Author: Steven Sahiounie

European gas prices may surge this year as competition for the fuel intensifies, a report warns China’s economic recovery would trigger a fierce competition on global energy markets and could see prices for natural gas return to “unsustainable” levels in the EU, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in a report released on Tuesday. Last year, gas consumption in China decreased due to lower industrial activity and sluggish economic growth amid Covid-related restrictions and surging energy prices, the IEA research said. At the same time, mild winter weather in Europe along with energy-saving measures taken by the EU authorities, an unprecedented inflow…

The German company has been accused of failing to meet its contractual obligations The Arbitration Court of Moscow ruled on Tuesday that Siemens Mobility’s refusal to honor a contract signed with Russian Railways is illegal, and ordered the German firm to deliver high-speed trains. Under the deal signed by the two companies in June 2019, a branch of the German multinational conglomerate focused on rail technology and intelligent traffic systems was to deliver 13 high-speed Sapsan trains from September 2022 to July 2023. The total value of the supply contract amounted to €513.5 million ($546.2 million), according to Russian Railways.…

Biden administration’s announcement comes after reports of underage refugees and migrants working in dangerous industries. The United States government has announced plans to clamp down on child labour in the country following a surge in violations and news reports detailing the illegal employment of underage refugees and migrants in dangerous industries. US officials said on Monday that the Department of Labor had seen a nearly 70 percent increase in child labour violations since 2018, with 835 companies found to have violated child labour laws in the last fiscal year alone. Officials told reporters during a conference call that US President…

North Korean leader calls on officials to meet production targets after South Korea warns of “grave” food situation. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a “radical change” in agricultural production amid concerns over reported food shortages in the isolated country. Kim emphasised the importance of meeting grain production targets and transforming production to lay the “foundation for the stable and sustained development of agriculture” during the second day of a key party meeting, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. “He expressed the fixed determination and will of the Party Central Committee to bring about…

Ron DeSantis removes special status from Florida’s largest private employer that had allowed it a wide berth to manage its own affairs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that takes control of a special tax district surrounding Walt Disney World that for half a century allowed Walt Disney Co to operate with a high degree of autonomy. “The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said on Monday during a press event at Lake Buena Vista near Orlando, Florida in the US. State Republicans last year targeted Disney after it publicly clashed with DeSantis, who is widely considered…

TD Bank denies any wrongdoing. The scheme involving disgraced Texas financier Allen Stanford collapsed in 2009 during a federal investigation. TD Bank Group announced Monday that it had agreed to a $1.21 billion settlement relating to its alleged role in a $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving disgraced Texas financier Allen Stanford. Under the terms of the agreement, TD’s settlement will release it from all legal claims involving the scheme, which saw Stanford skim customers’ investments in supposedly high-yielding certificates of deposit held in an offshore account in Antigua to fund a lavish lifestyle. Stanford’s scheme collapsed in 2009 during a federal investigation; in…

The ban Biden signed into law last year provides limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. WASHINGTON — The White House is giving all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices, as the Chinese-owned social media app comes under increasing scrutiny in Washington over security concerns. The Office of Management and Budget calls the guidance, issued Monday, a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, already have restrictions in place; the guidance calls on the rest…

Battery recycling company Li-Cycle said Monday it’s secured a conditional $375 million loan from the Department of Energy to develop a recycling facility for key battery materials near Rochester, New York. For lithium-ion batteries specifically, much of the focus has been on mining. While the U.S. has an abundance of lithium, getting it out of the ground is expensive, and projects frequently face local opposition. The price of lithium has eased back from record levels hit earlier this year, but in the last three years prices are still up more than 800%. The rapid appreciation comes as some believe there simply won’t…

The BMW Group on Monday launched a pilot fleet of hydrogen vehicles, with the German automotive giant’s CEO referring to hydrogen as “the missing piece in the jigsaw when it comes to emission-free mobility.” The BMW iX5 Hydrogen, which uses fuel cells sourced from Toyota and has a top speed of more than 112 miles per hour, is being put together at a facility in Munich. The car stores hydrogen in two tanks and can be filled up in three to four minutes. BMW says it has a range of 313 miles in the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, or WLTP cycle. It…

Target on Tuesday topped Wall Street’s earnings expectations for the first time in a year, as its holiday-quarter sales rose roughly 1% from the same period a year prior. Still, the big-box retailer gave a conservative full-year outlook, saying customers are tossing fewer discretionary items into their shopping carts. The company said it expects that comparable sales, a key metric that tracks sales at stores open at least 13 months and online, will range from a low single-digit decline to a low single-digit increase for fiscal 2023. Target said it expects full-year earnings per share of between $7.75 to $8.75. That was below…