS
Electric vehicles are out of reach for most US consumers
Despite all the hype for EVs, the dealer told me, many of his customers live paycheck to paycheck and bargain for every dollar of their monthly car payment. A $60,000 Tesla isn’t happening.
BUSINESS
Oil thirst Is forcing Joe Biden to pivot US back to Saudi Arabia
The softening U.S. attitude, described by a dozen people familiar with the debate, follows months of efforts by some senior administration officials to convince a wary president that ignoring the de facto Saudi leader was hampering U.S. foreign policy goals.
BUSINESS
Oil rallies as EU debates possible ban on Russian crude imports
West Texas Intermediate rallied toward $115 a barrel after surging 18% over the previous three days. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that he expects leaders to discuss, but probably not yet approve, further sanctions against Russia when they meet in Brussels later this week.
STOCKS
Goldman Sachs to Offer Over-the-Counter Crypto Options Trading
The move marks the first such transaction by a major bank in the U.S., Galaxy said. It expects the trade to “open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets,” Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy, said.
WORLD
Boeing 737 in China Crash Has Good Safety Record, Unlike the Max
According to Airsafe.com, which tracks aviation safety, NG models had just 0.07 fatal crashes per million flights as of 2019. That puts it among a rare group that includes the Boeing 747-400 and 737’s main competitor, the Airbus SE A320 family.
BUSINESS
What Ukraine can learn from Finland’s stand 80 years ago
The Winter War between the Finns and the Soviet Union has important parallels with the current conflict James Stavridis
BUSINESS
Credit Suisse vice chairman Severin Schwan to leave in board shakeup
Christian Gellerstad will become Vice Chairman and also take over as head of the compensation committee from Kai S. Nargolwala, who like Schwan won’t stand for reelection at the annual general meeting.
INDIA
India in talks with top wheat buyer Egypt to start shipments
India’s wheat exports climbed more than fourfold to about 6 million tons in the 10 months ended January 31, from 1.38 million tons a year earlier, according to the authority.
POLITICS
Great Man Theory | Why it’s important to choose wise leaders
It’s hard to look at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has turned the global economy upside down and re-ordered Europe’s military priorities, and deny the singular influence of Vladimir Putin’s particular ideas and judgments on the course of world affairs.
