DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Amid risk of stalling in EV race, Spain's rebooted aid scheme gets warm reception
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Madrid will launch a new, more flexible version of the PERTE scheme around July, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) after last year's initial funding round flopped, with only 27% of an earmarked 2.9 billion euros allocated. Stellantis already manufactures EVs in Spain and received 67 million euros from the first PERTE, but could request more funds to boost production. Griffiths said using the EU funds is "essential" for Spain's future as some investments would otherwise be non-viable. Unlike Germany, Europe's leading car producer, Spain lacks a domestic manufacturer to champion the EV cause. In last year's PERTE round, VW-SEAT received the highest payout, of 357 million euros, but had hoped for more.

☆ World food prices fall for 12th month running in March - FAO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, April 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations food agency's world price index fell in March for a 12th consecutive month, and is now down 20.5% from a record high hit one year ago following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 126.9 points last month against 129.7 for February, the agency said on Friday. The FAO cereal price index fell 5.6% month-on-month in March, with wheat registering a 7.1% drop, maize a 4.6% decline and rice easing 3.2 percent. FAO also raised its forecast for world cereal production in 2022 to 2.777 billion tonnes, just 1.2% down from the previous year. World cereal utilisation in the 2022/23 period was seen at 2.779 billion tonnes, FAO said, down 0.7% from 2021/22.

☆ Spain's Asturias ravaged by fires as authorities blame 'terrorist' arsonists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Vincent West | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dozens of fires have already been put off by emergency services in Asturias and the neighboring region of Cantabria over the past two days. [1/6] Firefighters use a controlled burn to tackle a wildfire in Setienes, Asturias, Spain, March 31, 2023. In the past, intentional fires have often been linked to pastoralists seeking to gain more grazing land for their cattle. The densely-forested mountainous region is one of Spain's rainiest areas, though fires are common in March, according to the regional government. A combination of scarce rainfall, high temperatures and winds has placed most of northern Spain at a high wildfire risk.

☆ Wildfires ravage Spain's Asturias as temperatures hit record highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 30 (Reuters) - More than 100 wildfires broke out in Spain's northern Asturias region on Thursday, most of them started on purpose by arsonists and others, authorities said, as temperatures soared to record highs. Flames raged near a road as cars drove by in Asturias, a lush region with rainy oceanic climate, local TV footage showed. Spain registered its hottest March 29 on record on Wednesday, with temperatures exceeding normal levels by seven to 14 Celsius (44.6-57.2 Fahrenheit), the meteorological agency AEMET said. The Canary Islands registered temperatures more common for the summer, with 37.8C in Tasarte, Gran Canaria. Other regions in the Basque Country and some parts of central Spain also recorded record temperatures for the time of year.

☆ Spain tells 'fire tourists' to stay away from forest blaze
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Guillermo Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A plane throws water over a wildfire in Pina de Montalgrao, Castellon, following a wildfire raged in eastern Spain, March 26, 2023. REUTERS/Lorena SopenaBARRACAS, Spain, March 26 (Reuters) - Officials urged 'fire tourists' to keep away from blazes raging in eastern Spain on Sunday, saying onlookers were putting themselves at risk and disrupting efforts to quell the flames. Police had spotted 14 cyclists near the scene trying to get a closer look, Gabriela Bravo, the regional head of interior affairs in the Valencia region, told reporters. "We ask once again and above all tourists not to engage in fire tourism, not to approach the perimeter area," she said. In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land last year, according to the Commission's European Forest Fire Information System.

[1/7] A view shows a forest parcel from which trees burned by the last summer's wildfires have been removed, in Landiras, in the Gironde region, France, March 20, 2023. Columns of white, acrid smoke rise from a forest floor outside the town of Hostens in the Gironde region, south of Bordeaux. The Gironde region was particularly badly hit with 20,000 hectares of forest destroyed, and the risk of renewed fires is a great concern. When it comes to wildfires risk, she said that prevention was crucial, as well as swift intervention when a fire first starts, which is easier to do from above. The interior ministry said measures for fighting forest fires across France will be presented in the coming weeks.

☆ Spain firefighters working to control blaze that has destroyed 4,000 hectares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILLANUEVA DE VIVER, Spain, March 25 (Reuters) - Firefighters said on Saturday they had stopped Spain's first major wildfire of the year from spreading further through the eastern Valencia region, where it destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) of forest and forced 1,500 residents to abandon their homes. In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land last year, according to the Commission's European Forest Fire Information System. More than 500 firefighters supported by 20 planes and helicopters were working to bring the blaze under control near the village of Villanueva de Viver, in the Valencia region, emergency services said on Saturday. [1/2] A wildfire burns parts of rural areas in Monte Pino, Spain, March 24, 2023. "On Saturday morning, airplanes will try to stop the fire spreading to other communities," Bravo told a news conference on Friday night.

☆ Just Eat’s employment U-turn won’t travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just Eat Takeaway (TKWY.AS) Chief Executive Jitse Groen is speaking out of both sides of his mouth. That marks a U-turn from Groen’s 2021 claim that the gig worker model “led to precarious working conditions”. Just Eat Takeaway will employ food-delivery drivers in the UK as independent contractors or through third party agencies. Sacrificing workers’ rights amid a cost-of-living crisis also doesn’t make Groen look good. But with the European Union passing the legislation to improve workers’ rights, Just Eat Takeaway seems to be exploiting a Brexit loophole.

☆ Aldi to lift fresh produce purchase limits in Britain as shortages ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Discount supermarket Aldi said on Saturday it will lift all customer purchase limits in Britain on salad items such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers after weeks of industry shortages. Aldi's move, effective from Monday, follows the relaxation of limits by British rivals Lidl, Asda and Morrisons earlier in the week. "From Monday, Aldi will remove all purchasing restrictions on fresh produce," it said in a statement. Several major supermarkets last month imposed limits on how many salad and fruit items shoppers could buy at one time and the government warned that shortages could last until the end of March. Reporting by Sarah Young and James Davey; Editing by Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Wage catch-up to prolong Europe's inflation battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Part of the wage increase is understandable," said Jens Ulbrich, chief economist at Germany's Bundesbank. Yet the rapid wage growth underway now will hamper the European Central Bank's efforts to get inflation back to its 2% target, and possibly force it to keep interest rates high for longer. "We are taking a first step, but much more is needed to reverse the years of lopsided wage growth," Kager added. "The inflation trend, food and especially energy prices are tearing deep holes in our workers' budgets," ver.di Chairman Frank Werneke said. "The high levels of wage growth projected for 2023 and 2024 can be expected to make wages an increasingly dominant driver of underlying inflation in the euro area," Lane says.

☆ UK salad shortage weighs on supermarket sales -NIQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britons have been grappling with a shortage of key salad staples, particularly tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Market researcher NIQ, previously known as NielsenIQ, said total value sales in the fresh produce category grew just 1.1% over the four weeks, with a unit or volume decline of 5.4%. It said supermarkets struggled to meet demand for tomatoes, where unit sales fell 17.6% and for peppers, with unit sales down 16.8%. However, value sales for lettuce and cucumbers increased 13.7% and 31.8% respectively despite limited availability. It said sales growth at Tesco was 8.7%, ahead of Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) at 8.1%, Asda at 7.8% and Morrisons at 0.5%.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Guardian headline on racism and the British tomato shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image purporting to show a headline published by British newspaper The Guardian on racism and the British tomato shortage is fabricated. A spokesperson for The Guardian told Reuters that no such headline was published by the outlet. Archived versions of the outlet’s homepage did not reveal the supposed headline (here), (here). A Twitter advanced search via The Guardian’s official Twitter account did not find any social media post connected to the headline (archive.is/wip/F1eqv). A Google advanced search did not reveal any article with the above headline (archive.is/wip/6qgfi).

☆ British supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables as shortages bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Britain's biggest supermarkets are limiting purchases of certain fruit and vegetables as supply shortages lead to empty shelves. It said the move was due to poor weather conditions overseas and was working with suppliers to "get things back to normal." The U.K. government has not stated Brexit as a factor, blaming weather conditions. EU member Ireland is also experiencing fruit and vegetable shortages. U.K. Food Minister Mark Spencer said Monday he had spoken to retailers about how they are responding to shortages and asked them to build preparedness for future incidents.

☆ UK government calls in supermarket bosses for salad crisis talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An employee checks stock levels at the tomatoes section of a partially empty fruit and vegetable aisle at a Sainsbury's supermarket in London, Britain, February 26, 2023. Food and farming minister Mark Spencer will meet the bosses of Britain's major grocers later on Monday. Spencer said the crisis had shown how dependent Britain can be on certain trade routes for some types of food. Last week, Therese Coffey, minister for the environment, food and rural affairs, warned shortages could last up to another month. She has been widely mocked for saying Britons who can't get hold of salad vegetables might want to consider turnips instead.

☆ Britain's salad vegetable crisis its own fault, says former Sainsbury's boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The crisis has been exacerbated by less winter production in greenhouses in Britain and the Netherlands due to high energy costs. "We could have chosen to subsidise the energy this winter as we have done for other industries." Horticulture has been excluded from a government Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme (ETII) that provides help with energy costs. King said that most UK supermarkets still had "very good" supply of salad vegetables coming in but overall the country is short. "That's why supermarkets introduce fair purchase policies so that 'real' customers are able to buy the one or two that they really need."

☆ Britain's Asda imposes purchase limits on fresh produce lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - British supermarket group Asda has imposed customer purchase limits on eight lines of vegetables and fruit due to "sourcing challenges" for products grown in southern Spain and north Africa, it said on Tuesday. Asda has introduced a three pack limit for purchases of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries. “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa," an Asda spokesperson said. The British Retail Consortium, which represents all the big grocers, expects the supply disruption to last a few weeks. Reporting by James Davey; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain facing tomatoes shortage after overseas harvests disrupted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Britons are facing a shortage of tomatoes after supermarket supplies, including at market leader Tesco (TSCO.L) and No. 2 Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), were impacted by disrupted harvests in southern Europe and North Africa. "However, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce," he said. Last year Britain's grocers suffered supply chain disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine but availability was much improved in the run-up to Christmas, with an exception being eggs. In winter, Britain has typically imported around 90% of crops like cucumbers and tomatoes, but has been nearly self-sufficient in the summer.

☆ Can China Reverse Its Population Decline? Just Ask Sweden.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Andrew Jacobs | Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

China’s population has begun to decline, a demographic turning point for the country that has global implications. Experts had long anticipated this moment, but it arrived in 2022 several years earlier than expected, prompting hand-wringing among economists over the long-term impacts given the country’s immense economic heft and its role as the world’s manufacturer. With 850,000 fewer births than deaths last year, at least according to the country’s official report, China joined an expanding set of nations with shrinking populations caused by years of falling fertility and often little or even negative net migration, a group that includes Italy, Greece and Russia, along with swaths of Eastern and Southern Europe and several Asian nations like South Korea and Japan.

Locations: China, Italy, Greece, Russia, Southern Europe, South Korea, Japan

France, which relies on its aging nuclear fleet to generate electricity, is leading a campaign to count hydrogen made using nuclear power -- known as "red" hydrogen -- in the EU's new renewable energy targets, which currently focus on green hydrogen made using electricity from renewable sources. After much foot-dragging, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to the hydrogen pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille in October, a deal formalised at a summit with Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in Barcelona in January. In Madrid, officials say the row is a "misunderstanding" and they are willing to be flexible on red hydrogen in other legislation such as the gas market directive, but not in the renewables bill. "Red hydrogen cannot be renewable because nuclear is not an energy that can be considered as such. France wants this to include its red hydrogen but it must first be designated as renewable.

☆ A travel insider explains how people who hate cruising — can learn to enjoy it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Travel professional Tammy Cecco named the Celebrity Edge cruise ship, shown here, as one that has spacious suites and great window views. Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesOnce she "relaxed into it," Cecco said, she started to enjoy cruise ship travel. Courtesy of Tammy CeccoCecco, who often travels with her family of five and her mother-in-law, said private tours suit everyone's needs — and interests. Luciano Bullorsky ToursByLocals' President and Co-ownerCecco said she booked a private tour at "pretty much every stop" on their last cruise, plus Rome. The company said private shore tours account for nearly a third of all tours booked in 2023 — up from 12% in 2022 bookings.

LISBON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Europe was entering an "inevitable" post-pandemic period of airline consolidation as legacy flag-carriers struggle to navigate through a competitive landscape, the chief executive of low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) said on Wednesday. "We are definitely, post-COVID, entering a four or five-year period of consolidation," Ryanair's Michael O'Leary told Reuters on the sidelines of a news briefing in Portugal's capital Lisbon. Many of Europe's legacy airlines are finding it tough to effectively compete with budget carriers, hampered by weak balance sheets that could be made more robust by merging with rivals, analysts have said. Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG are potential buyers, according to analysts. O'Leary said he believed the sector in Europe would move towards having four large airlines: Lufthansa, Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), IAG and and Ryanair.

In recent years some euro zone countries have sought to rein in temporary contracts to promote stable jobs. It also plans to reduce the labour tax costs to employers of temporary contracts, which were raised in 2018. The reform reversed the easy hire-and-fire regime put in place after the sovereign debt crisis a decade ago by abolishing most forms of temporary contracts. Within that total, the number of temporary workers has jumped by 25% from 2.4 million to 3.0 million. Stable contracts should be the norm, not the exception," she said.

☆ The rising cost of living isn't the only reason many in Asia are putting off retirement, Randstad says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Workers surveyed in China are the least likely to retire as soon as possible — even "in an ideal world," Randstad said. Edwin Tan | E+ | Getty ImagesThe cost of living crisis is delaying the retirement plans of working professionals worldwide, said recruitment agency Randstad. Its latest Workmonitor report found that only half of surveyed workers believe they can permanently leave the workforce before they turn 65, down from 61% last year. The annual report surveyed 35,000 people across 34 markets for their sentiments on the world of work. Workers feel they "need" work in their lives because having a stable job allows them to "feel valued and respected" by their peers, he added.

☆ Germany's education advantage over European peers at risk - IW Study
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Germany is well positioned in education levels when compared with its European peers, but a study conducted by the IW economic institute showed that this privileged position could be at risk. Having a strong education and vocational training system is important to Germany's economy, Europe's largest, which relies on skilled labour to support its high-end products and services. "Germany has been left behind to a certain extent in the strong expansion of education that has taken place throughout the European Union in recent years," according to the study of the IW, to which Reuters had access on Saturday. "This should be seen against the background of the very special position of vocational education and training in Germany," the IW said. If one looks at the segment of young professionals with tertiary and secondary vocational training together, Germany has a significantly higher share of 77.0% of educated professionals than the 73.4% for the European Union.

[1/3] People with their dogs enjoy the sun in front of the sea during unseasonably warm temperatures in Malaga, southern Spain, January 4, 2023. Property purchases by foreigners increased by 62% from a year earlier in the region of Andalusia, which includes Malaga, in the first half of 2022, according to the Centre for Statistical Information of Notaries. The local government last year eliminated a wealth tax that obliges residents and non-residents to pay income tax on money held abroad. Citigroup (C.N) announced in March 2022 plans to open a hub for junior investment bankers in the city, offering what it said was "a better equilibrium between work and private life to attract young talent". Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Southern Europe"

25 mentions found