UK new car sales slump to lowest October level since 1991

British new car registrations fell to their lowest October level since 1991 after a 25% year-on-year drop as a lack of semi-conductor chips continued to hit the sector, according to industry figures released on Thursday. Full-year sales are expected to stand at 1.66 million vehicles, only 1.9% higher than 2020, when COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions […]

Aluminium prices slide, Russia expected to remove export tax

Expectations that Russia will remove taxes on aluminium exports and boost global supplies have triggered an inventory sell-off that has slashed prices of the metal on the physical market in Europe and the United States. As the drawdown in aluminium stocks, estimated at around 1 million tonnes in Europe and up to half a million […]

Retailers dream of a glitzy Christmas, even as supply chain snarls loom

When Whitney Bromberg Hawkings launched her London-based floral business Flowerbx in Los Angeles last November, she noticed a number of clients, on their own for the holidays, treated themselves to bouquets. “There were cards that said ‘Dear me, you can get through this week’— a lot of them,” said Bromberg Hawkings. This year, it’s a […]

S.Korea’s SK On to invest $2.5 bln to build new EV battery factory in China

The battery unit of South Korea’s SK Innovation Co Ltd (096770.KS) plans to invest $2.53 billion to build a new electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in China, China’s local government backed Yancheng News reported on Thursday. SK Innovation’s wholly-owned battery subsidiary SK On, which supplies electric car batteries to Ford Motor Co (F.N), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) […]

Japan asks U.S. to abolish extra steel and aluminium tariffs

Japan’s trade minister Koichi Hagiuda has asked the United States to abolish extra tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Japan in a meeting with Washington’s trade representative, the ministry said on Thursday. In the online meeting with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai, Hagiuda asked for a resolution to the tariffs issue on […]

Novartis cuts uneasy 20-year ties to Roche with $20.7 bln voting stake sale

Novartis AG (NOVN.S) said on Thursday it would sell its nearly one-third voting stake in Roche (ROG.S) back to its cross-town rival for $20.7 billion, disentangling the two pharma companies that had been linked by the investment for two decades. The deal extricates Roche from ownership ties to a major competitor with strategic vetoing power, […]