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☆ The UK is delaying the switch to electric cars. Automakers are furious
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three,” Ford (F) UK chair Lisa Brankin said in a statement. “We and the whole automotive industry [need] clarity on the [EV] topic,” the German carmaker said in a statement shared with CNN. ‘Confusion’ will delay switch to EVsThe UK auto industry has been clawing its way back from rock bottom after car manufacturing hit a 66-year low in 2022. Reducing emissions from road transport “is the only way that you will achieve net zero,” Hawes told the BBC. The government’s own independent adviser on climate policy, the Climate Change Committee shares that view.

Persons: carmakers, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, “, ”, Sunak’s, ” Ford, Lisa Brankin, Brankin, carmaker, Mike Hawes, ” Hawes, Jobs, Sadiq Khan, ” Sunak, “ We’re, Alok Sharma, Simon Clarke, EVs, — Gemma Blundell, Doyle, Anna Cooban, Laura Paddison, Rob Picheta Organizations: London CNN, BMW, Oxford, Swindon, CNN, Fiat, Peugeot, Fiat Chrysler, France’s, India’s Tata Group, Society of Motor Manufacturers, Traders, BBC, Conservative Party, Labour Party’s London, Conservative Locations: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Ellesmere Port, Liverpool, Britain, London, Glasgow

☆ Bankrupt Birmingham braces for cuts as UK government takes control
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The UK government has moved to take control of the country’s second biggest city, Birmingham, after the local council effectively declared itself bankrupt earlier this month. The government has also proposed an inquiry to understand how Birmingham landed in its current financial mess. “The need for action in Birmingham is pressing,” he added. Birmingham City Council issued a so-called section 114 notice on September 5, which means it must halt all spending except on essential services such as schooling, housing, social care, waste collection and road maintenance. The plan is due to be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the council on September 25.

Persons: Michael Gove, “, Deborah Cadman Organizations: London CNN, British, Birmingham City Council Locations: Birmingham, London, United Kingdom

☆ ‘Argentina on the Channel.’ Mark Carney and Liz Truss clash over UK economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —When Liz Truss was briefly Britain’s prime minister a year ago, the world’s sixth-largest economy came close to resembling Argentina, a country plagued by financial and economic instability. Truss and her Brexit-backing allies have long argued that lower taxes and fewer regulations — akin to Singapore’s approach — would help kickstart sorely needed growth in the UK. Britain, for its part, is battling stubbornly high inflation, feeble economic growth and a rising public debt burden, which is the costliest to service among rich economies. At the time, Carney, who was head of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, accused Truss’s government of “undercutting” the nation’s economic institutions. “Mark Carney is part of the 25-year economic consensus that has led to low growth across the Western world,” she said.

Persons: Liz Truss, Mark Carney, kickstart, Carney, “, Kwasi Kwarteng, Truss’s, undercutting, “ Mark Carney, ”, ” Truss, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Bank of England, Institute for Government Locations: Argentina, United Kingdom, Montreal, Singapore, London

☆ IAA Mobility: China's automakers take the world by storm with EV push
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Leonhard Simon/Getty ImagesEven before the show kicked off, Renault chief executive Luca de Meo was on French radio talking up the rapid advances made by Chinese EV makers. Competitors worry that Chinese brands may eventually dominate the global EV market. In Europe, the top destination for China’s car exports, sales of Chinese EVs are booming. Supply chain advantageA major factor contributing to the lower cost of Chinese EVs is the country’s dominance of the EV battery supply chain. However, geopolitical tensions could complicate Chinese EV firms’ global push.

Persons: Leonhard Simon, Luca de Meo, ” de Meo, ” “, ”, Dylan Khoo, Li Yunfei, Oliver Zipse, Khoo, It’s, — Hanna Ziady, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Visitors, Renault, Chinese EV, RTL Radio, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China Passenger Car Association, Union, UBS, Europe Auto, EV, New, Research, Deloitte, BMW, ABI Research, Jato Dynamics, “, China’s SAIC, MG, IAA, SNE Research Locations: China, Hong Kong, Munich, Germany, Chinese, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Russia, New York, United States, France, British, United Kingdom, South Korean

☆ Birmingham City Council: How an equal pay claim took down Britain's second-biggest city
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —Birmingham — the biggest British city after London — is in dire financial straits. “Local government is facing a perfect storm,” Sharon Thompson, Birmingham City Council’s deputy leader, said in remarks broadcast Tuesday. How Birmingham went bustThompson blamed Birmingham’s financial troubles partly on an outstanding £760 million ($950 million) legal bill pertaining to the equal pay claims, which resulted from a Supreme Court ruling in 2012. The original case was brought by 174 former council employees, all except four of whom were women. They argued that this breached the equality clauses of their employment contracts under the Equal Pay Act of 1970 — and the court agreed.

Persons: London —, ” Sharon Thompson, Thompson, —, Shaun Davies, Rishi Sunak, England —, ” Organizations: London CNN — Birmingham, Birmingham City Council’s, Birmingham City, National Audit Office, Local Government Association, UK, Special, Municipal Authorities Locations: London, United Kingdom, “, Birmingham, England, —, West Midlands, Yorkshire, Croydon, Woking

☆ What’s going on with China’s shadow banking system?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with growing financial distress, which means big problems for the nation’s nearly $3 trillion shadow banking industry. What’s happening: Shadow lenders, including trust firms, operate outside of the formal banking system. That’s because shadow banks are not just a problem in China. The key concern, said Towes, is whether Western organizations have loaned to shadow banks and are now vulnerable. Production cuts by OPEC+, which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil, have helped send oil prices higher in recent months, a development that could have repercussions for inflation and interest rates.

Persons: they’ve, ”, Phillip Toews, “ we’ve, Toews, that’s, Goldman Sachs, Matt Egan, That’s, It’s, “, Jan Hatzius, ” Hatzius, —, CNN’s Hanna Ziady, Brent, ” Stephen Innes Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Asset Management, US, IMF, Global, Federal Reserve, West Texas, Organization of, Petroleum, Saudi Ministry of Energy Locations: New York, China, Beijing, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC

☆ Oil prices surge after Saudi Arabia and Russia extend production cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Oil prices hit a new high for the year so far after Saudi Arabia and Russia — the world’s biggest crude exporters — said they would extend output cuts by at least another three months. The moves by Saudi Arabia and Russia reinforce efforts by the alliance known as OPEC+ — which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers — to support oil prices by agreeing to deep and prolonged production cuts. Saudi Arabia needs Brent crude to trade at around $81 a barrel in order to balance its budget, according to the International Monetary Fund. Production cuts by OPEC+, which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil, have helped send oil prices higher in recent months, a development that could have repercussions for inflation and interest rates. “These impending increases in oil prices present a fresh challenge for central banks as they continue their diligent efforts to bring inflation levels back in line with their desired targets.”

Persons: —, Brent, Alexander Novak, Novak, “, ” Stephen Innes Organizations: London CNN, West Texas, Organization of, Petroleum, Saudi Ministry of Energy, International Monetary Fund, Russia’s, Reuters Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, Saudi, Riyadh, Ukraine

☆ Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic is now Europe's most valuable company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Novo Nordisk has dethroned Bernard Arnault’s luxury goods giant LVMH as Europe’s most valuable company. At the close of trading Monday, Novo Nordisk (NVO) had a market capitalization of 2.96 trillion Danish krone ($428 billion). “We are just scratching the surface,” Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen told CNN’s Meg Tirrell in a recent interview. Novo Nordisk has raked in almost 49 billion Danish krone ($7 billion) in profit over the first six months of this year, up 30% from the same period in 2022. Booming sales of its drugs have led to an influx of US dollars into Denmark’s economy, pushing up the value of the Danish krone.

Persons: Bernard, Wegovy, Louis Vuitton, Hennessy, —, “, Steve Barclay, Carsten Snejbjerg, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CNN’s Meg Tirrell, …, ” Organizations: London CNN — Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk, Louis, Health Service, Health, Social Care, Nordisk, Nordisk's, Bloomberg, Getty, World Health Organization, Danish krone, European Central Bank, Novo, UBS, Wegovy Locations: Danish, Ozempic, Wegovy, United States, Copenhagen, Denmark, Denmark’s, Novo Nordisk’s

☆ How big banks won the banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Before the Bell: Now that the dust is hopefully settling on this year’s regional banking crisis, are there clear winners and losers in the banking sector? David Kotok: There’s no question the [global systemically important banks, G-SIB] won and the middle-sized banks — let’s call that banks with between $50 billion and $250 billion in assets — were the losers. So if you stand back from the immediate 2023 banking crisis, and you say, how many banks were there 20 years ago in the United States, how many banks are there today? The UK economy is bigger than we thoughtThe UK economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic much faster than previously thought, reports my colleague Hanna Ziady. For many office workers around the United States, it also means more return-to-office mandates.

Persons: JPMorgan Chase, Bell, David Kotok, he’s, SIB, Jamie Dimon, J.P, Morgan, hasn’t, Hanna Ziady, John Springford, Andy Jassy, CNN’s Jeanne Sahadi, unaddressed, Merck Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Silicon Valley Bank, UBS, JPMorgan, Republic Bank, Cumberland Advisors, —, Credit Suisse, First, Federal Reserve, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Centre, European Reform, Labor, Amazon, Business Locations: New York, Silicon, First Republic, United States, Jekyll, America, Hanna Ziady ., Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Britain

☆ The UK economy is bigger than we thought. It still has ‘a growth problem’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The UK economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic much faster than previously thought, according to major revisions of official statistics that have erased Britain’s laggard status overnight. The ONS had said as recently as last month that UK GDP had still not reached its pre-pandemic size by the second quarter of this year. “UK growth has still been very sluggish, even if it’s not at the bottom,” said Prof. Huw Dixon, who leads research in economic measurement at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. So while the size of the economy is bigger than we thought, Britain still has a growth problem.”Richer dataIn 2020, the UK economy suffered its biggest slump in more than three centuries, recovering sharply the following year off a low base. Annual GDP growth for 2021 was also revised up by 1.1 percentage points to 8.7%.

Persons: ” Ruth Gregory, “, ”, Huw Dixon, ” Dixon, ” John Springford, Richer, That’s, Frost, Darren Morgan, Henry Nicholls, Jeremy Hunt, Gregory, Nomura Organizations: London CNN, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Capital Economics, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, CNN, Centre, European Reform, Getty Images, Bank of England Locations: Germany, United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Britain, Petticoat Lane, AFP, United Kingdom

☆ UBS will cut 3,000 jobs in Switzerland as it absorbs Credit Suisse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —UBS expects to shed around 3,000 jobs in Switzerland as it tries to save $10 billion from a sweeping overhaul of the global banking giant created by its emergency rescue of Credit Suisse earlier this year. “The Swiss Bank Employees Association demands that the 37,000 employees of the two institutions in Switzerland are treated fairly and equally in the integration process,” the Swiss banking union said in a statement. UBS (UBS) agreed on March 19 to buy Credit Suisse for the bargain price of 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion) in a rescue orchestrated by Swiss authorities to avert a banking sector meltdown. UBS posted net profit of $29 billion for the second quarter, reflecting a one-off boost from the acquisition of Credit Suisse at a fraction of its value. It also said it no longer required a 100 billion franc ($114.2 billion) government-backed loan and that Credit Suisse had repaid an earlier loan from Switzerland’s central bank of 50 billion francs ($57.1 billion).

Persons: “, Sergio Ermotti, ” Ermotti, ” Organizations: London CNN, UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss Bank Employees Association, Credit, ” UBS, Swiss, Switzerland Credit Suisse, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Taxpayers, “ Locations: Switzerland, Swiss

☆ Brexit: The UK economy still can't cope with the consequences of leaving the EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Tuesday’s announcement also highlights long-running concerns that border checks on food imports from the EU — which supplies 28% of the food consumed in Britain — could choke off supplies. Physical inspections have been pushed back to the end of April, with the final controls on EU imports — safety and security declarations — postponed to October 2024. Some UK industry groups welcomed the latest delays to border checks, which, they said, will add costs and friction to supply chains. The UK inflation rate is the highest in the G7, with consumer prices rising 6.8% in July compared with a year ago. Beyond inflation, food supply disruptions remain a lingering concern in the UK, which imports just under half of all the food it consumes.

Persons: Brexit, ”, Shane Brennan, ” Brennan, Andrew Opie, Rishi Sunak, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, European Union, London School of Economics, EU, Chain Federation, British Retail Consortium, Britain, and Drink Federation Locations: Britain, United Kingdom, EU

That’s almost three times what Russia spent on defense in 2021, before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Those figures are likely to underestimate the total spent on Russia’s war effort. He said that before the war Russia would typically splash around 3-4% of its annual gross domestic product on defense but now it could be anywhere between 8% and 10%. Russia’s exports are still greater than the value of its imports, despite a boost to the latter from the hefty military spending. Rising military spending is, on the other hand, boosting Russia’s industrial output and, with it, GDP.

Persons: London CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, That’s, Richard Connolly, Janis Kluge, Irina Okladnikova, Liam Peach, it’s, Peach, Kluge, “, ”, —, Maksim Konstantinov, Alexandra Suslina, Suslina, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, — Anna Cooban, Tim Lister, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Reuters, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Royal United Services Institute for Defence, Security Studies, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Capital Economics, CNN, “, ZUMA, International Monetary Fund, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, International Energy Agency, West Locations: “, Ukraine, Russia, Stockholm, Moscow, “ Russia, Russian, Saint Petersburg, Soviet, Berlin

☆ Germany’s economy hasn’t looked this weak since the start of the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

That’s the lowest reading since May 2020, when the country began gradually lifting stringent pandemic restrictions. “Any hope that the service sector might rescue the German economy has evaporated. The figures add to evidence that Germany’s economy is sputtering again after it emerged from a winter recession in the second quarter by the narrowest of margins. “The downward pressure on the economy of the eurozone in August stems mainly from the German service sector,” said De la Rubia. “Activity has started to shrink while prices have shot up again, even picking up pace,” De la Rubia said.

Persons: stoking, ”, Cyrus de la Rubia, —, De la, “, De la Rubia, ” Andrew Kenningham Organizations: London CNN —, Hamburg Commercial Bank, P Global, P, European Central Bank, ECB, Capital Economics Locations: London CNN — Germany, Hamburg, Germany, Europe, “

☆ Why inflation makes Britain’s debt the costliest among rich economies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Interest payable on UK central government debt hoovered up £7.7 billion ($9.8 billion) last month alone, hitting a record for July, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. That’s double the share in Italy, whose dependence on inflation-linked debt comes second only to that of the UK among advanced economies, according to Fitch Ratings. According to Fitch, Britain now spends more to service its debt than any other developed economy, as a percentage of government revenue. In a statement Tuesday, Hunt said: “As inflation slows, it’s vital that we don’t alter our course and continue to act responsibly with the public finances. Only by sticking to our plan will we halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt.”

Persons: That’s, ”, Ellie Henderson, Fitch, ” Ruth Gregory, Jeremy Hunt “, Gregory, Hunt Organizations: London CNN, National Statistics, United, Fitch, “, Investec, AAA, Capital Economics, CNN, Conservative Locations: Ukraine, United States, Italy, Fitch, Britain, London

Work on an insurance mechanism follows Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last month, which threatens the safe passage of ships carrying grain to and from Ukrainian ports. To keep grain shipments moving, Ukraine’s government will share potential losses with insurers, which should make cover for travel through risky Ukrainian waters more affordable for commercial shipping companies. Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal has had a chilling effect on merchant shipping around Ukraine’s three Black Sea ports as the Kremlin warned that ships leaving these ports might come under attack. And earlier this month a Russian warship fired warning shots and boarded a cargo ship in the Black Sea it claims was headed to Ukraine. Last week, the Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte container ship became the first vessel to depart from any of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since the grain deal broke down on July 17.

Persons: —, ” Oleksandr Hryban, Marsh McLennan, Marsh, Oliver Wyman —, Hryban, Marcus Baker, ” Baker, Crispin Ellison, Oliver Wyman, ” Marsh McLennan, Joseph Schulte, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: Kyiv CNN —, United Nations, “, CNN, Initiative, Kremlin, ” Locations: Kyiv, Kyiv CNN — Ukraine, Ukrainian, Turkey, London, Marsh, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Hong Kong, Odesa, ” Ukraine

☆ Domino's Pizza will close in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Domino’s Pizza will close all its outlets in Russia, becoming one of the first major Western fast-food chains to exit the country since McDonald’s and Starbucks left more than a year ago. DP Eurasia — the company that owns franchise rights for the Domino’s Pizza brand in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia — said Monday that it would file for bankruptcy for its Russian unit, DPRussia. The move highlights the increasingly hard choices facing Western firms that stayed in Russia after the start of the Ukraine war. The Kremlin has made it vastly more difficult and more costly for Western companies to sell their Russian businesses. Starbucks became Stars Coffee and McDonald’s is now “Vkusno i tochka,” which translates to “Tasty, period.”In a statement, New York-listed Domino’s Pizza Inc (DPZ).

Persons: Georgia —, “ Organizations: London CNN, Starbucks, Eurasia —, Carlsberg, Danone, ” DP Eurasia, DP, Yale University, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, ”, New York

☆ UK inflation slows to 6.8% but services are getting even more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

That is the smallest annual rise since February 2022 and reflects falls in the price of gas and electricity after an energy price cap, set by the energy regulator, was lowered at the end of June. “Although remaining high, food price inflation has also eased again, particularly for milk, bread and cereal,” said ONS deputy director of prices Matthew Corder. Food price inflation slowed to 14.9% in July, from 17.4% in June, with prices still rising strongly but less than in June. In less good news, services inflation accelerated last month to 7.4%, from 7.2% in June. “With labor costs being the bulk of the expense for services providers, the Bank of England may deem that more work has to be done to ensure that services price inflation is contained,” said Ellie Henderson, an economist at Investec in London.

Persons: ”, Matthew Corder, Ellie Henderson, Jamie Dutta Organizations: London CNN —, National Statistics, Bank of England, Investec, Financial Locations: “, London

☆ Russia’s ruble hits a 17-month low to the dollar as the Ukraine war bites
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Europe’s banks are bracing for a wave of defaults
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Some of Europe’s biggest banks are setting aside more cash to absorb potential losses on loans, as rising interest rates increase pressure on borrowers. So far, there are “limited signs of stress” across the bank’s loan portfolios, Anna Cross, group finance director at Barclays, told reporters. Loan loss provisions at Deutsche Bank (DB) jumped 72% to €401 million ($446 million) in the second quarter, Germany’s biggest lender said Wednesday. Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics, told CNN that he was most worried about the potential for losses on bank loans to the commercial real estate sector. “The near-term economic outlook for the euro area has deteriorated, owing largely to weaker domestic demand,” the bank’s President Christine Lagarde told reporters.

Persons: Anna Cross, Jonas Goltermann, ”, Goltermann, Christine Lagarde, — Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN —, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, DB, Spain’s, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Capital Economics, CNN, ” Locations: Spain’s Santander, Europe, United Kingdom

☆ Shell and TotalEnergies profits cut in half by lower oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Shell, Europe’s largest oil company by revenue, reported adjusted earnings of $5.1 billion during the April-to-June period — less than half the $11.5 billion it reported a year ago. The result was also driven by lower production volumes and lower margins in its oil refining business, Shell said in a statement Thursday. French oil company Total (TOT)Energies posted adjusted net income of $5 billion Thursday, a 49% drop on the same period a year ago. Energy companies enjoyed bumper profits last year off the back of soaring oil and gas prices, and shareholders were rewarded handsomely. In the first half of the year, Shell invested $3.9 billion in oil and natural gas exploration and production.

Persons: Shell, TotalEnergies, “ Shell, Wael Sawan Organizations: London CNN — Shell, Shell, Energy, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Energy Solutions, International Energy Agency Locations: Ukraine, London, Europe, Sawan, North America

☆ European Central Bank hikes rates to highest level since 2000
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Why are so many Western firms staying put in Russia, despite the rising risks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a slew of Western companies left in protest. Companies now find themselves caught between Western sanctions and public outrage on the one hand, and an increasingly hostile Russian government on the other. The Kremlin is making it more difficult for Western firms to sell their Russian assets — and imposing steep discounts and punitive taxes when they do. Both companies had been finalizing sales to local buyers when President Vladimir Putin signed an order nationalizing their local assets earlier this month. Spurred by sweeping Western sanctions, oil companies, automakers, technology firms, consultancies and banks led the initial wave of departures.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Carlsberg, Maria Shagina, Andrey Rudakov, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Hein Schumacher, Schumacher, ”, ” Procter, Gamble, ” Mondelez, Fortum Oyj, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, ” Sonnenfeld, — Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Nestlé, Heineken, Companies, Danone, Carlsberg, Breweries, International Institute for Strategic Studies, CNN, Bloomberg, Getty, Yale University, Yale, Unilever, UL, Procter, Gamble, Treasury, Foreign, Control, Carlsberg — Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Lyubuchany, Rosneft, Moscow, Russian

☆ The world’s biggest ice cream company says heat waves may not help sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Can it ever be too hot for ice cream? “When it gets too hot, people move away from ice cream and buy a cold drink instead,” he said. The consumer goods giant commands a fifth of global ice cream sales, according to Euromonitor. The company’s overall ice cream sales grew 5.7% in the first half of the year in value terms, compared with the same period in 2022. Price rises across Unilever’s products helped push up its sales by 9.1% in the first half, even though volumes fell marginally.

Persons: Cornetto, ”, Graeme Pitkethly, Jerry’s, Carte d’Or, Hein Schumacher, Schumacher —, FrieslandCampina — Organizations: London CNN, Unilever, UL, Health Locations: Europe, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ukraine

☆ Europe’s largest airline just sounded the alarm on travel demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The travel industry has defied a global economic slowdown, enjoying record bookings and profits as pent-up demand following the pandemic fueled spending on air tickets and hotels. Ryanair (RYAAY), Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, warned Monday that high inflation and rising interest rates could dent appetite for air travel in the second half of the year. The airline now expects to carry 183.5 million passengers in the 12 months ending in March 2024. The Dublin-based airline — which on Friday announced plans to return to Ukraine within weeks of the war ending — forecast “modest” profit growth for the full year. The latest figure marks a significant turnaround for the aviation industry, which suffered net losses of $183 billion between 2020 and 2022 as pandemic lockdowns hit travel.

Persons: “ We’re, Michael O’Leary, ”, Jet2, O’Leary, — Organizations: London CNN, Ryanair, EasyJet, Boeing, International Air Transport Association Locations: Europe’s, Ukraine, Dublin

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