Economy
U.S. approves licenses for Huawei to buy auto chips – sources – Reuters
U.S. officials have approved license applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China’s blacklisted telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business, two people familiar with the matter said.
Key Terminal At China Mega-Port Reopens After Virus Shutdown – ZeroHedge
The Meishan Terminal in Ningbo, China, has officially reopened following a two-week shutdown due to a COVID infection, according to Bloomberg. The shutdown snarled regional ports and major shipping routes between Asia and US West Coast.
On Tuesday, shipping data provided by Bloomberg showed some of the first hints that operations at Meishan were underway though not officially reported by port officials.
The suspension of the terminal was due to a COVID-19 infection that reduced capacity at the port by a quarter, resulting in severe vessel congestion at the terminal and other surrounding ports. We noted this in a recent shipping note titled “China’s Top Port Shuttered For Seventh Day As Congestion Crisis Spreads.”
On Wednesday, Bloomberg quoted a port official saying “resumption of normal operations” is underway at the terminal. The importance of the port is that it’s China’s second-busiest in terms of container throughput.
Fast-food chains are trying to convince loyal customers to work for them by offering free food and discounts during the labor shortage – Business Insider
Some companies like fast-food chains are offering free food and discounts to convert customers into new hires during the labor shortage, a hiring executive said.
“A lot of our restaurant clients have been using their current customers as folks that they want to passively recruit to,” Kelly Ann McGrath, vice-president of client success at Outmatch, told Insider.
McGrath declined to name specific examples. But fast-casual chain Applebee’s, for example, offered free appetizers to everyone who came for interviews during its national hiring day in May as it tried to fill 10,000 roles.
Environment
Northwest corn belt is the “canary in the coal mine” for US soybean market this harvest – Brownfield
When it comes to the US soybean market, all eyes are on the outcome of fall harvest in the drought-stricken northwest corn belt.
“Any indication that the crop might come in lower than expected, the canary in the coalmine will be that part of the country; the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa.”
Chris Trant with hEDGEpoint Global Markets says even farmers with good crops in the eastern corn belt should be watching harvest in those states because those numbers will dictate the market, noting Iowa is the second largest soybean producing state.
“If yields do surprise to the downside in the weeks ahead, that will be a sign the market is currently not prices correctly. But, if yields come in about trend line, odds are that the third largest crop will occur.”
He says their analysts are hopeful for some upcoming rains in Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas, but it won’t be enough to save the day.
“Producers in that region have inquired about some of their forward sales, wondering what it would cost to get out of some of their forward sales because they are concerned about their own yields.”
Maersk is betting $1.4 billion that Amazon is serious about climate change – Quartz
Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, has placed an order for eight container ships that will run on liquid fuel produced using clean electricity, a carbon-neutral fuel, company executives said Aug. 24.
The order is the biggest yet in an industry that is a significant contributor to climate change accounting for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So far, shipping executives have few promising paths to decarbonization. Their success will depend on future orders from top customers like Amazon, Disney, and Microsoft if they decide to cut emissions from their supply chains.
Study Confirms Cost Advantage That Tesla, EVs Have Over Gas Cars – Forbes
A Department of Energy report shows that electric cars are less costly to maintain, confirming similar reports.
“Electric and electrified powertrains have lower maintenance and repair costs than internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrains for all vehicle sizes, relative to vehicle price,” the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory said (PDF) in a report.
Pure electric vehicles, or BEVs, fared the best.
The reduction in maintenance cost per mile for HEVs, PHEVs, and BEVs as compared to ICEVs were 7%, 11%, and 41%, respectively, the report said.
Health
Does the FDA think these data justify the first full approval of a covid-19 vaccine? – BMJ Opinion
On 28 July 2021, Pfizer and BioNTech posted updated results for their ongoing phase 3 covid-19 vaccine trial. The preprint came almost a year to the day after the historical trial commenced, and nearly four months since the companies announced vaccine efficacy estimates “up to six months.”
But you won’t find 10 month follow-up data here. While the preprint is new, the results it contains aren’t particularly up to date. In fact, the paper is based on the same data cut-off date (13 March 2021) as the 1 April press release, and its topline efficacy result is identical: 91.3% (95% CI 89.0 to 93.2) vaccine efficacy against symptomatic covid-19 through “up to six months of follow-up.”
The 20 page preprint matters because it represents the most detailed public account of the pivotal trial data Pfizer submitted in pursuit of the world’s first “full approval” of a coronavirus vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration. It deserves careful scrutiny.
Pentagon to require troops to get Covid vaccines ASAP – Politico
Military troops must immediately begin to get the Covid-19 vaccine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.”
More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. And now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots troops must get as part of their military service.
Intelligence community delivers report on COVID-19 origins to Biden – CBS
The U.S. intelligence community has delivered findings from its 90-day investigation into the origins of COVID-19 to President Biden, a White House official said, acknowledging receipt of the report on Wednesday.
“The President was briefed on the classified report,” the official said. “We look forward to having an unclassified summary of key judgments to share soon.”
But the highly anticipated conclusion of the inquiry may rekindle, rather than settle, debate about the virus’ origins and whether a research facility in Wuhan, China, bears any responsibility for starting the pandemic. Intelligence officials have for weeks downplayed the likelihood that agencies would arrive at a definitive conclusion, citing the Chinese government’s lack of cooperation and early obfuscation of relevant data.
The post Daily Digest 8/25 — U.S. Approves Licenses for Huawei to Buy Auto Chips; Key Terminal at China Mega-Port Reopens… appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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