The outlook for the global economy darkened as a stream of data from Europe and Asia suggested growth faltered in the third quarter, hobbled by world-wide supply-chain snarls, sharply accelerating inflation and the impact of the highly contagious Delta variant.
From Sweden and the U.K. to Germany and Japan, jammed-up ports and bottlenecks in the global flow of raw materials and components have rocked manufacturers, causing factories to halt production and executives to warn customers they will have to wait for urgently needed goods.
Gas Crisis Prompts Fresh Proposals From EU
The European Union is considering new measures, including joint purchases of gas to build up the bloc's strategic reserves, to help alleviate future energy crises like one the continent now faces.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, laid out various actions on Wednesday that could be taken at EU or national level to prevent energy price shocks, as political pressure builds on member governments to stem the higher costs.
Bow and Arrows Attack in Norway Leaves at Least Five Dead, Two Injured
At least five people have been killed and two injured in Norway by a man wielding a bow and arrows, police said Wednesday evening.
The attack began after 6 p.m. local time at a supermarket in the town of Kongsberg near the capital Oslo, where the suspect shot arrows at shoppers and passersby, a police spokesman said.
Gas Crisis Prompts Fresh Proposals From EU
The European Union is considering new measures, including joint purchases of gas to build up the bloc's strategic reserves, to help alleviate future energy crises like one the continent now faces.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, laid out various actions on Wednesday that could be taken at EU or national level to prevent energy price shocks, as political pressure builds on member governments to stem the higher costs.
Going Green Is Europe's Shale Revolution
The shale revolution gave the U.S. energy independence. Europe wants the same thing from green energy-all the more so as natural-gas prices skyrocket.
Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis, with concerns about gas shortages if the winter is cold. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putinrejected assertions that Moscow is weaponizing energy, blaming the current shortage partly on the diversion of U.S. liquefied natural gas to Asia, where prices are higher. Speaking at a conference in Moscow, he said Russia had increased gas supplies to Europe this year and could provide more, adding that quick approval of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline could help rebalance the market.
Rio Tinto Developing Process to Use Biomass for Making Steel
Rio Tinto PLC said it is developing a way for biomass to replace coking coal in steelmaking as the mining giant seeks to safeguard demand for iron ore, its most lucrative business.
The world's second largest mining company by market value is testing a process at a small-scale pilot plant in Germany, which uses raw biomass with microwave technology to convert iron ore to metallic iron without the need for coal.
Alitalia, Once a Carrier of the Jet Set, Nears Its Last Flight
MILAN-Alitalia, the airline that for years symbolized Italy's postwar boom and la dolce vita, is slated to fly its last flight Thursday, after the Covid-19 pandemic delivered a final blow to a company propped up by the country's governments for years.
The 75-year-old national flag carrier-which in the late 1960s was Europe's third largest, behind British Airways and Air France-has been in an Italian version of bankruptcy protection since 2017. It hasn't turned an annual profit in two decades, long struggling with competition from low-cost airlines and its own high-cost, and strike-prone, workforce. Those troubles have continued almost to the very end: A strike this week led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights.
Russia Shows Its Growing Sway Over Global Energy Markets
MOSCOW-The natural gas shortage that drove prices to records in Europe has exposed Russia's rising leverage over global energy markets, with Moscow now playing a key role in everything from OPEC negotiations to coal exports to China.
Russia, the world's largest exporter of gas and the source of more than a third of Europe's gas, has emerged as a critical supplier with the power to quickly alleviate the continent's gas deficit.
LVMH Sends Mixed Signals on Chinese Luxury Spending
Aspirational consumers across the world continue to snap up Louis Vuitton handbags in record numbers. But the latest results from the brand's owner, LVMH, didn't give investors all the answers they wanted.
After the market closed in Paris on Tuesday, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said sales in the three months through September increased 20% on the year. More impressively, sales were 11% higher than in the comparable period of pre-pandemic 2019. Business did slow in some regions after a bumper second quarter, but overall demand is still strong-LVMH's U.S. sales even increased 22% versus the comparable period of 2019. The stock rose just under 2% in early European trading Wednesday.
France Says Companies Colluded to Not Disclose Chemical in Food Packaging
France has accused more than 100 companies, including units of Nestlé SA, of colluding not to disclose information to consumers about the presence of a chemical in food packaging that some scientists say could be harmful.
The French competition authority late Tuesday said it had sent a statement of objections, a kind of indictment, to 101 companies and 14 trade associations alleging that they had "agreed not to communicate on the presence or on the composition of certain materials in contact with food, to the detriment of consumers."
Facebook Limits Employee Access to Some Internal Discussion Groups
Facebook Inc. has told employees it is tightening controls over some internal discussion groups, a move that comes after Frances Haugen, a former employee, gathered documents that formed the foundation of The Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files series showing the company's platforms are riddled with flaws that can cause harm.
Facebook provides staff online discussion groups on an internal message system called Workplace, where staff can cooperate or exchange ideas. In a memo to employees Tuesday, the social-media giant said it would restrict who can view group discussions on topics such as platform safety and election integrity, the company confirmed. The move to restrict internal data access was reported earlier Wednesday by the New York Times.
JPMorgan Shows Why Bank Stocks Are Stuck in Neutral
If the U.S.'s biggest bank is any indication, lenders are still hunkering down and waiting for economic liftoff.
The good news from JPMorgan Chase's earnings report is that the emergence of the Delta variant of Covid-19 and the crunch of supply chains seen in the third quarter didn't hit the bank's strong core. The bank continued to release loan-loss reserves and even further lowered its outlook for net charge-offs of credit-card debt in 2021, to around 2% from around 2.5% earlier in the year.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
Expected Major Events for Thursday
05:00/FIN: Aug Retail sales
05:00/FIN: Sep CPI
06:30/SWI: Sep Import Price Index
06:30/SWI: Sep PPI
07:00/SPN: Sep CPI
07:00/SVK: Sep CPI
07:00/SVK: Sep Core & net inflation development
07:00/HUN: Aug Construction
07:30/SWE: Sep CPI
08:00/GER: Ifo Joint Economic Forecast of German economic research institutes
08:00/FRA: Oct IEA Oil Market Report
08:00/CZE: Aug Monthly Balance of Payments
08:30/UK: 3Q Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey
08:30/UK: 3Q Bank of England's Bank Liabilities Survey
10:00/IRL: Sep CPI
12:00/POL: Aug Balance of payments
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-14-21 0018ET
