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☆ Mining Giant BHP Makes $39 Billion Bid for Rival Anglo American
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BHP Group, the world’s largest mining company, has proposed a takeover of its rival Anglo American, in a deal that has the potential to shake up the industry at a time when demand for copper is soaring. BHP said on Thursday that it had approached Anglo with a bid valued at 31.1 billion pounds, or $39 billion, in what would be one of the most significant deals in the industry in years. If successful, the acquisition would create the world’s largest miner of copper at a time of growing global hunger for the metal, which is essential to the green-energy transition. Anglo confirmed that it had received an “unsolicited, nonbinding and highly conditional combination proposal from BHP” and that its board was reviewing the offer with its advisers. In the United States, President Biden’s signature climate and energy law, the Inflation Reduction Act, contains hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits to help companies switch to low-carbon energy sources.

Organizations: BHP Group, BHP, BHP ” Locations: United States

☆ Inflation Cools in Eurozone, Nearing Central Bank’s Target
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The annual inflation rate across most economies in Europe eased for the third month in a row, nearing the target set by the European Central Bank. The rate was slightly lower than economists expected and brought overall inflation closer to the 2 percent target set by the E.C.B., which will hold its next meeting to set interest rates on April 11. The central bank also keeps a close eye on core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices. That dipped to 2.9 percent in the year through March in the eurozone, ticking below the 3-percent mark for the first time since Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine broke out in February 2022, driving up energy prices. Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, saw consumer prices rise at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in March, its slowest inflation since June 2021.

Organizations: European Central Bank, Consumer, European Union, Ukraine Locations: Europe, Germany

☆ Boeing Finds More Problems with 737 Max, Risking Delivery Delays
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing said that a new problem with the fuselages of some unfinished 737 jets would force the company to rework about 50 planes, potentially delaying their delivery and raising further concerns about quality control at the manufacturer and its suppliers. Stan Deal, the chief executive of Boeing’s commercial plane unit, said in a memo to employees on Sunday that a supplier last wee had identified that “two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements.” It did not name the supplier. The issue was “not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely,” Mr. Deal said. He added that all 737s currently in use could continue flying. The new problems were another setback for Boeing, which has been under pressure from regulators, investors and its airline customers since Jan. 5, when a panel on a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines blew out mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing and the grounding of Max 9s in the United States.

Persons: Stan Deal, ”, Deal, Max Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines Locations: United States

☆ Eurozone Inflation Dips at Start of Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Why It Matters: The timing of interest rate cuts depends on dataInvestors are watching for signs that the European Central Bank will lower interest rates, which policymakers last week held at a record high of 4 percent. The numbers released on Thursday could raise expectations that rates may come down sooner rather than later. Core inflation, the rate of inflation that excludes the volatile prices of food and energy, continued its downward trend, cooling to 3.3 percent in January from 3.4 percent in December. That figure is crucial to the E.C.B., as it reflects underlying trends in prices across the eurozone. will remain cautious, he said, “and will not contemplate any rate cut before June.”

Persons: Christine Lagarde, “, Peter Vanden Houte, ” Organizations: European Central Bank, ING Locations: midyear, Germany, Europe’s

☆ Tesla Sues Swedish Transport Agency in Dispute Over License Plates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla sued Sweden’s Transport Agency on Monday over a strike by postal workers that has blocked delivery of license plates for Tesla cars, the latest escalation of a widening battle between Sweden’s labor unions and the U.S. manufacturer of electric vehicles. A month ago, mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden walked off their jobs. Dockworkers, electricians, painters and postal employees have all joined the strike, refusing to provide the company with their services. Last week, some 50 metalworkers at a factory that produces aluminum parts for Tesla’s factory in Germany walked off the job. On Nov. 20, postal workers joined the action, refusing to deliver any mail or packages to Tesla’s facilities, including the license plates.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Sweden’s Transport Agency, IF Metall Locations: U.S, Sweden, Tesla’s, Germany

☆ Unions in Sweden Expand Blockade Against Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla does not produce any vehicles in Sweden, but runs several facilities where the cars are serviced. So far this year, the Tesla Model Y is the best-selling new car in Sweden, with more than 14,000 registrations through October, according to Mobility Sweden, an industry group. Unions representing cleaners have also refused to service Tesla facilities, and the postal workers’ union stopped any deliveries from reaching the company’s sites. Both IF Metall and the Transport Workers’ Union have acknowledged that Tesla has found ways around the strikes. Tesla appeared to be bringing in other mechanics to staff its facilities and bringing new vehicles into Sweden by truck, they said.

Persons: Tesla, ’, Dockworkers, ” Dirk Schulze, ” Mr, Schulze, IF Metall Organizations: Tesla, Mobility Sweden, Swedish Transport Workers ’ Union, IF Metall, Transport Workers ’ Union, IG Metall, Metall, IF, Hydro Extrusions Locations: Sweden, Swedish, Sweden’s, Germany, Berlin, Brandenburg

☆ German Court Says Government Cannot Shift Covid Funds to Climate Projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: A Restraint on Germany’s Green Ambitions. The Climate Transformation Fund has €212 billion dedicated to projects from 2024 to 2027. The court ruled that it must now be reduced by €60 billion, the money added from unused pandemic funds. Heart of the Issue: Germany’s ‘Debt Brake’Germany is the only leading industrial economy to have a so-called debt brake written into its constitution. “The circumvention of the debt brake is becoming increasingly absurd,” said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research, a Berlin-based think tank.

Persons: ”, Marcel Fratzscher, — Organizations: €, German Institute for Economic Research, Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats Locations: Germany, Berlin, Ukraine

Siemens Energy is a key player in Germany’s energy transition and employs some 26,000 people in the country. The company’s difficulties have served as a warning that financial problems weighing on makers of renewable energy equipment could be growing more severe. Siemens Energy is the parent company of Siemens Gamesa, one of the world’s leading wind turbine makers. What Happens Next: Siemens Energy opens its books. On Wednesday, Siemens Energy will announce its earnings for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Siemens Gamesa, Denmark’s Orsted Organizations: Siemens Energy, Germany, Siemens, Air Liquide Locations: Berlin, French, Denmark, Spain, New Jersey, United States, Frankfurt

Dockworkers said they would expand their blockade of the automaker’s shipment to all ports in Sweden next week, after launching the action at four key locations. The electricians’ union said its members would stop servicing Tesla charging stations when they needed a repair, and maintenance workers said they wouldn’t clean Tesla facilities. On Monday, the IF Metall trade union, which represents 300,000 workers across the country including the Tesla mechanics, said its talks with company representatives had ended without resolution. Tesla, which entered Sweden in 2013, did not respond to requests for comment. The company told Sweden’s TT News Agency that it followed Swedish labor market rules but had chosen not to sign a collective agreement.

Persons: Tesla, Dockworkers Organizations: IF, Sweden’s TT News Agency Locations: Sweden, Swedish

☆ A New Place to Learn Civics: The Workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. That was the wish behind a post that Simge Krüger made on LinkedIn in March. In response, people began posting their wishes that her husband, father and brother be killed in combat. “I was just talking about peace and I’m suddenly a Nazi,” Ms. Krüger, a Turkish citizen who lives in Hamburg, said in an interview. Weeks later, sitting in a workshop led by a pro-democracy organization, she came to understand what happened in that dizzying moment.

Persons: Krüger, “, I’m, ” Ms, Weeks Organizations: LinkedIn, Nazi Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Turkish, Hamburg

The European Union will begin an investigation into Chinese subsidies of electric vehicles, the bloc’s top official announced Wednesday, in a move that highlights Europe’s growing industrial and geopolitical competition with China. The inquiry could lead to trade restrictions, such as import tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Chinese automakers have gained a dominant position in the global electric vehicle industry and see Europe as a key potential market. “Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, speaking in Strasbourg, France. “We must defend ourselves against unfair practices.”She announced the initiative during her annual state of the European Union address, which sets the tone for the year ahead.

Persons: ”, Ursula von der Leyen, “ Organizations: European Union, European Commission Locations: China, Europe, Beijing, “ Europe, Strasbourg, France

☆ Birkenstock, German Maker of Iconic Sandals, Files for I.P.O. in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In recent years, the brand has introduced its sandals made with non-animal materials and a dizzying array of styles and colors. But the shoes’ appeal reaches across generations, making them as popular with millennials as they are with the boomer generation. Potential Risks: The trick of taking tradition publicBirkenstock’s statement said the company would face a number of risks in going public. Among them are the dangers posed by counterfeit products, it said, along with the “intense competition” from established companies and newcomers in the shoe market. “The transition from a historically family-owned German company to a publicly held company listed on a U.S. stock exchange may negatively impact our reputation,” the statement said.

Persons: Oliver Reichert, “, Mr, Reichert, “ Barbie, ”, Barbie, Christian Dior, Manolo Blahnik, Stüssy, Valentino Garavani Organizations: U.S, Birkenstocks Locations: Germany, New York, Milan, €, U.S

☆ Chinese Cars Star at Munich Auto Show, Underscoring German Economic Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For decades, the phrase “Made in Germany” signaled cutting-edge automotive technology and design. And that speed was on display Monday at I.A.A. Mobility, a massive auto show in Munich, with newcomers from China stealing the show. BYD, an all-electric Chinese carmaker that overtook Volkswagen as China’s best-selling brand this year, unveiled a sleek, new sedan and a sport utility vehicle to applause from a packed crowd. “I think the Europeans are just pretty much petrified of how the Chinese will perform in Europe,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent analyst of the electric-car market based in Berlin.

Persons: Germany ”, ”, Matthias Schmidt Organizations: Mobility, Volkswagen Locations: Germany, China, Munich, Europe, Berlin

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said on Tuesday it would team up with three German technology firms to build a facility in eastern Germany capable of producing up to 40,000 microchips each month as part of efforts to further diversify its production locations. TSMC, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors, said it would invest 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) and own 70 percent of the joint venture, to be located in Dresden. The German companies Robert Bosch, Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors will each control 10 percent. The combined private and public investment, “including strong support from the European Union and German government,” is expected to total €10 billion, the company said. The plant would be TSMC’s first location in Europe, and represents a win for Germany, which has been seeking out manufacturers of microchips, the tiny devices essential for the country’s large automotive industry and countless other devices.

Persons: Robert Bosch, ” Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Infineon Technologies, European Union, Germany Locations: Germany, Dresden, Europe

☆ Adidas’s Sale of Yeezy Sneakers Brings in 400 Million Euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Yeezy sales added €150 million to Adidas’s operating profit for the first half the year, “an incremental amount,” the sportswear maker said. And Adidas reported a steeply lower operating profit for the half-year: €236 million, versus €828 million a year earlier. Adidas began selling its first batch of its remaining Yeezy shoe models in June. But Mr. Gulden refused to elaborate on how much the rapper was making from the sales. Adidas said it has set aside €110 million of its proceeds from the first sale of the Yeezy inventory to donate to organizations.

Persons: Ye, ” Bjorn Gulden, Gulden, “, ” Mr, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd, Robert K Organizations: Adidas, Defamation League, European Jewish Association, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Kraft, New England Patriots Locations: North America

☆ Europe’s Economy Expanded in Spring, and Inflation Has Eased
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Gross domestic product in the eurozone grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, a stronger result than predicted by economists. Italy, Austria and Latvia all saw output fall in the second quarter. Inflation across the eurozone dipped to an annual rate of 5.3 percent in July, down from 5.5 percent the previous month. “On the whole, the eurozone economy recorded another underwhelming quarter,” said Ricardo Amaro, a senior economist at Oxford Economics. He noted that “the second half of the year is likely to be as underwhelming, if not more than the first half, with the eurozone economy risking stagnation or worse.”

Persons: ”, Fritzi, KfW, Christine Lagarde, What’s, Lagarde, ’, Ricardo Amaro Organizations: Gross, European Central Bank, Oxford Economics Locations: Germany, Europe’s, Ukraine, Germany’s, Italy, Austria, Latvia, Spain, France, Europe, Russia

☆ Volkswagen Seeks to Regain Edge in China as It Cuts Delivery Forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But overall revenue increased 18.2 percent as the company stemmed some of its losses in China, where deliveries were down 1.2 percent. Western Europe provided the company with its strongest business, with 1.65 million vehicles ordered in the first half of the year, and 200,000 of them — or 12 percent — were electric vehicles, the company said. Volkswagen hopes that its investment in XPeng will help advance the German automaker’s electric vehicle software to the standards produced by Chinese manufacturers. Some analysts interpreted the move as a concession that Volkswagen was unable to compete with Chinese companies on the latest technology. But Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive, expressed confidence that VW customers, including those in China, want more variety in their vehicles.

Persons: ”, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Oliver Blume, Mr, Blume, “ Organizations: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group Rus, China, BYD, Audi, SAIC, British, Center for Automotive Research, “, Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Porsche, Lamborghini, VW Locations: China, Western Europe, Russia, Avilon, Moscow, XPeng, Duisburg, Germany

☆ Tesla Wants to Double the Size of Its European Assembly Plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla wants to double the production capacity of its assembly plant outside Berlin to one million electric vehicles a year, a move that would make it the largest car plant in Europe at a time when German automakers are struggling to keep pace in the transition to electric vehicles. Since it began production in Grünheide 16 months ago, Tesla has disrupted the German automobile landscape. Over the first half of this year, for the first time, it eclipsed Volkswagen in electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen and other German automakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have spent years fumbling their attempts to produce electric cars that can compete with Tesla in price and popularity. Across the continent in June, new registrations of electric cars increased more than 66 percent from a year earlier, outselling diesel cars for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Tesla, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association Locations: Berlin, Europe, Grünheide, Wolfsburg

☆ Germany Says China Trade Could Create Perilous Dependence
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The new policy calls for export controls and the screening of investments by German companies doing business in China to protect the flow of sensitive technology and know-how. The strategy echoes themes from the European Union that urge “de-risking” ties with China. “We do not want to decouple from China, but minimize our risks. This includes strengthening our European economy as well as reducing dependencies,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister. “The more diverse trade and supply chains are set up, the more resilient our country is,” she added.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, “, ”, Annalena Baerbock Organizations: European Union Locations: China

Two shopping centers promptly sprang up to serve Russians looking for Western clothing, gifts, disposable diapers and alcohol. “It was a local, regional and national strategy to focus on turning toward Russia,” Mr. Roine said. More than 266,000 people from Russia crossed the nearby border station into Norway in 2019; last year, that number fell by more than 75 percent. For decades, the vast amounts of cod in the Barents Sea — home to one of the world’s last surviving stocks of the fish — have drawn people and businesses from both countries to this Arctic Circle community. Kirkenes’s most important industrial employer is Kimek, a shipbuilding company that has prospered by repairing commercial fishing boats known as trawlers, especially the Russian ones.

Persons: Russia ’, ” Mr, Roine Organizations: Arctic Council Locations: Russia, Soviet Union, Norway, Kirkenes

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