Tesla held talks with Glencore about taking a stake in the Swiss commodities group, showing how global carmakers are seeking to build ties with the mining industry to secure materials needed for the rollout of electric vehicles. They continued in March this year when Glencore chief executive Gary Nagle visited Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, as part of a roadshow for the mining company’s annual results. Tesla had concerns over whether Glen-core’s extensive coal mining business was compatible with the carmaker’s environmental goals and was reluctant to take a minority equity stake. However, two years ago, Tesla secured a cobalt offtake agreement with the Swiss group to supply its factories in Shanghai and Berlin. Musk has previously outlined Tesla’s intention to take greater control of all manufacturing steps of its batteries, including processing the raw materials and even buying lithium deposits still in the ground if the supply chain fails to deliver. In April, the billiona

Europe’s largest industrial union demands an 8 per cent wage increase for 3.9mn employees in the automotive, metal and electrical industries to compensate for surging inflation. Employers have offered a one-off payment of €3,000 spread over 30 months, arguing they are being squeezed by rising energy costs and face a potential recession. On Saturday night, employees of more than a dozen companies, including ThyssenKrupp, the steelmaker, and Bosch and ZF, the automotive suppliers, began a rolling programme of what the union called quick warning strikes. The association said the impact on production was limited, but the stoppages demonstrate workers’ determination.«The employers’ refusal to enter proper wage negotiations triggered this escalation,» it added. Jörg Hofmann, IG Metall leader, has warned the union would step up strike action if employers failed to make a better offer by November 9, when talks are set to resume. www.sba.tax

Workers fled China's world's largest iPhone factory this weekend as a coronavirus outbreak spread and authorities imposed quarantine restrictions. The Foxconn plant in the city of Zhengzhou is the latest manufacturing centre to be hobbled by President Xi Jinping's strict zero-Covid policies. Workers said the plant area had been locked down for days, with public transport closed and many roads blocked. «It was chaos in the dormitories,» said a 22-year-old worker surnamed Xia. « My elder sister is locked in her dorm room,» said Cao Zhiqiang, an assembly line worker. «My home is too far to run to, so I'm stuck here». According to a think-tank linked to China's commerce ministry, tens of thousands of workers usually live at the plant, which shipped $32bn worth of electronics abroad in 2019. It has long drawn young workers from villages throughout the Henan region, with local officials helping to recruit them. Yesterday authorities scrambled to organise buses to take wor

NatWest profits missed estimates in the third quarter as the bank took bigger than expected provisions against bad debts and warned of higher costs and a darkening economic outlook, sending shares down more than 9 per cent. The lender announced pretax operating profits of £1.1bn in the third quarter, up almost 20 per cent year on year but missing consensus analyst estimates of £1.2bn. However, in the longer term, said Ian Gordon at Investec, the uplift from higher inflation rates would support the bank’s guidance for 2023 of a return on tangible equity, a key measure of profitability, of 14 to 16 per cent. Total income of £3.2bn, a 16 per cent increase from the same period in 2021 and line with analysts’ forecasts, was driven by rising interest rates, which have boosted lenders across Europe. The bank’s net interest margin, the difference between the interest it charges on loans and what it pays to consumers for deposits, rose from 1.54 per cent in 2021 to 2.99 per cent, slightly above

  The largest US oil company’s results were echoed at rival Chevron, whose bumper third-quarter profit of $11.2bn was just shy of record earnings reported in its previous quarter, continuing a run of solid industry earnings on elevated oil and gas prices. The results will cheer investors but keep the sector in the crosshairs of US politicians, including President Joe Biden. They have blamed oil companies for energy costs that have fanned decades-high inflation. Darren Woods, Exxon’s chief executive, pushed back against Democratic lawmakers’ calls to impose a windfall tax on profits. «There has been discussion in the US about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people. That’s precisely what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend,» he said on a call with analysts. Woods said policymakers should instead focus on raising supply and cutting demand to help bring prices down. Earnings in its oil and gas production business were $12.4bn in the third q

 The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai called for a relaxation of China’s strict zero-Covid policy as it found that around a fifth of the 307 companies it surveyed were pulling back on investment, mainly as a result of coronavirus measures. The call came as Chen Jining was appointed chief of Shanghai, following the promotion of its former leader, Li Qiang, to China’s highest political echelon. China should «pivot to a more sensible approach to managing Covid-19 based on a reasonable balance between public health and the economy», said Eric Zheng, president of the Shanghai chamber, adding that the policy had «upended business performance expectations». Just 47 per cent thought revenue growth in China would exceed their companies’ growth worldwide. According to data released on Monday, China’s economy grew 3.9 per cent in the third quarter, a week later than expected. The rise is well below Beijing’s already multi-decade-low growth target of 5.5 per cent, and the World Bank antici

 The Bank of Japan kept ultra-low interest rates on Friday. It maintained its dovish guidance, cementing its status as an outlier among global central banks tightening monetary policy as recession fears dampen prospects for a solid recovery. The central bank also announced plans to increase the frequency of its bond-buying next month, doubling down on efforts to defend its ultra-loose monetary policy. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Japan was progressing toward achieving its 2% inflation target, as rising prices heighten the chance more firms will increase wages next year. But he said the central bank was near raising interest rates, with inflation likely falling short of its 2% target for years to come. «We expect wages to rise reflecting recent inflation gradually,» Kuroda told a news conference. «For now, we don't expect inflation to stably and sustainably achieve 2% inflation next fiscal year». The yen fell against the dollar after the BOJ's decision and extended its loss

European Central Bank policymakers stood firmly behind plans to keep raising interest rates even if that pushes the bloc into recession and stirs political resentment as fresh data pointed to higher than feared inflation .  The ECB doubled its deposit rate to 1 . 5% on Thursday and promised more tightening in the months to come in a bid to prevent sky high price growth from getting entrenched ,  rebuffing a round of government criticism that it was exacerbating the downturn .  "It will go even higher in December and the first months of next year , " ECB policymaker Peter Kazimir said on Friday .  "We will cross the neutral rate -- regardless of where anyone currently sees it -- like a runaway train , " Kazimir ,  Slovakia's central bank chief ,  said in unusually hawkish comments . The flurry of ECB comments came just as fresh data pointed to inflation being even higher than feared .  The bank's own Survey of Professional Forecasters ,  a key input in policy

London faces a wave of job losses after the new boss of Credit Suisse plans to cut 9,000 roles across the bank as part of a drastic restructuring of the troubled group. Ulrich Körner said that «nobody takes it lightly» yesterday as the bank revealed it would lower its headcount of full-time employees worldwide from 52,000 to about 43,000 by the end of 2025 to help reduce its cost base by around CHF2.5 billion, or 15 per cent. The cuts are one element of a complex strategy to try to restore the lossmaking group to profitability and put an end to years of scandals. It includes raising about CHF4 billion from investors, including Saudi National Bank, which has committed to putting in up to CHF1.5 billion, and a plan to shrink its struggling investment banking business, part of which will eventually be spun off under the resurrected First Boston brand. However, shares in the group tumbled by nearly 19 per cent in Zurich as investors baulked at the prospect of extensive fundraising and the

  Amazon warned that its operating profits could be all but wiped out in the fourth quarter as it grapples with the highest inflation in a generation and intense competition .  Shares in the group dropped 14 . 4 per cent ,  or $15 . 97 ,  to $94 . 99 during out-of-hours trading .  Amazon’s profits fell 9 per cent to $2 . 87 billion in the third quarter ,  as net sales increased 15 per cent to $127 . 1 billion ,  short of expectations .  The company braced investors for sales of $140 billion to $148 billion in the fourth quarter . Analysts were expecting $155 . 15 billion .  Operating profits could be anywhere between nothing and $4 billion during the period ,  it said ,  heightening apprehension over trading during the pre-Christmas period .  Amazon experienced «moderating sales growth» across many of its businesses in the third quarter ,  Brian Olsavsky ,  chief financial officer ,  told shareholders on a conference call last night ,  cautioning that this is expected to persist into t

  Elon Musk became Twitter’s owner late Thursday as his $44 billion deal to take over the company officially closed, marking a new era for one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. As one of his first moves, he fired several longtime top Twitter executives, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive issues. One of the people said that Sean Edgett, the company’s general counsel, was also pushed out. The top executives were hastily escorted out of the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Musk’s late Thursday moves to signal his intentions to put his stamp on Twitter firmly. Musk has publicly criticized the company’s outgoing management over product decisions and content moderation, as well as saying he would restore former president Donald Trump’s account. Still, «Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!» Musk tweeted Thursday in a post offering assuranc

The European Union proposes stricter legal limits on toxic air pollution, according to the bloc’s top environmental official. The proposition also includes rules that would make pharmaceutical companies pay to clean up wastewater polluted by their products. Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters on Wednesday that three laws are being proposed to target damaging air and water pollution. This includes a requirement for EU countries to meet new legally binding air pollution limits by 2030. It is intended to prevent taxpayers from having to pay these costs in full, Sinkevicius said. Once they are formally suggested, EU member states will need to negotiate and approve the new air quality regulations. According to a Eurobarometer survey published this week, most Europeans think health conditions like asthma and cardiovascular disease are severe problems in their country because of air pollution. Nearly half of the people who responded think air quality has worsened over

The global economy is approaching a recession as economists polled by Reuters once again cut growth forecasts for critical economies. At the same time, central banks keep raising interest rates to bring down persistently-high inflation. One bright spot is that most significant economies already in a recession or heading into one are starting with relatively low unemployment compared with previous downturns. Moreover, after being late to call the inflation problem, global central banks have spent most of this year frontloading rate hikes to catch up. As a result, most economists and significant banks believe there will be little work left to do next year. Michael Every, a global strategist at Rabobank, said «risk of a global recession is what everyone's talking about and has become mainstream in forecasts. «I think that's pretty much a no-brainer when you look at the trend in all the key economies». Looking at the low jobless rate is problematic. Each said it is a lagging indica

  Wealthy Chinese are initiating exit plans from their homeland as pessimism builds over the world’s second-largest economy under Xi Jinping and the ruling Chinese Communist party .  David Lesperance ,  a Europe-based lawyer who has worked with rich families in Hong Kong and China ,  says Xi ruling beyond two terms is a tipping point for China’s business elite ,  who thrived for decades as the economy boomed .  « I have already received three ‘proceed’ instructions from various ultra-high net worth Chinese business families to execute their fire escape plans , » said Lesperance .  He added that Hong Kong ,  long a favoured destination for Chinese elite families ,  had become less attractive as Beijing increased control over the territory . The number of family offices in Singapore jumped fivefold between 2017 and 2019 ,  and almost doubled from 400 at the end of 2020 to 700 a year later ,  according to Citi Private Bank .  Ryan Lin ,  director of Singapore-based Bayfront Law ,  said he

  Adidas has cut its ties with Kanye West, condemning his anti-Semitic remarks in a move likely to halve the sportswear maker’s profits this year. The decision to drop the rapper and fashion designer, now known as Ye, comes after an interview in which he claimed he could «say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me». Those remarks followed West’s wearing a «White Lives Matter» shirt at the Paris Fashion Week. The line had become a significant source of profit for Adidas. The impact of the decision to cut ties with West pointed to «remarkable profitability for the Yeezy franchise», said James Grzinic, a Jefferies analyst. The relationship between Adidas and West was already strained. Adidas had put its tie-up with West under review after «repeated efforts to resolve the situation privately, the company said. In addition, Kering’s Balenciaga brand ditched West this month. www.sba.tax

  China is planning the world’s largest wind farm, a massive facility that could power the whole of Norway. Chaozhou - a city in China’s Guangdong province - has ambitious plans for a 43.3-gigawatt facility in the Taiwan Strait. The title is currently held by the Jiuquan Wind Power base in China, a massive site with a 20-gigawatt capacity. The facility will have 43.3 gigawatts of power-generating capability. A gigawatt is one billion watts, and it takes around 3 million solar panels to generate one-gigawatt power. One gigawatt could power 100 million LEDs or 300,000 average European homes. So China’s new facility could power 4.3 billion LED lights or 13 million homes. Norway gets over 99 per cent of its energy from hydropower plants with a 31 GW power generating capability - less than the new Chinese facility. «Based on China’s energy and resource endowments, we will advance initiatives to reach peak carbon emissions in a well-planned and phased way, in line with the principle of getti

The Executive Director, Fatih Birol, of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Tuesday that tightening markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide and significant oil producers cutting supply have put the world in the middle of "the first truly global energy crisis".  At the same time, the recent decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, to cut 2 million barrels per day of output is a «risky» decision as the IEA sees global oil demand growth of close to 2 million BPD this year, Birol said. Moreover, soaring global prices across several energy sources, including oil, natural gas and coal, are hammering consumers while they are already dealing with rising food and services inflation. Nevertheless, Birol said that if the weather remains mild, Europe might make it through this winter, though somewhat battered. In addition, G7 nations have proposed a mechanism allowing emerging countries to buy Russian oil but a

  Credit Suisse agreed to a 238mn Euro penalty. The deal resolves one of the Swiss lender’s outstanding headaches before a restructuring this week. The latest case is determined from a series of European investigations into undeclared Swiss bank accounts. In France alone, prosecutors have settled similar claims with HSBC and are pursuing penalties in court against UBS. The bank is set to unveil an overhaul under chief executive Ulrich Körner on Thursday and had been keen to clear the French probe beforehand, according to people familiar with the matter. Part of the probe focused on how the bank captured 4,999 French clients, with assets under management amounting to a cumulative €2bn, according to the judge who oversaw the deal. In 2017, HSBC reached the first settlement using the new legal format in France, which allows parties to avoid a guilty plea in exchange for immediate penalties, similar to some US legal arrangements. HSBC agreed to pay €300mn to resolve claims it had lured Fre

  S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, a key gauge of business conditions for the manufacturing and services sector, fell 1 point to 47.1, figures showed yesterday. That is its lowest level since November 2020 and the fourth consecutive month below the crucial 50 mark separating growth from contraction. One of the few bright spots in the survey was that companies in all sectors reported a slight easing of cost pressures, price growth and supply chain constraints. However, prices charged for goods and services still rose at the sixth fastest rate since such data started in 2002. Jobs growth increased marginally from October but remained low compared with the past 18 months. Following a few months of falling price pressure in manufacturing and services, the October print shows an overall stabilisation said Jens Eisenschmidt, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. However, German businesses, at the hub of Europe’s energy crisis, reported that manufact

 Chinese technology stocks sold off sharply yesterday in response to Xi Jinping’s securing a third term as the country’s leader and data showing the economy missing growth targets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech index dropped 9.7 per cent after the Chinese gross domestic product fell short of the target set by Beijing for the third quarter. Growth in the three months was 3.9 per cent yearly, below the annual goal of 5.5 per cent. Nasdaq’s Golden Dragon index, which tracks US-listed shares in Chinese companies, dropped 15 per cent as Alibaba, JD.The gauge is down about 50 per cent since the end of 2021. Alibaba fell 14 per cent on the Wall Street morning, pushing it below its $68-a-share initial public offering price in New York eight years ago, in the world’s most immense listing. Since its debut, Alibaba has raised revenues more than 14-fold and doubled adjusted profits. The subsequent 80 per cent decline in Alibaba’s share price equates to a loss of about $670bn in equity market value.

  The UK economy edged closer to recession this month as political uncertainty ,  market turmoil and rising interest rates slowed economic activity ,  a closed watched survey showed .  The flash composite purchasing managers’ index fell by more than expected to a 21-month low of 47 . 2 ,  firmly below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction .  City economists had expected a reading of 48 . 1 ,  down from 49 . 1 last month .  Concerns over rising energy and food bills wore away appetite for visits to pubs and restaurants ,  weakening demand in the services sector ,  which accounts for the vast majority of UK output ,  experts said . The sub-index measuring the services sector ,  which makes up 80 per cent of the economy ,  fell from 50 in September to 47 . 5 this month ,  moving into contraction territory for the first time since February 2021 ,  according to the survey of 650 manufacturers and 650 service providers between October 12 and 20 . www.sba.tax

UK gilt yields fell, and the pound strengthened this morning after Boris Johnson announced that he would not enter the contest to become the next prime minister. This, as well as fears that the contest could delay the October 31 fiscal statement, led to a sell-off in gilts on Friday. Consequently, this morning buyers returned to the market expecting that the former chancellor Rishi Sunak would become prime minister, lifting yields across short, medium and long-date gilts. These long-dated gilts were at the centre of the turmoil following the mini-budget that prompted the Bank of England to intervene to steady the market. As a result, the pound, which fell as low as $1.03 against the dollar in the days after the mini-budget, strengthened this morning to $1.1330, up 0.26 per cent. The index slid 24 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 6945.72. The more UK-focused FTSE 250 rose 62 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 17,268.70. www.sba.tax

  China unexpectedly released delayed economic data on Monday, a day after the conclusion of a key Communist Party congress, showing weak growth and prompting markets to plunge. Last week, China’s National Bureau of Statistics postponed the release of GDP and other economic indicators without explanation the day before their October reporting. However, on Monday, the bureau reported that gross domestic product grew 3.9 per cent between July and September this year, slightly higher than analyst expectations but still below the government’s annual goal of «around 5.5 per cent». Following the data release, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 6 per cent to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, while the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite Index both fell by about 2 per cent. China’s economy has been battered by a slump in property values, rising unemployment, slower consumption and continued covid controls enforced through lockdowns and demanding resident testing requi

Your fast food burger could soon come wrapped in seaweed.Burgers, fries, and nuggets can be a delicious treat. But the environmental impact of their packaging might leave a bad taste in your mouth.These products often come wrapped in oil-proof plastic.Not only does this packaging contribute to  plastic pollution , but it is often coated with environmentally damaging chemicals like polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to stop your treat from sticking.These industrially-produced chemicals can accumulate in the environment and in human bodies.In the UK alone, consumers generate 11 billion items of  packaging  waste a year.Luckily a new breakthrough has brought scientists one step closer to a sustainable alternative -s eaweed .How would seaweed fast food packaging work?Researchers from  Flinders University  in Australia have partnered with a German biomaterials developer to create a seaweed based biopolymer.It is as recyclable as paper, explains Dr Zhongfan Jia, a lead researcher from the Fl