Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 December 2021
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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 December 2021
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ü Spider-Man: No Way Home becomes first pandemic-era film to top $1bn
ü Elon Musk criticised after China space complaint to UN
ü Shoppers shun Christmas sales as footfall drops amid Covid fears
ü Covid flight cancellations delay holiday travel
ü Energy prices: Government must show more urgency, says Ovo boss
ü Trump Scottish golf resorts claimed over £3m in furlough
ü Tesla disables gaming while driving feature
ü Selfridges sold for £4bn to Thai-Austrian alliance
ü TikTok ousts Google to become favourite online destination
ü Brexit: One year on, the economic impact is starting to show
ü Cities start to attract property buyers again
ü Apple closes New York City stores to shoppers as COVID-19 cases rise
ü Clariant to buy BASF clay biz assets in $60 mln sustainable bid
ü U.S. regulators step up probe into Hyundai, Kia engine fires
ü Goldman Sachs will require U.S. employees to get booster shots
ü Chinese developer Shimao plans to use own funds to pay onshore bonds
ü Starboard acquires stake worth $800 mln in GoDaddy
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Spider-Man: No Way Home becomes first pandemic-era film to top $1bn
The latest instalment of the Spider-Man franchise has become the first pandemic-era movie to make more than $1bn (£750m) at the global box office.
Spider-Man: No Way Home also took the title of highest-grossing film of 2021.
It beat out Chinese-made Korean War epic The Battle of Lake Changjin, which has grossed more than $905m worldwide.
The last movie to gross more than $1bn was 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, according to media data analytics firm Comscore.
No other Hollywood production has come near to reaching that box office milestone since the pandemic began two years ago.
Over the weekend, global box office takings for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film reached $1.05bn.
The co-production between Sony and Disney hit its milestone less than two weeks after its premiere even as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread rapidly around the world, raising fresh concerns about indoor events.
The film has not been released in China, which is currently the world's biggest cinema market.
Spider-Man: No Way Home sees Tom Holland return as the third iteration of Peter Parker alongside Zendaya's MJ and Benedict Cumberbatch as the sorcerer Doctor Strange.
The franchise's 2019 offering Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first Spider-Man film to break the $1bn mark at the box office and is currently the highest-grossing movie in the franchise with $1.132bn in global ticket sales, according to Comscore.
The latest film follows on from Far From Home, in which the villainous Mysterio unmasked Parker before dying.
The series is a collaboration between the Disney's Marvel Studios and Sony.
In 2015, Disney, Marvel Studios, and Sony agreed to share the film rights for Spider-Man, which led to a new iteration of the character being introduced and integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Before No Way Home, MGM's latest James Bond movie No Time to Die, which made $774m at the box office globally, was the highest-grossing Hollywood film of both 2021 and the pandemic.-BBC
Elon Musk criticised after China space complaint to UN
Elon Musk is facing a social media backlash after China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with satellites launched by his Starlink Internet Services project.
The country's space station had two "close encounters" with Starlink satellites, Beijing claimed.
China's complaints, lodged with the UN's space agency, have not yet been independently verified.
Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by Mr Musk's SpaceX.
Mr Musk is well known in China even as his electric carmaker Tesla comes under growing scrutiny from regulators.
The incidents occurred on 1 July and 21 October, according to a document submitted by China this month to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
"For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control," Beijing said in the document published on the agency's website.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.
After the complaint was made public, Mr Musk, Starlink and the US were heavily criticised on China's Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform.
One user described Starlink's satellites as "just a pile of space junk".
The satellites are "American space warfare weapons" and "Musk is a new 'weapon' created by the US government and military", others said.
Another posted: "The risks of Starlink are being gradually exposed, the whole human race will pay for their business activities."
Scientists have voiced concerns about the risks of collisions in space and called on world governments to share information about the estimated 30,000 satellites and other space debris that are orbiting earth.
SpaceX has already launched almost 1,900 satellites as part of the Starlink network, and plans to deploy thousands more.
Last month, the US space agency NASA abruptly postponed a spacewalk from the International Space Station over concerns about space debris.-BBC
Shoppers shun Christmas sales as footfall drops amid Covid fears
The number of people taking advantage of post-Christmas sales on Monday fell by 32% compared with 2019, new data shows, amid persistent Covid concerns.
Retail analyst Springboard said footfall figures were better than Boxing Day.
But popular shopping destinations such as central London saw a drop caused in part by disruption to rail services.
Shoppers chose to visit retail parks on Monday, but footfall there was still down 7.2% from pre-pandemic levels.
That contrasted with a sharp drop in footfall on High Streets, down 40.1% on 2019, and in shopping centres, which recorded a 38.8% decline.
"The greater attraction of retail parks is in part likely to be a result of shoppers restocking groceries following the weekend's festivities," said Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard.
It is a reversal of the trend seen on Boxing Day when more people shopped on High Streets than in retail parks. However, overall Boxing Day footfall figures were far lower than pre-Covid levels.
Across the UK, Springboard said High Streets saw footfall drop on Boxing Day by 37.7% compared with 2019. Retail parks recorded a 40.2% decline in footfall while there was a sharper 48.4% drop in shopping centres.
Springboard said footfall declined on Boxing Day due to fears over Covid, as well as the fact the traditional start of post-Christmas sales fell on a Sunday this year and some big name stores opted to stay closed.
Companies including Next, John Lewis and M&S decided to shut on Boxing Day to give staff a longer Christmas break, though they launched their sales online.
'Muted for some time'
On Monday, footfall across all UK regions declined with the sharpest drop in Wales, where it fell by 40.3%.
Wales introduced tighter Covid restrictions on 26 December, including limiting the number of people who can meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants to groups of no more than six people.
Scotland and Northern Ireland also brought in similar rules from Monday. In Scotland, footfall in shops dropped by 33.3% while in Northern Ireland it fell by 36.6%.
Overall, shopping numbers in England fell by 31.1%, according to Springboard. In London, footfall plunged by 50% compared with the same day in 2019, a much sharper drop than in other areas of the UK.
Ms Wehrle said: "Footfall is weaker in central London than in large city centres elsewhere in the UK, which in part is likely to be a result of cancellations of trains restricting shoppers' ability to get into the capital."
But Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the West End Company, which represents shops, hotels and restaurants in central London, told the BBC: "We are still dealing with Covid and we haven't got international tourists here so it is going to be muted for some time [for] customers coming into the West End."-BBC
Covid flight cancellations delay holiday travel
There have been more Covid-related flight cancellations globally as the week starts, capping off a miserable festive period for thousands of people.
More than 2,200 flights have been scrapped on Monday, with Chinese and US destinations being the worst hit, the FlightAware data tracking website says.
US airlines say the disruption is due to crews testing positive or isolating.
Hong Kong is banning all South Korea's Korean Air flights for two weeks, after positive cases among some arrivals.
In all, more than 8,000 flights have been grounded over the long Christmas weekend that began on Friday.
Although the number of cancellations is a small percentage of the total, it is higher than normal and comes at a time of year when many are travelling to spend time with family and friends.
In a separate development, US authorities are monitoring dozens of cruise ships hit by Covid cases while sailing in the country's waters, with several of them reportedly denied port in the Caribbean, AFP news agency reports.
Recorded Covid cases are rising sharply around the world, largely driven by the Omicron variant.
Despite early findings that Omicron is milder than other coronavirus variants, scientists are concerned by the sheer number of infections being recorded.
The majority of the flights cancelled on Monday are those by Chinese companies, according to FlightAware. They include China Eastern, which cancelled more than 420 flights, and Air China, with more than 190 cancellations.
Airports in Beijing and Shanghai appear to be the worst affected, with nearly 300 cancellations combined. The Chinese authorities have not commented on the issue.
The airport in the northern Chinese city of Xi'an is also on the list. More than 13 million people in the city have been recently ordered to stay at home as authorities attempt to tackle a Covid outbreak there.
Meanwhile, the hardest-hit US companies are United and JetBlue. And Seattle-Tacoma is one of the worst-affected airports.
United warned last week that a spike in Omicron cases had "had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation", with many employees required to self-isolate after coming into contact with those infected. Omicron now is the dominant variant in the US.
But severe weather is also a factor. A blanket of snow delayed flights and disrupted roads in the western state of Washington on Sunday, adding to the travel chaos.
In the UK, British Airways reported more than 40 cancellations on Monday, according to FlightAware.
Nearly 5.4 million people have died with coronavirus worldwide, according to America's Johns Hopkins University. There have been almost 280 million confirmed cases.-BBC
Energy prices: Government must show more urgency, says Ovo boss
The government is showing "nowhere near enough urgency" in finding a solution to steep increases in gas and electricity prices, one energy boss has told the BBC.
Ovo's boss Stephen Fitzpatrick predicts the rise in wholesale gas prices and its impact on people will be "an enormous crisis for 2022".
The business secretary met with Ofgem and energy firms on Monday.
The government says it wants to make sure households are protected.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the meeting was "to discuss the ongoing effects of record high global gas prices on the sector".
"Throughout the meeting there was discussion of the issues facing the sector and an agreement for meetings to continue over the coming days and weeks to ensure UK consumers are protected," she said.
It is understood that representatives from the Treasury and Number 10 were also present.
Mr Fitzpatrick, who attended the virtual meeting, said his priority was for the government and the regulator to understand how critical the situation is.
He said the main worry was how consumers would be supported through price increases.
"We've seen this energy crisis unfold now for the last three months and we've watched as energy prices have spiked, fallen back, and spiked again," he said.
"We've had more than 30 bankruptcies in the sector, we've had millions of customers forced to change supplier.
"The cost to the consumer has already been more than £4bn. We haven't seen any action from the government or from the regulator. There's an acceptance that there's a problem, but nowhere near enough urgency to find a solution," he added.
He pointed to the example of some European governments that have helped consumers in their countries.
In recent months, wholesale gas prices have risen to unprecedented levels. Last week, they hit a new record of 450p per therm, which experts think could take average annual gas bills to about £2,000 next year.
On Thursday, Energy UK, the industry's trade body, warned bills could soar by another 50% unless the government intervened.
The meeting between Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and the energy industry has taken place at a time when the sector is facing an unprecedented situation.
The prices paid by suppliers for the gas and electricity they sell on to consumers have risen dramatically in recent weeks. Because household bills are capped by the regulator Ofgem, they have been unable to pass the extra costs to their customers immediately, and dozens have gone out of business.
Nor are consumers themselves immune. The price cap is due to be raised in the spring, and very steep increases are expected.
Against this background, energy firms have been demanding radical action, such as cuts in taxes and environmental levies to bring down bills for vulnerable consumers, as well as changes to the way in which the price cap itself operates.
Against this background, today's meeting is likely to be one of many over the coming days and weeks.
Mr Fitzpatrick said: "It is already households' largest single bill to pay and it is going to double that. And I think expecting consumers to shoulder that kind of volatility without any kind of support from government is just unrealistic."
More than 20 energy companies have collapsed since wholesale prices started to spike, unable to pay high prices or pass the increased cost on to consumers. Nearly four million customers have been affected.
Consumers are protected from big rises in wholesale costs by a price cap set by the regulator Ofgem. However, the cap is due to change in April.
Mr Fitzpatrick said it was important "we don't waste any more time" addressing the rising cost of household energy.
"It is a really good sign of just how urgent everything is that we're meeting between Christmas and New Year to work this out," he said. "But we really have to take the opportunity today."-BBC
Trump Scottish golf resorts claimed over £3m in furlough
Donald Trump's golf courses and leisure businesses in Scotland claimed over £3m in UK government furlough money, newly-published accounts show.
Covid restrictions caused substantial losses at Trump resorts in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire with both companies reducing staff.
Trump Turnberry saw turnover more than halved and it recorded a loss of more than £3m in 2020.
The other course and resort at Balmedie also reported a loss, of £1.3m.
Donald Trump's mother came from the Isle of Lewis, and the former US president is said to have spoken fondly of his Scottish ancestry.
He opened his first golf resort on the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire in 2012, amid opposition over potential environmental damage, and later tried to stop a wind farm being built off the coast, arguing it would spoil the view.
In 2014 he bought the Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire from a Dubai-based company.
He handed control of both courses to his sons Donald Junior and Eric shortly before he became president in 2017, but he retained a financial interest.
Critics of Mr Trump recently lost a legal bid to force the Scottish government to investigate how he paid for the courses, using an unexplained wealth order.
According to accounts filed with Companies House, Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd, which owns the Turnberry golf course and resort, saw turnover fall from £19.7m in 2019 to £6.7m in 2020.
It made a profit of £321,000 in 2019, and a loss of £3.4m in 2020.
The resort was closed from 23 March to 15 July 2020, and again from 20 November to 26 April 2021.
The company received a total of £2.3m in grants under the furlough scheme in 2020, the accounts say, while the average number of employees fell from 541 to 289.
A subsidiary of the company, SLC Turnberry Ltd, made further furlough claims of between £435,000 and £1.1m from January to August 2021, according to government data not included in the published accounts.
"Government support was helpful to retain as many jobs as possible, however, uncertainty of the duration of support and the pandemic's sustained impact meant that redundancies were required to prepare the business for the long term effects to the hospitality industry," say the accounts, signed by Eric Trump.
Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited, which owns Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire, also saw a steep drop in turnover, from £3.3m in 2019 to £1.1m in 2020, although the company's losses rose only slightly, from £1.1m to £1.3m.
The accounts note that while golf was permitted for much of the year, the Macleod House hotel was closed from 21 March onwards, and the restaurants and dining facilities only opened in June and closed again on 20 November.
"The UK government furlough scheme was helpful to retain as many jobs as possible, and the majority of employees were reinstated over the course of the year," the accounts say.
The company received £452,000 in from the furlough scheme in 2020, according to the accounts.
Separately, government data shows that Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited claimed between £85,000 and £205,000 of furlough money from January to August 2021.
The average number of employees fell from 84 in 2019 to 63 in 2020, the accounts show.
The ultimate controlling parties of both companies are the trustees of the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, registered in Florida, the accounts say.-BBC
Tesla disables gaming while driving feature
Tesla has agreed to make changes to its Passenger Play feature that allowed games to be played on its touchscreen while the car is in motion.
It follows an investigation launched by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The agency said it had been informed by Tesla that a software update would disable the feature while driving.
Elon Musk's car firm had faced criticism that the feature was dangerous.
The New York Times reported that Tesla had contacted the NHTSA directly.
"Passenger Play will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion," the agency told the paper.
Tesla has not issued any formal statement on the matter.
Announcing its inquiry, which opened earlier this week, the NHTSA said that Passenger Play "may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash".
Although the ability to play games on the car's touchscreen was not aimed at drivers, and asked the person playing to confirm they were a passenger, there was nothing to prevent a driver using it.
Initially the feature was only usable when the car was stationary, but this was changed in December 2020 to allow gameplay when the car was moving.
The change was noticed by one Tesla owner, Vince Patton, who filed a complaint with the NHTSA describing it as "recklessly negligent".
When it opened its inquiry, the NHTSA noted that the feature "may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash".
Its guidelines state that in-car devices have to be disengaged so that they cannot be used by the driver "to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving".
This month, it reported that 3,142 road deaths in 2019 were attributed to distracted drivers.
In August, the agency launched an investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system after a dozen cars using the feature crashed into parked emergency vehicles.
And it is also reviewing other accidents involving the system.-BBC
Selfridges sold for £4bn to Thai-Austrian alliance
British luxury department store chain Selfridges is being sold to a Thai retailer and an Austrian property firm.
The deal for the majority of Selfridges Group is worth around £4bn ($5.4bn), the BBC understands.
Founded in 1908 by US retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge, the company is best known for its flagship department store on London's Oxford Street.
The Canadian wing of the billionaire Weston family bought Selfridges for nearly £600m in 2003.
"It is a privilege to be acquiring Selfridges Group, including the flagship Oxford Street store, which has been at the centre of London's most famous shopping street for over 100 years," Central Group's chief executive Tos Chirathivat said in a statement.
It was revealed earlier this month that Central Group was close to agreeing a deal to take over Selfridges.
Selfridges Group employs around 10,000 people and owns 25 stores worldwide, including in major cities in England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Canada.
Signa and Central will take over 18 of the 25 stores. Selfridges Group's seven Holt Renfrew department stores in Canada were not part of the deal and will remain in the ownership of the Weston family.
Selfridges' new owners said they plan to build on the existing brand to develop luxury online stores as well as improving its physical sites.
"Together we will work with the world's leading architects to sensitively reimagine the stores in each location, transforming these iconic destinations into sustainable, energy-efficient, modern spaces, whilst staying true to their architectural and cultural heritage," Signa's chairman Dieter Berninghaus said.
Selfridges is known for its bright yellow cardboard bags and its flagship store on London's Oxford Street is a magnet for shoppers and tourists alike.
Home to luxury brands, a visit is just as much about the experience and beautiful displays as what it is selling.
It even inspired a TV series about the American founder Harry Selfridge, who decided to build the "biggest and finest" department store in the world in 1908.
Now that "big, fine brand" and its buildings have brought its owners, the Weston family, a £4bn Christmas present.
Chief Executive of rival Fenwick, John Edgar, a former chief financial officer at the Selfridges Group, described it as a "great price for a fantastic business"
Analysts say that despite the well-publicised woes of retail through the pandemic, this sale shows that the Selfridges brand is unique. And it also underlines just how popular UK property still remains with international investors.
The Weston family - which also owns Fortnum & Mason and has majority control of Primark owner ABF - launched the sales process in June, a few months after the death of W Galen Weston, who oversaw the move to take the department store.
Alannah Weston, chair of Selfridges Group and daughter of Galen Weston, said the move is testament to her "father's vision for an iconic group of beautiful, truly experiential, department stores".
"Creative thinking has been at the heart of everything we did together for nearly twenty years and sustainability is deeply embedded in the business," she added.
Central, which is owned by the billionaire Chirathivat family, is involved in wide range of businesses including real estate, retail, hospitality and restaurants.
The Bangkok-based firm opened its first department store in 1956 and has grown to become Thailand's biggest owner of shopping malls.
It also has an e-commerce joint venture with China's JD.com and a stake in south east Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab.
Vienna-based Signa Group was founded by entrepreneur René Benko in 2000 and has become Austria's largest privately owned real estate company.
The two firms already jointly own major department stores across Europe.
The Central-Signa 50/50 bid reportedly beat rival offers from the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns Harrods, and Lane Crawford, a Hong Kong-based department store chain.
Before the impact of the pandemic, Selfridges had doubled its profits and reported sales growth of more than 80% since being taken over by the Westons.
The family has received more than £580m in dividends from the business over the past decade, but also injected investment into improving the store's experience, with new concepts including an indoor skate park at its London store.-BBC
TikTok ousts Google to become favourite online destination
Move over Google, TikTok is the world's new most popular online destination.
The viral video app gets more hits than the American search engine, according to Cloudflare, an IT security company.
The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August.
Last year Google was first, and a number of sites including TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix were all in the top 10.
Cloudfare said it tracks data using its tool Cloudflare Radar, which monitors web traffic.
It is believed one of the reasons for the surge in Tiktok's popularity is because of the Covid pandemic, as lockdowns meant people were stuck at home and looking for entertainment.
By July this year, TikTok had been downloaded more than three billion times, according to data company Sensor Tower.
The social network, which is owned by a Chinese company called Bytedance, now has more than one billion active users across the world, and that number continues to grow.
In China, to comply with the country's censorship rules, the app is called Douyin, and runs on a different network.
Douyin was originally released in September 2016. This year, China ruled that users under the age of 14 would be limited to 40 minutes a day on the platform.
Security concerns
TikTok was launched internationally in 2018, after merging with another Chinese social media service, Musical.ly, an app which allowed users to share videos of themselves lip-synching to songs.
The social media platform is no stranger to controversy. In 2019, it garnered a temporary ban in India, a US counter-intelligence investigation and a record £4.3m fine after Musical.ly was found to have knowingly hosted content published by under-age users.
As one of the only internationally successful Chinese apps, politicians and regulators outside China have raised concerns about security and privacy.
Last year TikTok was forced to deny it is controlled by the Chinese government.
Theo Bertram, TikTok's head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said it would refuse any request from China to hand over data.
The app hosts a variety of short videos, covering genres such as comedy, dance and politics.
In the UK, the most popular creator is make-up artist @abbyroberts with 17.4 million followers.
This year @Francis.Bourgeois, with 1.6 million followers, quit his job to become a full-time trainspotter as a result of his viral videos at railway stations talking about trains and cheering them as they pass.
Expanding
Food and recipe videos have become a key part of TikTok's success, with viral clips getting millions of views.
As a result, in the US, a new food delivery service called TikTok Kitchen will launch in March, allowing people to order dishes originally created in viral videos.
The menu will be based on the app's most viral food trends and will include courses like the baked feta pasta which was ranked the most searched dish of 2021 by Google.
TikTok Kitchen is being co-founded by Robert Earl, who owns the US food outlets Planet Hollywood, Buca di Beppo and Bertucci's.
He said about 300 TikTok restaurants are planned across the country for the launch, with more than 1,000 expected by the end of 2022.
TikTok Kitchen will operate out of many of the restaurants belonging to the chains owned by Mr Earl.-BBC
Brexit: One year on, the economic impact is starting to show
A dozen mild-mannered small business owners pop up on my screen from sectors ranging from chemicals, to financial services, to aerospace, catering and small gift box providers.
Having been shown the data from a British Chambers of Commerce survey of the impact of Brexit's first year I asked to chat to some of them to find out more.
The business owners I spoke to have pretty much the same reflection on different aspects of the reality of one year of trading outside the Single Market and Customs Union. It's clearly been challenging: "Frustrating. Scary. Huge drop in sales. Rendered uncompetitive in Europe."
When I put to them what ministers have suggested privately - that some sections of British business need to be as prepared as the best-prepared bigger businesses, it got a little testy.
"I found it astounding that they are telling us to get used to it," said Adrian Hanrahan, of Robinson's chemicals, who is dealing with a new set of UK regulations entirely duplicating EU requirements.
A gift box distributor, Karen Lowen, says it's cheaper for her to supply the US and Australia than Europe.
Meanwhile, a manufacturer of cutting edge green radiators says the expansion of his factory in Birmingham will now take place in Poland. One participant's voice cracks as he tells me they are fighting to survive after a century-and-a-half in business.
Why is there a Brexit fishing row?
A year on from the signing of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - the real economic start of Brexit - we can start to see some of the changes in how Britain trades.
Despite the overwhelming influence of the lockdowns, and post-pandemic bounce back on all aspects of the economy, it is possible in the data and in the direct experience of hundreds of businesses, to see the impact of Brexit.
In broad terms, this is what the numbers show, so far:
· Great Britain avoided the "reasonable worst case scenarios" of a stop to cross channel trade with massive social and economic challenges
· There was a significant material hit to trade both ways, especially in the first two months
· From those lows, UK exports recovered in later months, but not fully and some sectors such as clothing and food are still struggling
· Total UK-EU trade (both ways) missed out on a global rebound in trade in 2021, and remained at the very low levels of the 2020 pandemic
Trade with the Republic of Ireland has slumped from Great Britain, boomed from Northern Ireland.
After a year of Brexit, the UK economy appears to be less open or less global than it was before.
The government's official forecasters, the Office of Budget Responsibility, said the latest actual data were consistent with its forecasts from five years ago that the "trade intensity" of the UK economy could fall by 15% over a decade and a half.
The UK's key export markets are less reliant on UK goods, and the UK is less reliant on foreign goods. This is at a time when trade elsewhere in the world boomed, recovering all the losses and more in the pandemic slump.
>From Jan-October 2021 there was $627bn in two-way trade between the US and the European Union, up from $532bn in the same months in 2020, a bounce back of 18%.
China-EU two way trade in the first 10 months of 2021 was €558bn compared to €479bn in 2020, a bounce back of 17%.
The equivalent figure for the UK's two way trade with the EU is 2% growth or £308bn versus £302bn.
In other words, UK-EU trade has in this first year of the post Brexit trade deal, failed to rebound unlike most of the rest of world trade.
In January, Charlie Samway, of Samways fish merchants in Bridport, Dorset, took the trouble to show me through 76 pages of documents now required alongside a visit and stamp from a vet with his consignments of exported monkfish and cuttlefish.
Whilst frustration at the red tape and risks to deliveries remain, he said: "Things have massively improved, from where we were there at the start of the year.
"So on the whole, we're much happier than where we were, but I don't think to say that things are perfect, I don't think they'll ever be, it is potentially something we've got to live with."
Surprising
In the car industry there was good news in the UK. The long delayed wave of investment into electric vehicles has started, beginning with Nissan recommitting to its Sunderland site.
This follows not just the zero tariff deal, but also the last minute commitments negotiated by the prime minister with the EU to allow the deal to apply for a few years to cars with lots of imported technology from Japan, Korea or the US.
But, in general, annual trade volumes since the Brexit deal are down on any definition of pre-pandemic normal. What is also true is that while the first few weeks of the year saw a terrible drop, the feared catastrophic worst case scenarios thankfully did not materialise.
Experts tend to prefer to compare this year's performance with one of the years before the pandemic, such as 2019.
On that basis UK exports to the EU in the first ten months of this year were down 12% on pre-pandemic levels. UK imports from the EU were down more - 20% lower than before the pandemic.
This is surprising, because the new checks instigated were mainly enforced on exports going to the EU, and not on imports coming into the UK.
Trade with the rest of the world - the "non-EU" countries - is also down both ways since 2019, though by less. UK exports to the rest of the world are down 7%, or £12bn in January-to-October 2021 versus the same in 2019. UK imports in the same time periods have fallen a little too by 3% to £227bn.
Political reality
So the really big mystery is why EU imports into the UK have fallen more than the other way around. Partly it's a result of the general post pandemic fall in vehicle sales, down £14bn or 30% in the first 10 months of this year versus 2019.
Interestingly non-EU imports are up 16% over the same time period, and part of that is down to Tesla cars imported from the US and China. Aircraft, electrical devices, pharmaceuticals, steel and nuclear technology all saw multi-billion falls in EU imports into the UK.
With all of these numbers, it is worth mentioning that there may be an impact from re-classification of Irish trade, and the fact that data in previous years reflects despatch of goods within the EU with little paperwork, and is now classed as international trade.
One interesting ask from the Chambers of Commerce calls was merely for the UK government and the EU to calm down the rhetoric and stop acting like they are fighting.
That backdrop sends a message that it is risky to trade with Britain, especially with smaller British businesses, said some participants.
The question is whether the government is willing to do anything. One Cabinet minister said to me, businesses need to come to terms with "the fact that there is a customs border now" with the EU.
The political reality right now is that businesses worries are seen as manageable enough weighed against the freedom to regulate as the government sees fit.-BBC
Cities start to attract property buyers again
Prospective property buyers have returned to cities, with flats the most highly in demand during the autumn, according to property portal Rightmove.
The UK housing market was relatively immune to the economic effects of Covid, with demand and price rises remaining high throughout the crisis.
This was driven by the race for space, with buyers attracted by larger, coastal or rural properties.
But as workers returned to offices, interest in apartments revived.
However, this is not a return to the pre-pandemic property market. Rightmove says there has been a long-term shift with buyers willing to pay more for space and privacy.
That means the gap in asking prices between detached and semi-detached homes has been stretched. In October, the typical asking price for a detached house was 76% higher than a semi-detached, compared with 70% in March 2020.
Prospective buyers have also widened their searches by an average of 50 sq km, perhaps willing to move slightly further away from transport links and High Streets as they spend more time working and entertaining themselves at home.
View with the room
"The pandemic redefined the role of the home and placed new emphasis on its importance, and people looked for more room in order to work, exercise, and often teach under one roof," said Tim Bannister, who works in property data at Rightmove.
"While we know from our data that people really care about people and their local community, the pandemic also made us more conscious of our personal space."
There was a surge in buyers in 2020, as people reassessed where and how they wanted to live. Government support through stamp duty holidays, as well as historically low mortgage rates, also encouraged many people to move, or bring forward future plans to relocate.
The biggest demand, and subsequent rise in prices, were for houses in outer city or countryside locations. There were concerns in some areas that locals were being priced out of the market as a result.
The epicentre of Britain's house price boom
Young and low paid 'priced out' of tourist areas
At the same time, many flat owners were struggling to sell as a result of the cladding crisis, following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.
City centres had become less attractive places to live for those who were not going into an office, or - during the height of the pandemic - were unable to socialise or enjoy the entertainment attractions of urban centres.
As workplaces and venues reopened - before the onset of the Omicron variant - there was a shift in buyer preferences, according to Rightmove.
The slowest rise in prices over the last year was for flats, and demand was much lower than for houses, especially those with gardens.
By the autumn, flats had moved to the top of the list among prospective buyers to become the most in-demand type of property.
Mr Bannister said demand to live in London and other major cities had been restored faster than anticipated, as employers encouraged people to return to their desks, at least through a hybrid working model.
The market may still be affected by the pandemic and its impact on jobs and the wider economy.
The analysis is also based on averages, but local housing markets, demand and property prices can be affected by a host of factors ranging from the success of local schools to roads and new development.-BBC
Apple closes New York City stores to shoppers as COVID-19 cases rise
(Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said on Monday it has closed all of its 12 New York City stores to indoor shopping as cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant surged across the United States.
Customers will be able to pick up online orders at the stores, an Apple spokesperson said.
The affected stores include outlets at Fifth Avenue, Grand Central and SoHo.
"We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust both our health measures and store services to support the wellbeing of customers and employees," the company said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Apple said it had temporarily closed three stores in the United States and Canada after a rise in COVID-19 cases and exposures among the stores' employees.
For the same reason, Apple also mandated that all its customers and employees wear masks at its U.S. stores.
Globally, concerns over the Omicron variant have prompted major companies to tighten protocols.
A U.S. court earlier this month ordered the reinstatement of a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, which covers 80 million American workers. Opponents of the move have rushed to the Supreme Court to overturn the reinstatement.
Apple shares closed up 2.3% at $180.33.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Clariant to buy BASF clay biz assets in $60 mln sustainable bid
(Reuters) - Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant (CLN.S) said on Tuesday it would purchase assets from German competitor BASF (BASFn.DE) in North America in a $60 million cash deal that will help grow its sustainable business.
Clariant said it expects to complete the purchase of the assets of BASF'S U.S. attapulgite business--one of the largest miners and producers of the clay material, which Clariant said can help remove contaminants in renewable fuel production--in the summer of 2022.
"This acquisition fits very well with our growth strategy to grow through sustainability-focused innovations and bolt-on acquisitions," Clarient Chief Executive Conrad Keijzer said in a statement, adding it would improve its position in renewable fuels purifications.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
U.S. regulators step up probe into Hyundai, Kia engine fires
(Reuters) - The U.S. auto safety agency has stepped up its probe into engine fires that have plagued some Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS) vehicles for over six years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had opened an "engineering analysis" covering about 3 million vehicles to evaluate, among other things, the efficacy of recalls initiated by the two automakers. The agency added that it was aware of 161 fires occurring potentially due to engine failures.
An engineering analysis is the next step in a process that could lead to a recall, although sometimes NHTSA closes such probes without requiring any action.
The agency had opened an investigation in 2019 covering the 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento and the 2010-2015 Kia Soul, along with the 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe to investigate instances of non-crash fires.
Hyundai and Kia said on Monday they continue to fully cooperate with NHTSA in regard to non-collision engine fires.
The two South Korean companies had agreed to a record $210 million civil penalty last year after regulators said they failed to recall 1.6 million vehicles for engine issues in a timely fashion.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Goldman Sachs will require U.S. employees to get booster shots
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) will require that employees and visitors to its U.S. offices receive booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine starting next year, a bank spokesperson said on Monday.
Starting in February, anyone eligible to receive a booster shot must have obtained one in order to enter Goldman offices. And beginning in January, the bank will require staff to get tested twice weekly for COVID, the spokesperson said.
Goldman's new policies, communicated to staff on Monday, follow a week of rising COVID infections across the United States.
Over the last seven days, the average number of new cases in the United States, where Goldman Sachs is based, has surged 55% to over 205,000 new infections per day, according to a Reuters tally.
Several Wall Street banks and investment firms cancelled holiday gatherings and allowed staff to work from home for the remainder of the year in response to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Before the Christmas holiday, Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) told staff in the New York City area, where COVID cases were spiking, to work remotely, and Wells Fargo & Co delayed its planned Jan. 10 office return. read more
Jefferies Financial Group (JEF.N), one of the first firms to send staff home, is now targeting Jan. 17 to get workers back.
Goldman was among the Wall Street banks that have pushed hardest to bring staff back into offices. Since August, the bank has required vaccines for all staff and visitors entering its offices in the United States, and staff received COVID tests onsite once a week. read more
Goldman's new policy on the booster shots was originally reported by Bloomberg earlier on Monday.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Chinese developer Shimao plans to use own funds to pay onshore bonds
(Reuters) - Chinese developer Shimao Group's (0813.HK) flagship unit said it plans to use its own capital to make onshore bond payments due in the next three months, and it is in talks to sell its commercial and hotel assets.
Shanghai Shimao Co (600823.SS) also said it will be difficult to meet its 38 billion yuan ($5.96 billion) full-year sales target, as sales in the first 11 months were 28.2 billion yuan.
The firm published the comments made to investors in a filing on Monday.
Shimao saw sharp falls in its shares and debt this month, triggered by worries over an asset sale and cancelled apartment deals, as well as downgrades by rating agencies on increased financing risks. read more
Shanghai Shimao also caused further worries when it said earlier it had sold its property management business to sister company Shimao Services for 1.7 billion yuan ($267 million), at a valuation some analysts said was higher than market average.
The firm said in the Monday filing the proceed is for developing and operating commercial complex, not repaying debt.
Separately, Shimao Services - the group's property management arm - said in a filing on Friday it is operating steadily, and it will not conduct any major assets disposal or acquisition with parent company in next six months.
Shares of Shimao Group and Shimao Services, both listed in Hong Kong, rose over 2% on Tuesday. Shanghai Shimao dropped 2%.
Shimao Group has told investors in November its sales this year would be around 290 billion yuan due to a national credit tightening, and it would consider selling come commercial and hotel assets if prices were good.
($1 = 6.3721 Chinese yuan renminbi)
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Starboard acquires stake worth $800 mln in GoDaddy
(Reuters) - Activist investor Starboard Value LP has purchased a 6.5% stake in web services firm GoDaddy Inc (GDDY.N) worth about $800 million, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares of GoDaddy, which have dropped 8% so far this year, rose 2.6% in premarket trading.
Starboard said that GoDaddy's shares were undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity, according to the filing.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the acquisition of the stake. The report also said that Starboard plans to push the company to improve its performance.
Arizona-based GoDaddy has seen a surge in online traffic as several businesses increasingly shifted to digital operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starboard Value and GoDaddy did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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