Black Sea incidents accelerate | Biden wants credit for IRA | SAF | Warning to shippers
In Ukraine, another series of Russian drones and missiles hit the critical port city of Odesa, injuring at least three people. Ukrainian officials claimed they’ve seen “some success” in their ongoing counteroffensive measures, but the campaign has been slower than expected and progress has been limited by widespread Russian-laid minefields. More in Russia & Ukraine section.
U.S. airlines are helping farmers seek subsidies for corn as jet fuel. More in Energy & Climate Change section. U.S. equities Friday: The Dow ended higher with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lower, echoing their weekly result. For the week, the Dow was up 0.6% while the Nasdaq fell 1.9% and the S&P 500 was 0.3% lower. On Friday, the Dow rose 105.25 points, 0.30%, at 35,281.05. The Nasdaq declined 93.14 points, 0.68%, at 13,644.85. The S&P 500 lost 4.78 points, 0.11%, at 4,464.05.U.S. inflation on the rise again. Inflation saw a decline in July, maintaining a downward trajectory.
American ports are behind Asia and Europe facilities in automating. The pandemic-induced port bottlenecks have highlighted a significant reality about U.S. supply chains: American ports are trailing behind their Asian and European counterparts in terms of automation adoption, the Wall Street Journal reports. While automation has provided a degree of stability to Southern California ports during disruptions caused by the pandemic, the deployment of robots on docks in U.S.
• The Panama Canal's operations are being impacted by drought conditions. The organization responsible for managing the canal has decided to restrict both the quantity of ships passing through each day and the amount of cargo they can carry. This measure is being taken due to a decrease in the water supply caused by the ongoing drought.
— Recent long-range missile attacks have targeted bridges connecting Crimea to Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine. The aim is to disrupt supply routes and make life and military operations in the Russian-controlled area difficult. The strategy is to weaken Russian defenses, create delays, and force the occupying forces to negotiate or withdraw, or even potentially enable a Ukrainian invasion to retake Crimea.
— Russia plans no grain purchases for state reserves this year. Russia’s agriculture ministry said it is not planning to buy grain for its intervention fund in 2023, state news agency RIA reported. — More dour economic news out of China. Country Garden Holdings, China’s largest privately held property developer, is in financial trouble. The firm is reportedly seeking to delay payment on a private onshore bond for the first time. Meanwhile, two Chinese listed companies said over the weekend they had not received payment on maturing investment products from Zhongrong International Trust Co., one of China’s leading integrated financial service providers.
— Trade connections between the U.S. and China are weakening as their confrontational relationship intensifies. This escalating tension is causing trade ties to erode between the two largest global economies. Notably, the percentage of U.S. imports originating from China is now at its lowest point in two decades.
The debate: metrics used to measure emissions reductions. Airlines and proponents of ethanol prefer the Greet model, while environmentalists advocate for the Corsia standard, which penalizes fuels more for changes in land use linked to crop planting. Critics argue that supporting ethanol could deter investment in more advanced, less carbon-intensive alternatives, and thus prolong reliance on older, less efficient fuels.