Archives for December 2021

Thousands of flights within the US and internationally have reportedly been canceled or delayed on Friday due to the harsh weather conditions and increasing cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

More than 2,600 flights were canceled globally including over 1,200 within the United States, or entering or departing the country, according to data shown by data-tracking website FlightAware. In all, more than 4,700 flights have been grounded over the final day of the year.

The latest delays and cancellations have added to travel disruptions during the holiday week, which is commonly a peak time for air travel.

The rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to an enormous increase in Covid-19 infections, forcing global air carriers to cancel flights as pilots and crew have to be quarantined.

READ MORE: International flights to from Britain sees enormous drop

Moreover, transportation agencies throughout the US are stopping or reducing service.In addition, most airline cabin crew, pilots and support staff, unwilling to deal with unruly passengers, are reluctant to work overtime during the holiday travel season for fear of contracting Covid-19 and despite offers of hefty financial incentives.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544910-mass-flight-cancellations-final-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Germany is shutting down three nuclear power plants on Friday, in a move to halve the country’s remaining nuclear capacity. The measure comes despite the worst ever energy crises the European region has experienced.

The closures, which come as a result of decision to completely phase out atomic energy, taken by Angela Merkel after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, is expected to tighten the current squeeze on gas and energy prices.

Berlin is planning to completely wind down atomic energy by the end of 2022, when its final three plants in Neckarwestheim, Essenbach and Emsland shut.

German state officials can’t prevent the shutdown of nuclear power plants, since they are in somewhat of a bind when it comes to the “green economy,” according to Alexey Mukhin, director of the Center for Political Information.

“Angela Merkel’s decision to shut down nuclear reactors after the disaster at Fukushima has been denounced as bureaucratic,” the analyst said.

READ MORE: Russia not delivering enough gas to Europe is ‘a pack of lies’ – Gazprom

“The federal government should have taken very serious efforts to prevent the next scheduled shutdown, but, apparently, they are not allowed to do this by the so-called new rules of the green economy.”

With energy prices across the continent soaring to the unseen levels, the timing of the German plan’s coming to fruition could hardly be worse. In December, Dutch TTF reached €187.78 per megawatt hour, which is 10 times higher than at the start of the year, while electricity prices are soaring as well.

According to Mukhin, the country’s authorities fell into a trap that had been set by Berlin.The expert expressed bewilderment over the dogged attempts by the EU at pushing green energy policies forward amid the worst energy crunch that is most markedly straining the wallet of the European citizens.

“The energy crisis should correct the global economy and ‘green’ policy, but this does not happen, due to the stubbornness, pride and prejudice, even the snobbery and tenacity, of European partners,” Mukhin said.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544897-europe-germany-green-policy-trap/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Lockdowns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp downturn in international flights to and from the UK, according to the latest data revealed by Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.

Its annual On-Time Performance Review 2021 disclosed that 406,060 flew into and out of the country from January to December versus, 1,399,170 recorded in the pre-pandemic period of 2019, marking an immense decline of 71%.

Despite the late reopening of the US borders, which occurred only on November 8, the route between London’s Heathrow and New York’s JFK was the largest in 2021. Five air carriers – British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and newcomer JetBlue – made over 2,410 flights on the route this year. US travelers have been able to fly to Britain since July 28.

The deeply disappointing figures also disclosed that UK domestic flights over the same period were down nearly 60% compared to 2019.

READ MORE: Covid wreaks havoc on holiday travel

Irish low-coster Ryanair reportedly remained the largest carrier in the UK, with more than 100,000 UK flights recorded in 2021, easyJet followed closely behind, with more than 82,000 flights in total.

Meanwhile, flights operating within the Common Travel Area, which covers Ireland and UK overseas territories, “showed strong recovery this year since arrivals into the UK faced no testing or quarantine mandates,” Cirium reported.

Nine of the 10 busiest routes from the country departed from Heathrow and one from Gatwick. Heathrow saw the most flights, with more than 78,820 logged in 2021. Stansted was second, with 32,070 flights, followed by Manchester (29,690), Gatwick (25,960), and Luton (19,770).

Short-haul flights proved to be the most popular, with eight out of the 10 most popular routes being to Europe. London Heathrow to Amsterdam, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt came in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544892-uk-travel-massive-drop-covid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Lockdowns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp downturn in international flights to and from the UK, according to the latest data revealed by Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.

Its annual On-Time Performance Review 2021 disclosed that 406,060 flew into and out of the country from January to December versus, 1,399,170 recorded in the pre-pandemic period of 2019, marking an immense decline of 71%.

Despite the late reopening of the US borders, which occurred only on November 8, the route between London’s Heathrow and New York’s JFK was the largest in 2021. Five air carriers – British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and newcomer JetBlue – made over 2,410 flights on the route this year. US travelers have been able to fly to Britain since July 28.

The deeply disappointing figures also disclosed that UK domestic flights over the same period were down nearly 60% compared to 2019.

READ MORE: Covid wreaks havoc on holiday travel

Irish low-coster Ryanair reportedly remained the largest carrier in the UK, with more than 100,000 UK flights recorded in 2021, easyJet followed closely behind, with more than 82,000 flights in total.

Meanwhile, flights operating within the Common Travel Area, which covers Ireland and UK overseas territories, “showed strong recovery this year since arrivals into the UK faced no testing or quarantine mandates,” Cirium reported.

Nine of the 10 busiest routes from the country departed from Heathrow and one from Gatwick. Heathrow saw the most flights, with more than 78,820 logged in 2021. Stansted was second, with 32,070 flights, followed by Manchester (29,690), Gatwick (25,960), and Luton (19,770).

Short-haul flights proved to be the most popular, with eight out of the 10 most popular routes being to Europe. London Heathrow to Amsterdam, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt came in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544892-uk-travel-massive-drop-covid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Russian foreign exchange holdings grew by 0.7% over the week ending December 24, reaching $630.5 billion, according to the latest data from the central bank. Russia holds the world’s fifth-largest forex reserves.

In monetary terms, the weekly growth of the country’s international reserves totaled $4.2 billion, the regulator said. The surge reportedly occurred as a result of planned purchases of foreign currencies and a positive market re-assessment.

Russia’s international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets consisting of monetary gold, foreign currencies, and special drawing rights, which are at the disposal of the Central Bank of Russia and the government.

In 2015, the reserves declined to a post-2008 low of $356 billion, after the government had to spend around $250 billion to bail out the economy during the 2014 oil price crisis.

READ MORE: Russia continues to add gold to the country’s huge forex reserves

Since then, Russia’s gold and foreign currency holdings have nearly doubled. They exceeded the target level of $500 billion set by the regulator in June 2019 and have remained above that threshold ever since.

In 2020, the holdings soared by 7.5% to $595.8 billion despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, which forced the government to increase spending to support businesses and households.

Last month alone, the reserves reached a record high of $626.3 billion, marking a weekly growth of $4.1 billion.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544829-russia-foreign-reserves-surge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Iconic Swedish furniture brand IKEA has announced plans to raise prices of its historically budget-friendly goods by 9% as soon as next year, due to supply-chain bottlenecks and surging materials costs as the pandemic persists.

The Swedish furniture maker, which has built a reputation for its economical-but-stylish flatpack furniture, said it had raised prices in multiple countries starting from Christmas.

“Like many other industries, IKEA continues to face significant transport and raw material constraints driving up costs, with no anticipated break in the foreseeable future,” Ingka Group, the holding company that owns 90% of the retailer’s stores, said in a statement.

READ MORE: Why global supply crisis is here to stay

IKEA franchisor Inter Ikea Group reportedly absorbed costs totalling €250 million ($283 million) during the current year, due to the logistical problems that were intensified by the rebound in demand after the first wave of Covid.

“During the pandemic, despite rising costs all around us, Ingka Group kept prices stable with the aim to keep prices as low as possible for customers,” Retail Operations Manager at IKEA Retail Tolga Oncu said, commenting on the latest decision. “It was the right thing to do.”

The current supply-chain crunch has rained a hard blow on a wide range of industries around the world, hitting the operations of automakers, tech giants, fashion brands and even ketchup suppliers, along with furniture retailers.

The crisis, which stretches back to 2020, is related to the rapid spread of coronavirus. The Covid-related lockdowns and industry shutdowns across the globe resulted in lower consumer demand and reduced manufacturing activity, but sparked a massive demand for deliveries among people closed-up at home.

READ MORE: Tokyo flats available to rent for $1, but there’s a catch

As a result, cargo ships clogged up ports with their undelivered goods, while shipping prices skyrocketed across the board. The situation was exacerbated by a record number of infections that kept long-time employees, including those involved in logistics, at home or on hospital beds.

In October, Inter Ikea Group, which owns the IKEA brand, warned in its annual report that challenges would last well into 2022, with the resulting costs expected to be passed on to customers.

Last month, the group reported an annual drop in profits of as much as 17%, amid a steep increase in transport and raw material prices. At the same time, the franchisor behind the world’s largest furniture seller said that sales for the year were up 8% to €25.6 billion (about $29 billion).

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544878-ikea-price-hike-supply-crisis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk received mixed reaction after he shared a meme appearing to criticize both sides of the Covid-19 vaccine debate – vaccinated and unvaccinated – for taking things too seriously.

The meme showed an unvaccinated man alongside a vaccinated man with dozens of needles jabbed into his body and a QR code tattooed on his head. A thought bubble emanating from the two men showed them both wondering why the other wasn’t dead yet.

Though the Thursday post received over 270,000 likes, Musk was soon criticized for portraying both sides equally.

“Please don’t do this,” reacted science education YouTuber Kyle Hill, while another person tweeted, “800,000 Americans are dead you goddamn idiot.”

Well, over 1 million in the US are. All due to Covid, not the vaccine.

— Phil Hackemann (@PhilHackemann) December 30, 2021

One woman argued that Musk’s opinions on the pandemic should be taken with a grain of salt, pointing to his prediction in March 2020 that the United States would “probably” experience “close to zero new cases” of Covid-19 by the end of April that year.

Others praised Musk for hitting both sides, however, and argued that critics had misinterpreted the joke.

The vaccinated overestimate the danger of the virus. The unvaccinated overestimate the danger of the vaccines. Either way both are dangerous and both sides have a point, but one difference between the two sides is that the vaccinated do not respect the right of choice.

— PLA (@anarchynpeace) December 30, 2021

“I think people are mis-interpreting this meme, @elonmusk isn’t being pro or anti vaccine with this meme, just pointing out that both parties are thinking exactly the same about the other,” one person observed.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544863-elon-musk-covid-meme/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Spanish bank Santander has mistakenly paid out £130 million ($175 million) to nearly 75,000 people and businesses in the UK in a Christmas Day slip-up. The lender is now racing to retrieve the lost funds.

The blunder occurred on December 25, when payments from 2,000 business accounts were made twice.

“We’re sorry that due to a technical issue, some payments from our corporate clients were incorrectly duplicated on the recipients’ accounts,” a spokesperson for Banco Santander said.

“None of our clients were at any point left out of pocket as a result and we will be working hard with many banks across the UK to recover the duplicated transactions over the coming days.”

The money reportedly went to accounts at such banks as Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Co-operative Bank, and Virgin Money UK.

READ MORE: Southeast Asia’s largest bank brought to its knees

The lenders are expected to “look to recover the money from their customers’ accounts,” Santander said, stressing that it may contact people directly to get the money back.

However, it’s not yet clear how the financial institutions will react if customers have already spent the funds, as returning the money may push them into an overdraft.

Santander runs 450 branches across the UK, and employs 20,000 British staff. The bank manages £209 billion in customer loans and £201 billion of client funds.

The accidental payments reportedly came out of Santander’s own reserves, meaning its clients weren’t affected.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544804-christmas-blunder-santander-sends-millions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS