Category: Business & Economy

COVID-19: Assessing the Madness in Year 3

Commentary  On the morning of Wednesday, May 4, I woke up feeling the onset of illness. My eyes burned and my muscles ached. As someone who had not been ill for more than a decade, I knew there was a problem, and I wondered if I had caught COVID-19 after avoiding it ever since its…


Russian Manufacturing Activity Returns to Growth in May—PMI

Russian manufacturing activity expanded in May after three months of contraction and price pressures eased notably, but sanctions continued to dent client demand, a survey showed on Wednesday. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.8 from 48.2 in the previous month, climbing above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction for…


Elon Musk Orders Tesla Execs Back to Office or Face Consequences in WFH Ban

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has taken the work-from-home phenomenon into his crosshairs, telling Tesla executives to get back to the office or get out, according to a leaked email whose authenticity he seemed to confirm in a tweet. “Remote work is no longer acceptble” [sic], reads the subject line of the leaked May 31 email,…


UK Manufacturing Growth Hits 16-month Low in May: PMI

LONDON—British manufacturing activity expanded in May at the weakest rate since January 2021, as producers of consumer goods struggled against a worsening cost-of-living crunch, a survey showed on Wednesday. The final estimate of the S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.6 in May from 55.8 in April, unchanged from a preliminary…


Gazprom Cuts Gas Supply to Orsted and Shell Energy

Russian gas producer Gazprom has cut off gas supplies to Denmark’s Orsted and to Shell Energy for its contract to supply gas to Germany, it said on Wednesday, citing the companies’ failure to make payments in rubles. Gazprom has already halted supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra, as well as to Bulgaria, Poland, and Finland…


Dollar Edges up Against Euro, Hits Two-Week High Versus Yen

LONDON—The euro edged further away from a one-month high on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar nudged up, lifted by higher Treasury yields as global inflation worries flared anew. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, including the euro, rose 0.2 percent to 101.96, extending Tuesday’s gains, when data showed eurozone consumer…


Oil Firms on EU’s Russian Oil Ban and End of Shanghai Lockdown

LONDON—Oil prices firmed on Wednesday after European Union leaders agreed to a partial and phased ban on Russian oil and as China ended its COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai. Brent crude was up $1.71, or 1.5 percent, at $117.31 a barrel by 0817 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.67, or 1.5 percent, to…


Stocks Slip, Bond Yields Rise on Inflation Worries

LONDON—Global stocks fell and bond yields rose on Wednesday, while the dollar strengthened, as investors fretted over soaring inflation and the impact on global growth from looming interest rate rises. Europe’s STOXX 600 index turned negative in morning trading, giving up early gains of 0.3 percent. British stocks fell 0.2 percent. To blame were drops…


Lamborghini Wants Hybrid Cars in Its Range Beyond 2030 With E-fuels: CEO

MILAN—Italy’s Lamborghini wants to have two hybrid supersports cars in its range beyond 2030 powered by e-fuels, the head of the Volkswagen’s brand was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview on Wednesday. Lamborghini’s Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann told Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera that synthetic fuels would allow the automaker to have very…


Pfizer to Exit GSK’s Consumer Health Arm After Spin-Off

LONDON—Pfizer plans to exit its 32 percent stake in Haleon, a consumer health joint venture with British drugmaker GSK, after the business is spun off as an independent listed company in July, GSK said on Wednesday. Pfizer previously signalled it would seek to sell its shareholding in Haleon, the world’s largest consumer health business and…