newsmart – Business

koreatimes.co.kr | 1 hrs. 5 min. ago

US consumer sentiment near record low ahead of midterm elections

U.S. consumer sentiment edged down to near a record low in October as rising prices because of the Middle East conflict soured households' views of the economy on the doorstep of midterm congressional elections centering on affordability issues, a survey showed on Friday. The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 48.0 this month from a final reading of 48.1 in September.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index at 46.3, which had also been the index's preliminary reading for October. October's reading marked the second-lowest on record after the all-time low of 44.8 set in May, not long after the Iran war began. "Purchasing power continues to dominate consumer views of the economy," said Joanne Hsu, the director of the Surveys of Consumers.

"Sentiment is now 10 percent below a year ago and 15 percent less than February, just prior to the Iran conflict." The survey results dovetail with political polling data showing voters have a dim view of the economy and President Donald Trump's and the Republican Party's stewardship over

axios.com | 5 hrs. 36 min. ago

Why soaring prices aren't breaking America's diesel habit

The quickest and most affordable response to historically high diesel prices is also the simplest: Use less of it.Why it matters: Diesel is so entrenched in farming, trucking and other industries that even soaring prices aren't enough — at least not yet — to prompt a wholesale shift to alternatives from electric semi trucks to manure-powered tractors.Catch up fast: Diesel prices have climbed to record highs since the U.S. war with Iran began in March, rising faster than gasoline amid global oil supply disruptions.Diesel averaged $6.31 a gallon Thursday, up 74% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Regular gasoline averaged $4.27, up 39%.The big picture: Gasoline gets the attention, but diesel is the workhorse of the American economy. It powers grocery trucks, tractors, freight trains, construction equipment, hospital backup generators and even school buses.Driving the news: The price spike is hitting farmers during the fall harvest."Farmers buy diesel by the truckload, so we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in diesel, and when it goes up the way it has spiked, that's the difference between profit and loss in a year," said Curt Blades, senior vice president at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a trade group representing tractor makers and other heavy-equipment manufacturers.The financial pain varies: Trucking companies can often pass higher fuel costs to customers through surcharges.

Farmers, who have little control over crop prices, generally can't.The economic pressure has become political ahead of the midterm elections.President Trump announced $8 billion in one-time aid for farmers at a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, where Republicans face a competitive Senate race."It's a bit too soon to tell the impact," Blades said of the aid package, though he welcomed support during harvest.State of play: Trucking and agricultural equipment experts say the most immediate savings come from using existing diesel engines more efficiently.Truckers can slow down and reduce idling.Farmers are increasingly using GPS-guided tractors to avoid covering the same ground twice, a practice known as precision agriculture.Biodiesel and renewable diesel can reduce petroleum dependence without replacing existing engines, but government blending requirements — rather than high diesel prices alone — are driving growth, according to Clean Fuels Alliance America, an industry trade group.Zoom in: Batteries that power truck drivers' sleeping quarters without idling the engine are gaining traction.Nevada-based Dragonfly Energy sells systems that recharge through the truck's diesel-powered engine while driving, then power air conditioning and other appliances while parked.The company projected a 160% increase in third-quarter trucking revenue, a bright spot amid otherwise sluggish financial performance.Texas-based Stevens Transport says 400 of its trucks use Dragonfly's batteries, cutting diesel consumption by about 4% compared with trucks using smaller diesel engines to power their sleeping quarters.The approach illustrates a fundamental tension in energy transitions: Does technology incrementally change an industry or revolutionize it?"We haven't even mastered leaving the truck off when it's not moving, let alone moving it with electricity," said Wade Seaburg, Dragonfly's chief commercial officer.

"Let's master the little things first, and that's been a well-received message.""Think evolutionary rather than revolutionary," said Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, a nonprofit researching fuel-saving trucking technologies.Zoom out: The same logic applies across diesel-dependent industries. Expensive equipment lasts for years, and switching fuels often requires new infrastructure and vehicles."The fact diesel fuel prices are higher matters in the calculations, but it doesn't make the challenges of these alternatives any easier," Roeth said.Yes, but: More dramatic changes are still percolating, particularly in electric trucking.Forum Mobility, which builds shared charging depots and leases electric trucks, says electric trucks have a roughly 40% fueling cost advantage over diesel in California, where diesel prices have topped $8 a gallon.The company has commitments from 25 carriers for 330 Tesla Semis and is building four additional charging depots in California.Meanwhile, on the farm, equipment maker New Holland has spent more than a decade bringing methane-powered tractors to market, including ones that can run on fuel made from livestock manure, after abandoning an expensive hydrogen tractor project."The increase in diesel prices has generated a little more interest," said Sean Dorosz, a product marketing manager at New Holland.

But "I don't think it's going to be the one thing that makes them write a check to buy a methane tractor."Access to manure-derived fuel and state incentives also shape the economics.The bottom line: High diesel prices are strengthening the case for alternatives. Making them practical is a much slower process.

aljazeera.com | 9 hrs. 32 min. ago

Europe needs a war economy

With US support increasingly uncertain, Europe must mobilise its financial and industrial power to defend itself.

koreatimes.co.kr | 9 hrs. 34 min. ago

KEPCO wins UNLEASH award for 2nd straight year

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has won the UNLEASH Learning and Development Award for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Korean company to achieve the feat and reaffirming its global competitiveness in human resource development (HRD), the state-run utility said Friday. The award was presented at UNLEASH World 2026, a major human resources development conference, in Paris on Thursday (local time), according to KEPCO.

Established in 2016 by the European Association for People Management and U.K.-based HR technology group UNLEASH, the award recognizes excellence in human resource development, based on its strategic impact, organizational role and contribution to business performance. The recognition follows KEPCO's consecutive wins at the ATD Awards, organized by the U.S.-based Association for Talent Development, over the past two years, further demonstrating the company's expertise in employee training and talent management.

KEPCO said evaluators recognized its alignment of HRD with business strategy, data-driven personalized training and integration of HRD with human res

theguardian.com | 15 hrs. 18 min. ago

Ukraine war briefing: Uncertainty over Kyiv’s Starlink access after Trump claims Musk restored service

US president says Starshield military communications system is back, but declines to comment on whether he spoke to Musk on the matter. What we know on day 1,703Donald Trump has claimed that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk fully restored Ukraine’s Starlink access, restrictions on which have hampered Ukraine’s attack missions and air defence.

However, a senior European official told the Associated Press on Thursday that nothing has changed in the operation of the military-grade Starshield service. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of ⁠the system.

Trump on Thursday appeared to confirm that the service had been down, but claimed it was once again working at optimal speeds. “You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “I guess the bottom line, he put it back.”Questions over who ordered interruptions to Starshield – which plunged relations between Kyiv and Washington to a new low – have ignited a blame game within the Trump administration and its allies.

Trump has denied being involved in the decision concerning the slowdown, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were up to its parent company SpaceX and Musk, not the White House. Musk last week posted to X: “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government.

Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ⁠on Thursday – before Trump’s latest comments – that Starlink had not ⁠been fully restored.Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight, after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin to discuss the resumption of peace talks.

Russia’s aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine, killing at least four people and wounding scores of others, including five children, Zelenskyy said on social media Thursday. Two women, aged 50 and 60, were killed and dozens of other people were wounded in a Russian strike on a market in Lozova, in Ukraine’s northeeastern Kharkiv region, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration.

Another person was killed in other strikes on Kharkiv.Downing Street has rejected the description of Putin as a “humanitarian” made by Witkoff after meeting the Russian president. When asked about the US envoy’s comments, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We certainly do not recognise that characterisation, and President Putin has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own Russian people, who he has sent to their deaths on the frontline.”

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha chided Witkoff for flattering Putin, saying on social media the latest “brutal” Russian attacks demonstrate “what Russian ‘humanism’ truly sounds like.”Nato member Denmark said on Thursday it has agreed to buy its first ⁠long-range precision missiles as ⁠it seeks to bolster its security to deter Russian aggression in Europe, drawing condemnation from Moscow.

Defence minister Jeppe Bruus said the new missile systems would boost Denmark’s capabilities and enable strikes “behind enemy lines” ⁠if attacked. “We’re in a serious and deteriorating security situation and that ​is why we are ‌building up the defence ‌and strengthening our combat power,” he said.

The Russian embassy in ‌Copenhagen said Denmark’s missile policy aimed at confrontation with Moscow and warned of “inevitable disastrous consequences”.Romania will accelerate development of surveillance capabilities and equipment to counter mines ⁠and drones in the Black Sea after a series of drone attacks on commercial ships off ⁠its coast, its ⁠top defence council ​said on Thursday.

At least seven cargo ships have been hit near the coasts of Nato members ⁠Romania and Bulgaria in the past two weeks, with 30 sailors reported dead or missing.No ⁠deals should ​be made to buy gas from ⁠Russia as long as Moscow’s war ⁠in Ukraine continues, Finland’s prime ⁠minister Petteri Orpo said in Kyiv on Thursday.

The EU banned Russian pipeline gas under short-term contracts ​from 17 June, and will ​apply it to long-term contracts from 1 November next year. Senior Russian political and energy officials meanwhile have urged the EU to reconsider plans to ban imports of ⁠Russian LNG, arguing the bloc’s ⁠low storage levels ​had put Europe in a precarious position.

“I ‌hope there is still time to reconsider these decisions,” Leonid Mikhelson, the head of Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural ‌gas producer, told an economic forum in Istanbul on Thursday. “Europe should support its industry, in my view. There is still time.” Continue reading...

al-monitor.com | 22 hrs. 24 min. ago

From mountain fighters to 'regional power': the rise of Yemen's Houthis

The Houthis emerged from obscurity in Yemen's hardscrabble north to control swathes of the country and pose a perennial threat to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. From their origins in the 1990s, the Iran-backed former mountain fighters now command the status of regional players capable of inflicting pain on global shipping and oil prices.

Like the other armed members of Iran's "Axis of Resistance", the Houthis are hostile to the West, as befits their slogan: "Death to America, death to Israel."

theguardian.com | 23 hrs. 51 min. ago

We will make the net-zero transition work for Britain – approving the Jackdaw gasfield is part of the plan

Andy Burnham | Protecting jobs and strengthening energy security in the short term does not mean wavering on Labour’s deep commitment to a cleaner, greener futureOn Wednesday, the energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, gave the go-ahead for gas production to begin at the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea.

This has been the subject of fierce debate for many years, with strong views on both sides. I want to explain what the decision means and how it fits with Britain’s climate commitments.At a time of acute global instability, it makes sense to responsibly use our resources here at home.

Gas from this field will begin heating our homes and powering our businesses this winter. In the longer term, it will significantly strengthen our energy security by increasing domestic gas production by about 6% and support the UK’s energy supply for more than a decade.

Wednesday’s decision will also protect hundreds of jobs in Scotland and add almost £3bn to the UK economy over the lifetime of the project.Andy Burnham is prime minister of the United KingdomDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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theguardian.com | 1 days ago

UK must prepare for infrastructure attacks by hostile states, says Streeting

Warning by defence secretary comes as he opens a tank gun barrel factory in the West MidlandsBusiness live – latest updatesThe defence secretary, Wes Streeting, has said Britain should prepare for the threat of “state-sponsored terrorism” by hostile powers targeting everyday infrastructure as part of a national conversation about resilience in the face of emergencies.He said on Thursday the public should consider how to respond to so-called hybrid warfare risks, such as cyber-attacks that could knock out payment systems used by businesses or cause supply chains to collapse.

He also said the public should consider natural risks, such as flooding or wildfires. Continue reading...