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☆ The Outlook for Diesel: Supply Woes Aren’t Going Away Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Denton Cinquegrana | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Throughout the U.S., diesel supplies remain tight; the East Coast in particular has been pressed to keep tanks fully stocked. Some of the supply issues go back to pre-Covid 19 events, including a June 2019 fire that took out a key East Coast refinery. Europe has been weaning itself off Russian crude oil and natural gas, but replacing Russian diesel may prove trickier. At that time, diesel prices at the retail level in the U.S. were in the $5.25-5.30 a gallon range. By the end of January, retail diesel prices should be approaching $4.75 a gallon.

The already-frantic global competition for green-energy investment escalated Wednesday with the European Union’s competition chief calling massive incentives from the U.S. “toxic,” as the bloc prepares its own countermeasures. The U.S. incentives, included in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, have spurred companies to rethink where to spend billions of investment dollars and increasingly prompted America’s trading partners to consider their own subsidies.

☆ Companies Rush to Trace Sprawling Supply Chains as Sustainability Rules Loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The rules come as businesses, especially small and midsize companies, have a limited view of their supply chains and are struggling to broaden their oversight, sustainability analysts say. Imagine that in the landscape of supply chain,” said Tim Constable, partner at law firm Dentons advising companies on supply chains. There are a host of other regulatory developments threatening to affect companies’ supply chains. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg NewsUnilever has a sprawling global supply chain, with around 54,000 suppliers in 150 countries. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated the program is.”Internet-of-things startups can go beyond aggregating data and instead track actual items.

☆ Death toll in Russian strike on Ukrainian building rises to 40
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 40, authorities said Monday, as Western analysts pointed to indications the Kremlin was preparing for a drawn-out war in Ukraine after almost 11 months of fighting. About 1,700 people lived in the multi-story building, and search and rescue crews have worked nonstop since Saturday’s strike to locate victims and survivors in the wreckage. The reported death toll made it the deadliest single attack on Ukrainian civilians since before the summer, according to The Associated Press-Frontline War Crimes Watch project. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called the strike, and others like it, “inhumane aggression” because it directly targeted civilians. Asked about the strike Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military doesn’t target residential buildings and suggested the Dnipro building was hit as a result of Ukrainian air defense actions.

☆ Sweden locates rare earth deposits as Europe races against China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The beginning of the end of Europe’s dependency on China for precious rare earth materials may lie buried deep under the rugged reaches of northern Sweden, well above the Arctic Circle. Sweden’s iron-ore miner LKAB said Thursday it has identified “significant deposits” in Lapland of rare earth elements that are essential for the manufacture of smartphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines. The government-owned company that mines iron ore at Kiruna, almost 600 miles north of Stockholm, said there are more than 1 million tons of rare earth oxides. They are especially vital to the fast-growing field of green energy, feeding wind turbines and electric car engines. is lagging well behind competitors on the market, getting around 98% of its rare earth minerals from China, with none of them mined in Europe.

☆ Sweden finds the largest rare earth deposit in Europe. It could help cut dependence on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Swedish mining company LKAB says it has found Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth oxides in the country’s north, a discovery that could reduce the continent’s reliance on China for the critical resource. Rare earth minerals play a key role in generating clean energy and producing electric vehicles and consumer electronics. No rare earth elements are currently being mined in Europe, leaving it dependent on imports. The company added that the region’s dependence on China for rare earth minerals increases the vulnerability of European industry. Given its importance in the tech industry, rare earths have become one of the main fronts in the US-China competition as well.

☆ Big Investors Expected to Scrap ‘Dark Green’ Labels on More EU Funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

SFDR rules require EU-marketed funds to be designated as one of three categories: “dark green” Article 9 funds, which aim for sustainability or decarbonization; “light green” Article 8 funds, which advance one or more environmental, social and governance objectives; and Article 6 funds, which don’t have any specific ESG-related objectives. Upgrades and downgrades in classifications typically occur with “similar frequency,” but since September, more than 80% of reclassifications have moved Article 9 funds to Article 8, analysts at Jefferies said in December. At the end of November, there were around $452 billion in Article 9 funds, nearly $4.2 trillion in Article 8 funds and $3.9 trillion in Article 6 ones. In November, BlackRock moved 16 funds representing around $26 billion to Article 8 from Article 9, but also retained 13 dark-green funds valued at about $13 billion. Another challenge is for fund managers to gather and report required ESG data—such as greenhouse-gas emissions, gender pay gaps and water use—for individual stocks and bonds in a fund.

☆ TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Stu Woo | Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to meet with the European Union’s antitrust chief and other officials. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to meet with European Union officials and regulators in Brussels next week, as the popular app faces heightened scrutiny in Washington over its Chinese ownership. Mr. Chew is scheduled to meet with Margrethe Vestager , the executive vice president of the EU’s executive arm and its top competition regulator, on Tuesday. He also plans to meet Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders , Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova .

☆ A portrait of one of the few young, female truckers in France
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Amélie is one of the few female truck drivers in France. At the time photographer Yohanne Lamoulère met her in 2019, she was driving from Arles to Castellón, Spain, and back at least twice a week, Lamoulère explained over email. The photographer, whose uncle is also a trucker, met Amélie at a truck show in southeastern France where drivers decorate their vehicles for a competition. Lamoulère then shot her portrait of the newly-engaged couple in front of Amélie’s truck, the bouquet placed on the dashboard above their heads. She said it’s rare to see a young woman “aboard monsters like Amélie’s truck” and finds it “very beautiful” to see her forge her own path.

Persons: CNN —, Yohanne, Amélie Riquelme, Yohanne Lamoulère, Lamoulère, Jérémy, Amélie, “, ” Lamoulère, — Jérémy, Lucie, Les, qu’on Organizations: CNN, Volvo, International Road Transport Union, Cité Internationale des Arts Locations: Amélie, France, Arles, Europe, Castellón, Spain, Paris, Cité

☆ Inflation drops sharply in Europe but some prices are still rising faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —Inflation in Europe continued to decline in December as energy prices rose at a slower pace. In November, prices rose 10.1%. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, reached 5.2% in December, up from 5% in November. The data is likely to encourage the European Central Bank to stick with its policy of raising borrowing costs. The central bank, which aggressively hiked interest rates last year, has indicated it will continue with increases in 2023.

Companies are increasingly working together to cut greenhouse-gas emissions but such collaboration faces the threat of antitrust action demanded by politicians who say it violates competition rules. There are now more than 150 business climate collaborations, according to research by Harvard Business Review. “There are a lot of ways to stay on the right side of antitrust laws,” says Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, antitrust partner at Freshfields. Traditionally, in most jurisdictions, antitrust officials weigh whether the benefits of cooperation outweigh any economic harm caused by it. The anti-ESG movement in the U.S. bases its antitrust threats partly on an assertion that climate action provides little societal benefit to outweigh any economic harm of cooperation.

Separately, Apple may allow other companies to set up app marketplaces on its iPhone, Bloomberg reported. But that won’t trouble Amazon much: private-label sales were 1% of its total, founder Jeff Bezos told the Congress in 2020. Any offer from Apple to allow competing app stores carries a similar risk. Chief Executive Tim Cook could conceivably try the same trick with third-party iPhone app stores, for example by making users plug their device into a computer. These include allowing app stores operated by third parties on its iPhone, according to the report.

☆ Meta fined $414 million in latest European privacy crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Meta and other Big Tech companies have come under pressure from the European Union’s privacy rules, which are some of the world’s strictest. The Irish watchdog — Meta’s lead European data privacy regulator because its regional headquarters is in Dublin — fined the company 210 million euros for violations of E.U. data privacy rules involving Facebook and an additional 180 million euros for breaches involving Instagram. The decision stems from complaints filed in May 2018 when the 27-nation bloc’s privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect. privacy rules.

☆ Pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Now the main Russian Cossack organisations are loyal to Putin, and they are fighting alongside Russia’s forces in Ukraine. He is regularly pictured on his and other social media pages at Cossack gatherings, often wearing Cossack military uniform. Felk has worked as a security guard and has run a logistics firm, according to posts on Felk’s OK social media account. Photos shared by Kharkovsky on social media show him and other participants standing in front of a Great Don Army flag. Eremenko confirmed to Reuters that he worked for Russian military intelligence, the GRU.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

Wuhan resident Xie Zhicong said he and everyone in his family, aside from his grandmother, had been infected. Xie, a 25-year-old salesman, said it was difficult to see a doctor when he went to a hospital for an examination last week. The hospital that Xie visited did not respond to requests for comment on his claims. People who have recovered, Xie said, are looking ahead to life after three years of “zero-Covid” restrictions. Though China is experiencing a massive outbreak much as it did at the start of the pandemic, once it’s over the virus won’t have many places left to go, Sridhar said.

☆ Startup Plans to Make Synthetic Natural Gas With Green Hydrogen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Giulia Petroni | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Hydrogen company Tree Energy Solutions plans to provide low-emission fuels for businesses in Europe as they struggle with energy shortages and higher prices. PREVIEWRoughly 96% of the hydrogen in Europe is produced using natural gas, resulting in significant CO2 emissions, according to the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm. Marco Alverà, head of TES and former chief executive officer of Italian gas grid operator Snam SpA, spoke with WSJ Pro Sustainable Business about a green-hydrogen-based process to create synthetic natural gas. Mr. Alverà: I’m a fan of hydrogen, but not of hydrogen in itself. Suddenly, we’ve turned something problematic and illiquid like hydrogen into something very fungible like natural gas.

☆ EU to Probe Broadcom’s $61 Billion Planned Takeover of VMware
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

With the acquisition, Broadcom is betting the boom in enterprise software demand will endure despite the current economic tumult. BRUSSELS – The European Union’s antitrust watchdog on Tuesday said it would open an investigation into chip maker Broadcom Inc.’s planned $61 billion acquisition of VMware Inc. The European Commission, which leads the EU’s antitrust enforcement, said it is concerned the deal would allow Broadcom to restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components.

☆ European Energy Ministers Push for Natural-Gas Price Cap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS—European energy ministers gathered Monday for the second time in one week, attempting to strike a deal on an emergency limit for natural-gas prices, which have been sent soaring by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The debate over how and whether to intervene in the continent’s natural-gas market has emerged as one of the most divisive elements of the European Union’s response to Moscow’s war and its squeeze on the continent’s energy supplies. Some countries say a price cap is needed to ease the burden of high prices on consumers and businesses, while others worry such a move could inadvertently lead to shortages.

☆ European Energy Ministers Agree to Emergency Natural-Gas Price Cap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS—European energy ministers reached a political agreement Monday to impose an emergency limit for natural-gas prices, which have been sent soaring by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministers agreed to impose a price cap if month-ahead prices remain above 180 euros a megawatt hour, equivalent to $191, on the European Union’s main trading hub for three consecutive days. Prices must also be at least €35 higher than a reference level for global liquefied natural gas during the same period.

☆ EU agrees to the world’s largest carbon border tax
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —European Union governments have reached a deal on the world’s first major carbon border tax, as part of an overhaul of the bloc’s flagship carbon market that aims to make its economy carbon-neutral by 2050. EU ministers finalized details of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism early Sunday after reaching a provisional agreement earlier on in the week. The landmark measure adds a pollution price on certain imports to the European Union. She added that certifying carbon emissions in producing countries remains a “challenge.”Climate policy overhaulThe carbon border tax is part of a wider deal agreed to Sunday that reforms the EU carbon market to cut its emissions 62% by 2030, compared to 2005. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will be phased in at the same time, in that way protecting domestic firms from being undercut by foreign competitors.

☆ EU angst over “Buy American” reopens old wounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The European Commission is the main gatekeeper on state aid, which the EU limits to protect fair competition in the single market. Von der Leyen’s plan might let it decide which champions are deserving in the first place. The free spending has sparked concerns of a handout war with other European countries, particularly given the EU’s recent focus on fiscal discipline. Von der Leyen wants to create a central pot of money to provide catch-up funds to smaller countries. Relaxing EU state aid rules fairly won’t be easy, and Europe will need a clearer industrial policy beyond handing out cash.

☆ Iran carries out second known execution over protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iran on Monday executed a second known prisoner detained and convicted amid nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy, airing footage on state television it claimed shows him stabbing two security force members to death and running away. At least 488 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-September, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests. Iran’s Interior Ministry said earlier this month that the death toll was 200, including security forces who were killed. A heavily edited state television report aired after Rahnavard’s execution showed clips of him in the courtroom. It executed the first known prisoner detained during demonstrations last Thursday.

☆ Belgium Arrests EU Lawmaker, Four Others in Corruption Probe Linked to European Parliament
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The European Parliament in Brussels is at the center of a Belgian investigation into an alleged influence campaign. BRUSSELS—Belgian police detained for questioning a senior European Parliament lawmaker and four other people on Friday in connection with an alleged influence campaign that prosecutors suspect was orchestrated by a Gulf state and targeted the European Union’s legislative body. Two people familiar with the case said the country was Qatar.

☆ More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops killed in war, official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Late Thursday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, relayed new figures about Ukrainian soldiers killed in battle, while noting that the number of injured troops was higher and civilian casualty counts were “significant.”Family members of soldiers attend a memorial event in Kyiv. Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images file“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top command, and they amount to between 10,000 and 12,500-13,000 killed,” Podolyak told Channel 24. The Ukrainian military has not confirmed such figures and it was a rare instance of a Ukrainian official providing such a count. In the eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian shelling has intensified significantly. And in northeastern Kharkiv province, officials said that Russian shelling injured two women.

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