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☆ Brexit border checks: Britain braces for less choice and higher prices on food imports
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Hanna Ziady | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The new regime for food imports is perhaps the starkest example of the painful border bureaucracy that UK and EU businesses must contend with in the wake of Brexit. An additional cost of that scale will “significantly increase food prices and reduce choice,” the federation’s CEO Phil Pluck wrote in a letter to environment and food minister Steve Barclay earlier this month. But here too Brexit hasn’t helped, ending as it did the free movement of EU workers on whom British farmers had relied for decades. In addition to Brexit-related challenges, UK farmers have been squeezed by soaring input costs, including those of fertilizer, energy and labor. “I’m not hugely in favor of subsidies, I’m in favor of fair food prices,” Maddocks said.

Persons: Eddie Price, ”, Phil, Steve Barclay, Andrew Aitchison, Andrew Opie, “, Jack Bobo, “ It’s, Price, hasn’t, ” Tom Bradshaw, “ You’re, Chris Ratcliffe, Brexit, ” Philip Maddocks, I’m, ” Maddocks Organizations: London CNN, European Union, EU, Britain, Birmingham Wholesale, CNN, Chain Federation, British Retail Consortium, University of York, Food Systems, University of Nottingham, Birmingham Wholesale Market, Bank, National Farmers ’ Union, Bloomberg, Getty, PDM Locations: United Kingdom, Britain, France, Spain, artichokes, Italy, Birmingham, Dover, Port, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, North Africa, England, Sandwich, Australia, New Zealand, English, Shropshire

☆ What is divestment? And does it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

From Princeton University in New Jersey to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the same chant can be heard: “Disclose! The specifics of student protesters’ divestment demands vary in scope from school to school. Other students, like those at Cornell University and Yale, are asking their schools to stop investing in weapons manufacturers. Other common threads include demanding universities disclose their investments, sever academic ties with Israeli universities and support a ceasefire in Gaza. Proponents for divestment counter that its value lies in raising awareness and stigmatizing partnerships with targeted regimes or industries.

Persons: “, ” Israel, Witold Henisz, Henisz, ”, Nicholas Dirks, ” Dirks, Dirks, “ They’ll, Anna Cooban, Michelle Bowman, Eli Lilly, Estee Lauder, Jerome Powell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Palestinian, Princeton University, University of Southern, Columbia University Apartheid, Columbia, Cornell University and Yale, Research, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, CNN, University of California, Columbia’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Dallas Fed, Samsung, AMD, Starbucks, Benz Group, Volkswagen, PayPal, adidas, Diamondback Energy, Restaurant Brands, Pinterest, Caesars Entertainment, PMI, Conference Board, Mastercard, Qualcomm, Pfizer, Marriott, eBay, US Commerce Department, Apple, Novo Nordisk, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Cigna, Universal Music Group, Hershey, US Labor Department Locations: New York, New Jersey, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Columbia, Palestine, Israel, Gaza, South Africa, Berkeley, United States, Europe, DoorDash

☆ Europe is beating inflation. Why can’t America declare victory?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Fed aims to keep inflation at 2% over the longer run. Meanwhile, among the 20 countries that use the euro, annual consumer price inflation has slowed steadily since the start of the year. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said earlier this month that she would favor a rate hike “should progress on inflation stall or even reverse.”So why does the United States appear to have a bigger inflation problem than Europe? Some economists argue there isn’t actually much daylight between the US and European rates of inflation, pointing to a quirk in the US measures. The measure is designed to track inflation in the real estate market while accounting for the fact that most Americans own their homes.

Persons: Michelle Bowman, Paul Donovan, Simon MacAdam, ”, MacAdam, ” Carsten Brzeski, Janet Yellen, Jim Watson, Brzeski, “, ” Davide Oneglia Organizations: London CNN, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, PCE, UBS Global Wealth Management, Capital Economics, ING, CNN, Monetary Fund, Washington, Reuters, Getty, —, ECB, Lombard Locations: United States, Europe, Centreville , Maryland, AFP, Russia, Ukraine

☆ BHP Anglo American bid: The clean energy race could trigger the biggest mining deal in decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Mining giant BHP has made a near-$40 billion bid to take over its UK rival Anglo American in what would be the largest mining deal on record. BHP said in a statement Thursday that it valued Anglo American shares at £25.08 ($31.40) apiece, or £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion) in total. The potential deal would have a higher value than the $38.3 billion acquisition of Switzerland’s Xstrata by commodities company Glencore in 2012, according to Dealogic data. It would also be the biggest merger or acquisition in the mining industry by value since Dealogic began collecting the data in 2004. Shares in Anglo American soared as much as 13.8% on the news.

Persons: BHP, Dealogic, “, Mike Henry, ” Susannah Streeter, Hargreaves Lansdown, Rob North Organizations: London CNN — Mining, BHP, London Metals, Oz Minerals, United Kingdom’s, London Stock Exchange, City of, Hargreaves Locations: Australia, City, City of London

☆ Bubble tea: ChaPanda shares plunge in Hong Kong IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The company, also known as Chabaidao or ChaPanda, had priced its shares at $17.50 Hong Kong dollars ($2.23) apiece, but they plunged as low as $10.80 Hong Kong dollars ($1.38) in the first two hours of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Bubble tea (also called “black pearl tea” or “boba tea”) originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, but has since found millions of devotees around the world. In January, two of China’s most popular bubble tea brands, Mixue Group and Guming Holdings, applied for IPOs on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Another Chinese bubble tea maker, Nayuki, has lost 88% of its stock market value since going public in Hong Kong in 2021. “The overall turnover and valuation of the (Hong Kong) stock market, which depend on the market liquidity, i.e.

Persons: Baidao, Frost, Frost & Sullivan, Robert Lui, “, ”, Laura Organizations: London CNN —, Hong, Frost &, China, Franchise Association . Stock, Mixue, Guming Holdings, Deloitte Locations: Sichuan, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Taiwan, China, Hong, Dealogic, Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ UK property prices: Brits face biggest obstacles in 70 years to buying a first home
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“During some periods both the cost of buying (down payments) and the cost of owning (mortgage repayments) have been high. Mortgage rates biteThe average mortgage repayment has rocketed since late 2021 as the Bank of England, along with other major central banks, began jacking up official interest rates to bring down inflation. (The interest rate on some government bonds is used to set mortgage rates). On Monday, the average rate on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 5.82%, according to data from product comparison website Moneyfacts. “An election is due within the next year and a new government, committed to helping prospective first-time buyers, might start by acknowledging the challenges younger generations face not just in housing but more generally,” the BSA said.

Persons: Liz Truss, “ Organizations: London CNN, Building Societies Association, BSA, Office, National Statistics, Bank of England, UK Finance Locations: United Kingdom, London, England, Wales

☆ What stalled this year’s seemingly infallible stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Investors had hoped that corporate earnings would help revive the stalled rally, but a strong start to the season hasn’t been enough to excite investors. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.10% in the week ending April 18, up from 6.88% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac data released Thursday. Mortgage rates are climbing based on expectations that the Federal Reserve won’t cut interest rates anytime soon. The Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates, but its actions do influence them, and persistently hot inflation readings are keeping the Fed on hold. If inflation stalls any further, or even worsens, mortgage rates could climb higher this year.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Jerome Powell, “, ”, Michael Landsberg, Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, Israel, Brent, Bryan Mena, Freddie Mac, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s, Read, Anna Cooban, Tim Cook, Pham Minh Chinh, Cook, Apple “ Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Data, Employers, Fed, Landsberg Bennett, Wealth Management, Monetary Fund, Treasury, Investors, CNN, Federal, China Apple, Vietnamese, Apple Locations: New York, East, Iran, Israel, Syria, Vietnam, China, Hanoi, Beijing

☆ Apple plans to spend more in Vietnam as it looks beyond China
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Apple (AAPL) has already spent almost $16 billion through its supply chain in the country since 2019, the government quoted Cook as saying. According to the statement, Cook said Apple “stands ready … to enhance cooperation and investment activities” in the Southeast Asian country. Nguyen, whose firm manages $6 billion in assets, told CNN that labor costs in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector are about half those in neighboring China. That’s a big draw for foreign tech companies looking to hire workers for their factories, and find consumers for their products. Still, Vietnam represents a far smaller market than India, which has also been wooing large foreign companies, including Tesla (TSLA), to set up factories in the country.

Persons: Tim Cook, Pham Minh Chinh, Cook, Apple “, Thuy Anh, Nguyen, Dan Ives, “ We’re, ”, “, Tuan Hung, Ho, That’s, Ives, Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN, Apple, Vietnamese, Dragon, CNN, country’s Ministry of Planning, Investment, Wedbush Securities, Intel, Consumer, Monetary Fund Locations: Vietnam, China, Hanoi, Beijing, India, United States, Ho Chi Minh City, Washington, That’s, Europe

☆ Making deepfake porn without consent could soon be a crime in England
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

It is already illegal in England and Wales to share explicit deepfakes without the subject’s consent, with perpetrators facing jail time. Last year, changes to the Online Safety Act already criminalized the sharing of deepfake sexual images in England and Wales. The new offense applies only to adults as, under existing English and Welsh rules, creating deepfake sexual images of minors is already a crime. The creation of deepfakes has included super-imposing women’s faces, without their consent, onto sexually explicit images. A directive criminalizing the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes has also been proposed in the European Union.

Persons: Laura Farris, “, Bill, deepfakes, Taylor Swift, Farris, —, Helle Thorning, Schmidt Organizations: London CNN, United Kingdom’s, ITV, Criminal, European Union, Facebook Locations: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, United States, India

☆ Three ways investors can minimize their tax payments
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It’s particularly difficult for investors, he said, who have to report their earnings and losses from the market to the IRS. As an alternative, Harris, who currently heads financial services firm Evergreen Money and recently authored a book about reducing tax burdens, shared his three biggest tax tips for investors with Before the Bell. So for tax purposes, selling securities that have lost value can offset the taxes due on gains from successful investments. If your losses exceed your gains, you can carry the net loss (total losses minus total gains) into the next tax year, potentially reducing future tax burdens. If you have three children and two parents, that’s $108,000 in tax free money a year, Harris said.

Persons: They’ll, ”, Bill Harris, It’s, Harris, “, Roth, hasn’t, “ you’re, Laura, Anna Cooban, Brent, Germany’s DAX, Read, Tempore Mike McGuire Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Taxpayers Union Foundation, Paypal, CNN, Evergreen Money, Bell, Investments, Brent, Traders, CAC, FTSE, Nikkei, International Energy Agency, ANZ, Google, California Journalism, Meta, California, Pro, Tempore, ” Locations: New York, United States, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Syria, Shanghai, Paris, California, America

☆ Here’s how the Israel-Iran conflict affects the oil market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Oil prices spiked Friday to levels not seen since October in anticipation of just such an escalation but on Monday were subdued. “It is the most significant chokepoint in the global oil market,” Richard Bronze, co-founder and analyst at data firm Energy Aspects, told CNN. A renewed crackdown would, however, “create upward pressure on global prices” at an inopportune moment, Tagliapietra said. A tight oil marketDespite Iran’s barrage of drones and missiles, the conflict had a relatively muted impact on the global oil market Monday. Oil prices have already risen sharply since hitting a low in early February.

Persons: London CNN —, Brent, Israel —, Simone Tagliapietra, ” Richard Bronze, Tagliapietra, Joe Biden’s, WTI, Russia — Organizations: London CNN, West Texas Intermediate, CNN, International Energy Agency, Hamas, Organization of, Petroleum, United Arab Emirates, Traders Locations: Israel, Iran, Syria, Paris, Gaza, Tehran, Hormuz ‘, Hormuz, Brussels, China, Strait, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States, Ukraine, Washington, Damascus, OPEC, Russia, Brazil, Guyana, Canada

☆ WhatsApp lowers minimum age in Europe to 13
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Anna Cooban | Eve Brennan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Social media giant Meta has lowered the minimum age required to use WhatsApp in Europe to 13 from 16, sparking criticism from children’s rights advocates. The new minimum age of 13 was also announced for users in the United Kingdom in February. Vicky Ford, a UK lawmaker from the ruling Conservative Party and member of a key government committee on education, called the decision to lower the minimum age without speaking to parents first “irresponsible,” PA Media reported. Meta under fireMeta has been roundly criticized in the past for its push to lower age restrictions across platforms in the United States. Last year, the company said it was planning to reduce the minimum age for its virtual reality app from 13 to 10 years old, despite pressure from US lawmakers not to market such services to younger users.

Persons: —, ”, Daisy Greenwell, “, Vicky Ford, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Europe — Meta Organizations: London CNN — Social, Conservative Party, Media, CNN, European Commission, Meta, Facebook, Europe — Locations: Europe, United Kingdom, United States

☆ Turkey restricts exports to Israel, saying its request to airdrop aid to Gaza was denied
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Scott Mclean | Caitlin Danaher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Istanbul/London CNN —Turkey has announced restrictions on exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara late Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was taking “a series of new measures against Israel” after Israel had denied its request to join a Jordanian aid operation. “Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel,” Hakan Fidan said. Along with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey is the biggest donor of aid to Gaza, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In a statement Tuesday, the CHP criticized the Turkish government for continuing to trade with Israel despite publicly condemning its attacks on Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Israel ”, ” Hakan Fidan, Gazans, ”, Israel Katz, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “, ” Katz, ” “, ” Volkan Demir, Lauren Izso, Anna Cooban Organizations: London CNN, Turkish Ministry of Trade, Israel, United Arab, Republican People’s Party, CHP Locations: Istanbul, London, Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Ankara, Jordanian, Territories, United States, ” “ Israel, United Arab Emirates, CHP’s, Tel Aviv

☆ The stock market is shrinking and Jamie Dimon is worried
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Jamie Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, is worried. The PE boom: The shrinking public market has private equity to blame — funds that pool money from investors to acquire or invest in companies. When a PE fund buys a public company, it takes that company private. The number of private companies in the US backed by PE firms has grown from 1,900 to 11,200 over the last two decades, according to JPMorgan data. Dimon’s company, of course, makes a huge amount of money from taking companies public, so he’s not exactly an impartial observer.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, ”, Matthew Kennedy, Dimon, “, it’s, Russell, Lewis, Glass Lewis, Wells, aren’t, Matt Egan, Donald Trump’s, That’s, Reddit, —, Read, Biden, Joe Biden’s, Sam Fossum, Anna Cooban, ” Biden Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan, Renaissance, PE, ” Companies, Companies, Harvard Law, Corporate, Institutional, Services, Deutsche Börse, Peloton Capital, CNN, ISS, Social, Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump, Trump Media, Twitter, White, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Locations: New York, United States, America, German, Arizona, ”

☆ Biden to give Taiwan’s TSMC $6.6 billion to ramp up US chip production
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Sam Fossum | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC/London CNN —The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips. “America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. The company’s total $65 billion investment represents the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, the White House said. Securing supply chainsThe US government has emphasized the need to bring more chip production onshore to limit potential supply disruptions. Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, Mark Liu, Gina Raimondo, Biden, “, Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN, White, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, US Locations: Washington, DC, Arizona, ”, America, Taiwan, China, Beijing, United States of America, Hong Kong

☆ Is it last orders for London’s nightlife?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

London CNN —It’s Thursday, 11.00 p.m., and on a street in London’s Soho district, there’s a loud clatter. “People haven’t got the money,” she told CNN. “That’s when their bills started coming through, the first heating bills from the winter,” he told CNN. Even before the ravages of the pandemic, the number of London’s nightlife venues was in steady decline. They don’t just go out for the sake of going out now,” she told CNN.

Persons: London CNN —, Lesley Lewis, haven’t, ”, Michael Kill, Grazyna, ” Kill, “, —, that’s, Kill’s, Jeremy Joseph, Freddie Mercury, ” Joseph, Jack Henry, Henry, Lutz Leichsenring, Fabian Sommer, Leichsenring, London’s, Sadiq Khan, Amy Lamé, Lamé, Khan, Lamé “, Charlie Fenemer, It’s, Becky Lam, Lam, ” Chris Lau Organizations: London CNN, Staff, CNN, Time Industries Association, York Minister, London, “, ”, German Commission, UNESCO, United Nations, Office, National Statistics, City Hall, Labour, Shady Locations: London’s Soho, London, Wales, Soho , London, Hoxton, London’s, Berlin, “ Berlin, Hong Kong, Soho, Hong, Beijing

☆ AI job cuts: Technology will shrink workforces within five years, say company execs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

AI is emerging “as a great disruptor in the world of work,” Denis Machuel, chief executive of Adecco Group, said in a statement. Some 46% of executives said they would redeploy employees internally if their jobs were impacted by AI. Responses from more than 800 global companies showed that a quarter of them expected AI to cause job losses, while half thought the technology would create new jobs. The WEF said employers expected most technologies, including AI, to be “a net positive” for jobs over the following five years. Still, that offers little consolation to the workers AI has already helped push out.

Persons: ” Denis Machuel, Goldman Sachs Organizations: London CNN, Adecco Group, Oxford, Adecco, World Locations: Swiss, United States, Canada, Germany, Japan

☆ McDonald’s buys all of its Israeli franchise restaurants amid damage from Middle East turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Maisie Linford | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —McDonald’s will buy every one of its 225 franchise restaurants in Israel, it announced Thursday, just weeks after saying that the Israel-Hamas war was hurting its business. The fast food giant said it had struck an agreement with Israeli franchise Alonyal to buy the firm’s McDonald’s (MCD) franchise restaurants in the country. The vast majority of McDonald’s stores around the world are run by local franchise operators. Many McDonald’s operators in the wider region quickly distanced themselves from the Israeli firm’s actions. Franchise groups in Kuwait and Pakistan, for example, issued statements saying they did not share ownership with the Israeli franchise.

Persons: London CNN —, Omri Padan, Alonyal, McDonald’s, “, Chris Kempczinski, , Kempczinski Organizations: London CNN, Alonyal Locations: Israel, Kuwait, Pakistan

☆ Last-minute Brexit bill risks higher food prices, UK business groups warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —British business groups are warning that newly announced post-Brexit charges on plant and animal imports could push up food prices not long after food inflation came down from double-digit rates. The port and the undersea tunnel beneath the English Channel handle the majority of UK food imports. Annual UK food price inflation topped 19% in March 2023, the highest rate in 45 years, and stood at more than 10% as recently as in October. Some are already “deciding that it is too expensive or too much hassle to serve the UK,” he told CNN. A government spokesperson said the new charges “were at the bottom end of the range” discussed with UK businesses during a consultation period last summer.

Persons: Tom Southall, William Bain ,, ”, James Barnes, “ Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs, Channel, Chain Federation, Chambers of Commerce, ”, CNN, EU . Trade, Horticultural Trades Association Locations: British, Port, Dover, Eurotunnel, Southall

☆ Europe opens competition probes covering Chinese solar panel makers over subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The European Union has launched investigations into two groups of companies that include Chinese solar panel makers in the latest salvo against what it suspects is unfair competition from China’s vast manufacturing sector. “There are sufficient indications that both (consortia) have been granted foreign subsidies that distort the internal (EU) market,” the European Commission said in a statement. The European Commission has said it may impose tariffs on Chinese biodiesel imports if dumping is confirmed. Like biodiesel, solar panels are an important part of Europe’s efforts to transition to an economy powered by clean technologies. Last month, Premier Li Qiang told the country’s parliament that China would focus on exporting more of its “new trio” of products, namely electric vehicles, solar panels and lithium batteries.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Jens Eskelund, Li Qiang Organizations: London CNN, European Union, European Commission, Green Energy Technology Co, Shanghai Electric Group Co, European, European Union Chamber of Commerce, EU Locations: Romania, EU, China, Europe

☆ Alsu Kurmasheva: Russian court extends detention of US-Russian journalist working for Radio Liberty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Atlanta CNN —A Russian court has extended the detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Russian state news agency TASS reported from the courtroom Monday. According to independent Russian media outlet SOTA Vision, Kurmasheva has been in detention since October. Her lawyer, Edgar Matevosyan, said she was not guilty and planned to appeal, SOTA Vision also reported. He has yet to face trial, and his pre-trial detention was extended last week until June 30. One of those reporters, Antonina Favorskaya, employed by SOTA Vision, has been accused of “extremist activities” because of her coverage of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Persons: Alsu Kurmasheva, Kurmasheva, Edgar Matevosyan, Vladimir Putin, ”, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Antonina Favorskaya, Alexey Navalny, Anna Cooban Organizations: Atlanta CNN, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, RFE, TASS, Wall Street, SOTA, Borders Locations: Russian, Radio Free Europe, US, Kazan, Czech Republic, Russia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ukraine, London

☆ Global oil price hits seven-month high as Middle East tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The global price of oil rose Tuesday to its highest level in seven months, propelled, in part, by concerns that mounting tensions in the Middle East could crimp supply. Brent crude, the world’s oil benchmark, climbed as much as 1.8% to $89 a barrel, the highest since early September, before paring those gains slightly mid-afternoon in Europe. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, also rose 1.8% to reach a five-month high of $85 a barrel. “You’ve got ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries… Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea,” as well as a “general sense that the Middle East is less stable than it was a year ago,” he told CNN. Geopolitical tensionsWriting about higher oil prices Tuesday, Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, singled out escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following an airstrike on Iran’s embassy in Syria Monday.

Persons: Richard Bronze, “ You’ve, ”, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Israel, —, specter, Brent, Bill Weatherburn Organizations: London CNN, Brent, West, CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Organization of, Petroleum, Lund, Capital Economics Locations: Europe, West Texas, Brent, United States, Red, ”, Syria Monday, Iran, Syria, Israel, Tehran, Quds, OPEC, Iran’s, Damascus, Gaza, China

☆ Thames Water: Britain’s biggest water company left in the lurch by shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Investors are refusing to inject billions in new money into Britain’s biggest water company, leaving the beleaguered business at risk of an emergency government takeover. “After more than a year of negotiations with the regulator, Ofwat has not been prepared to provide the necessary regulatory support for a business plan which ultimately addresses the issues that Thames Water faces,” the shareholders said. In its turnaround plan published in October, Thames Water, which is saddled with £14 billion ($17.7 million) in debt, proposed to jack up the average annual customer bill by 40% by 2030. The first £500 million ($630 million) of that sum was due by Sunday, March 31. “Based on the feedback provided by Ofwat to Thames Water to date, the regulatory arrangements that would be expected to apply to Thames Water… make the (turnaround plan) uninvestible,” the utility said in a statement Thursday.

Persons: Ofwat, Chris Weston, “, Jeremy Hunt, Weston, ”, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN — Investors, Ofwat, Thames, Water, Reuters, Government, BBC Locations: Thames, London, England, China, Abu Dhabi, British, Wales

☆ BYD’s profit soared 80% in the year the Chinese EV giant overtook Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Laura He | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Net profit almost doubled to 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) last year, from 16.6 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) in 2022, the Shenzhen-based company said Tuesday. BYD sold 525,409 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during that period, compared with Tesla’s 484,507. In 2023 as a whole, BYD sold a record 3.02 million vehicles globally, up 62% from 2022. Its entry-level model sells in China for the equivalent of just over $10,000; the cheapest Tesla car, a Model 3, costs almost $39,000. But intensifying competition and a brutal price war last year have impacted the profit margins of many Chinese car makers, including BYD.

Persons: London CNN — BYD, That’s, Warren Buffett, BYD, Tesla, Elon Musk’s carmaker Organizations: London CNN, Elon, Tesla, Chinese Passenger Car Association, Geely, Chery, XPeng Motors Locations: Hong Kong, London, Shenzhen, China

London/Hong Kong CNN —McDonald’s has been hit by a system failure in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, with many stores forced to close and online ordering suspended. “Many stores across the country have temporarily suspended operations,” McDonald’s Japan said in a post on X Friday. “There is currently a system failure,” it said earlier. McDonald’s stores around Australia were affected by a major outage Friday, with customers struggling to place orders, CNN affiliate 9 News reported. Please order directly at the restaurant counter.”In the UK, Maria Avram, who works at a McDonald’s store in London, told CNN that there was a system outage between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m and 3 a.m.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — McDonald’s, CNN McDonald’s Hong, Maria Avram, McDonald’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, CNN McDonald’s, Facebook Locations: Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, CNN McDonald’s Hong Kong, London

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