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Bloomberg From India to Indonesia, Elon Musk is scouting out sites to make more Teslas for global roads. With the world mired in supply chain chaos, access to materials matters most. He’s got it right.After lobbying against India’s tight policies around manufacturing and prohibitive import duties, Musk is headed to meet Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and visit several areas across the country, which is also the top producer of nickel, a key metal for batteries. That’s an astute bet — for Tesla and Indonesia. And a missed opportunity for New Delhi. To meet ambitious electric vehicle targets, Indonesia has drawn in several battery and car manufacturers in recent months with a variety of incentives. Government ministers say they hope to have investment across the supply chain. With a friendly policy bolstering the country’s EV goals, manufacturers have started committing billions of dollars. LG Energy Solution, along with other companies, is investing about $9 billion to set … [Read more...] about Tesla Is Hedging Its Global EV Supply Chain Bets on Indonesia and India

In my line of business, which involves the sale of drug testing kits, I run into many a sad story about how addiction has ruined lives and caused an immense amount of grief among people who get hooked on any number of substances, especially opioids . And while you may think I am talking about people who were born into poverty and were down on their luck and looking for an escape (and I've heard those stories, too), I'm not. I'm talking about people who have lived privileged lives, earned college degrees, started successful practices and followed their entrepreneurial dream. David J. Linden, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says there is some evidence that the traits that make a good entrepreneur also make one susceptible to addiction. It can also be a rather lonely road entrepreneurs walk as they get their businesses off the ground and that, coupled with a constant fear of failure hanging over their heads, may also lead to … [Read more...] about Some Traits That Make You a Good Entrepreneur Also Make You Susceptible to Addiction. These Strategies Can Help

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin China this week reported a 47% plunge in auto sales in April from a year earlier as Covid-19 lockdowns wreaked havoc in the world’s largest auto market and a major global manufacturing hub for auto parts and electric vehicles. Amid business uncertainties in the wake of the country’s Covid policies, “one thing remains certain,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said yesterday. “China will stick to its dynamic zero-COVID policy.” So what’s ahead for the global auto industry? I spoke on Tuesday with Bill Russo, the founder and CEO of Automobility, a Shanghai-headquartered strategy and investment advisory firm. The 18-year China business veteran and former head of North East Asia at Chrysler had been on the ground in Shanghai through this year’s lockdowns until last week, when he returned home to the United States. Industry supply chains will remain constrained for the foreseeable future, fueling inflationary pressure, … [Read more...] about ‘Gigantic’ Impact From China Lockdowns To Hit Auto Industry Globally: Automobility’s Bill Russo

Big shocks to the global economy, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, understandably capture the most attention. But a new worldwide pattern of "little fires everywhere" may be equally consequential for longer-term economic well-being. Over time, these small fires can coalesce into one that is just as threatening as the initial large fire that acted as the catalyst. In addition to causing widespread death and destruction, and displacing millions of people, the Ukraine war continues to stoke strong stagflationary winds throughout the global economy. The resulting damage -- whether in the form of higher food and energy prices or new supply-chain disruptions -- cannot be easily or rapidly countered by domestic policy adjustments. For most countries, the war's immediate economic consequences include higher inflation (which erodes purchasing power), lower growth, increased inequality and greater financial instability. The multilateral system, meanwhile, now faces greater obstacles to … [Read more...] about Beware a global economy with many little fires

Representative image Before acknowledging its first domestic COVID-19 cases, North Korea spent 2 1/2 years rejecting outside offers of vaccines and steadfastly claiming that its superior socialist system was protecting its 26 million people from a malicious virus that had killed millions around the world. Its surprise admission this week has left many outsiders wondering just how bad things really are, and there's rising worry that it could cause a major humanitarian crisis in a country with one of the world's worst public medical infrastructures. Because the North has been shut up tight since early 2020, with no reporters, aid workers or diplomats regularly going in, reading the situation is something of a guessing game, and the North has been vague with its state media descriptions of widespread fevers. But there are some worrying facts: no reported vaccines, very limited testing capability, a terrible medical system and widespread poverty. Without immediate outside aid … [Read more...] about EXPLAINED: What’s behind North Korea’s COVID-19 admission?

A researcher examines solutions being tested for use in drugs to treat thrombosis at a Bayer Pharmaceuticals research centre in Wuppertal, Germany. Photo: Peter Ginter Health crises and emergencies such as Covid-19 have brought into sharp focus the critical need for preparedness. The unprecedented pandemic has led to a dynamically changing environment across the healthcare industry, posing challenges that call for innovative solutions. Prior to the pandemic, major progress was being made in improving the health of millions of people. The world has made remarkable strides in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal deaths, according to the United Nations. At the same time, more efforts were being put into fully eradicating a wide range of diseases while addressing many persistent as well as emerging health issues. Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is now considered essential to sustainable … [Read more...] about Post-pandemic healthcare

Last month, researchers found microplastics -- small, microscopic pieces of plastic fragments -- within human lungs for the first time. This comes on the heels of news that microplastics were found in human blood, which may travel around the body and enter organs. Microplastics find their way into our bodies through, among other methods, breathing them in as well as through contact with plastic bottles, packaging, clothing and other manufacturing processes. An example is the release and leaching of plastic flakes from containers into food and drinks, leading to our direct consumption. The food and beverage (F&B) industry plays an integral role in our journey to reduce plastic waste and prevent its negative impact on human health, given that 60% of total plastic leakage into the ocean in Thailand originates from the packaging sector. The extent of the challenge has been severely exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to an expansion of food delivery services and … [Read more...] about We need new weapons against packaging waste

India's federal agriculture and commerce ministries didn't respond to questions sent to them via email. Beyond India, other countries are also grappling with poor harvests that hinder their ability to help offset the potential shortfall of supplies from Russia and Ukraine, normally the world's largest and fifth-largest exporters of wheat. China's agriculture minister, Tang Renjian, said last month that the winter wheat harvest was likely to be poor, hindered by flooding and by delays in planting. (Image: AP) India has banned private wheat exports to redirect Indian wheat shipments to nations which need it more, officials have argued. This comes in the backdrop of wheat production estimated for 2022-23 now falling to 105 million tonnes, from the earlier 113.5 million tonnes estimated, according to latest government estimates released on Saturday. "There is no dramatic fall in production, and also no need to imagine a shortage," Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam told the press on … [Read more...] about Private wheat exports only banned to redirect shipments to nations which need it more: Officials

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Is Elon Musk a climate hero that the climate movement and its allies should embrace, or does his libertarian (or conservative) politics turn him into an object of scorn? Musk poses a deeper question that the movement must confront: should climate politics get subsumed under the broader liberal-versus-conservative conflict, or should it be guided by bipartisanship? There is no easy answer because there is a political logic to both partisanship and bipartisanship. Many climate activists are frustrated (and rightly so) with the slow pace of progress on climate issues and blame it on Republicans or conservative Democrats. They believe that the “other” side does not act in good faith and cannot be trusted in making political compromises. Furthermore, the movement’s internal dynamic favors partisanship. Social media, which shapes the political discourse of young climate activists, views bipartisanship as selling out. Indeed, … [Read more...] about Climate Policy And Partisan Wars: Elon Musk And Twitter

Representative image China’s GDP growth forecast for 2022 has been cut by Fitch Ratings from 4.8% to 4.3% in the backdrop of rising coronavirus cases in the country, which led to the adoption of policies that restricted mobility in the important commercial hub of Shanghai aside from broader restrictions across the nation. The ratings agency has; however, revised its 2023 growth forecast for China from 5.1 percent to 5.2 percent based on the assumption that Beijing would gradually phase out its ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy over the next year. They explained that their forecast is subject to downside risk if containment measures fail to bring new outbreaks under control quickly or if the easing of current restrictions is delayed, and based on the assumption that Beijing would adhere to the ‘dynamic zero’ strictly until 2023. "Spillover to economic activity from Covid-19 pandemic-related disruption became apparent in March, with retail sales falling by 3.5%, the first YoY … [Read more...] about Fitch Ratings cuts China’s 2022 growth forecast amid uptick in COVID-19 cases