PARIS-France's Competition Authority fined Google $593 million for allegedly violating orders to negotiate paid deals with news publishers, raising pressure on the company in a global fight over how and whether tech companies should pay for news.
The French regulator said that Google had violated its April 2020 orders that the Alphabet Inc. company must negotiate with publishers for the right to show snippets of their content in its search results. Those orders came after complaints from publishers that Google was sidestepping France's implementation of a new European Union copyright directive.
Ryanair to Hire 2,000 Pilots Over Next Three Years
Ryanair Holdings PLC said late on Monday that it will hire 2,000 new pilots over the next three years, as it starts planning for a return to growth after the pandemic.
The low-cost carrier said it has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-8200 Gamechanger aircraft, out of more than 210, as it expects passengers to grow to 200 million by fiscal 2024.
Swatch Swung to 1H Profit as Sales Rebounded
Swatch Group AG returned to profit in the first half of the year, while sales rebounded with high growth rates primarily in China, Macau, the U.S. and Russia.
The Swiss watch maker on Monday posted net profit of 267 million Swiss francs ($292.2 million) for the first half compared with a loss of CHF303 million the previous year.
DNB Bank 2Q Net Profit Beats Views Amid Reopening of Norwegian Economy
DNB Bank ASA on Tuesday posted a larger-than-expected rise in second-quarter net profit as earnings were boosted by impairment reversals, solid household liquidity, and higher growth as the Norwegian economy reopened.
Norway's largest lender made a profit attributable to shareholders of 6.21 billion kroner ($715.5 million) compared with NOK4.77 billion a year earlier. Net interest income slipped 0.4% to NOK9.41 billion.
British Land Sees Improvement as Lockdown Eased; Collects Most of June Rent
British Land Co. said Tuesday that it has seen a notable improvement in activity and performance since lockdown restrictions were eased, and it has collected 85% of its June rent.
The real-estate company said that its rent collection due for the quarter ended in June is 24% ahead of the same time in the December quarter and 17% ahead of the same time in the March quarter. It has collected 99% of office rent, and 71% of retail rent for the June quarter.
U.K. Retail Sales Hit Record Growth in 2Q as Coronavirus Restrictions Eased
Retail sales in the U.K. rose to record levels in the second quarter of 2021 as pent-up demand was released with the easing of coronavirus restrictions, according to the latest report by KPMG and the British Retail Consortium.
British retail sales between May 30 and July 3 jumped 13.1%, or 17.0% on a like-for-like basis, compared with the same period two years earlier, the report found. For the second quarter overall, growth hit a record 10.4% when compared with 2019.
German Consumer Prices Rose in June In Line With Forecasts
German consumer prices rose in June, confirming preliminary data, the German statistics office Destatis said Tuesday.
Volvo Trucks Aims to Reopen Factory After Third Contract Rejection
Volvo Trucks North America says it plans to resume production at its truck manufacturing plant in Dublin, Va., despite a third vote by unionized workers rejecting a tentative contract settlement aimed at ending a monthlong walkout at the factory.
The division of Swedish vehicle maker Volvo AB said it was taking the action after hitting an impasse with negotiators for the United Auto Workers over new attempts to reach a contract settlement that the plant's roughly 2,900 UAW-represented workers would accept.
As Delta Cases Surge, U.K. to Ditch Most Covid-19 Restrictions Next Week
LONDON-The U.K. government confirmed plans to drop almost all coronavirus restrictions in England next week, while urging citizens to keep wearing face masks indoors and to continue working from home if they can.
Israel Begins Pfizer Booster Shots for At-Risk Adults as Delta Cases Rise
TEL AVIV-Israel began administering a booster shot of Pfizer Inc.'s Covid-19 vaccine Monday to people with weak immune systems, as it confronts an outbreak of the virus's highly contagious Delta variant.
Israel's Health Ministry said a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine would be offered to immunocompromised individuals, such as those who have undergone organ transplants. The step follows evidence that the additional shot might increase such patients' antibody counts, according to a Health Ministry letter sent to Israeli healthcare providers.
Fire in Coronavirus Hospital in Iraq Kills at Least 64 People
BAGHDAD-A fire caused by an exploding oxygen canister killed at least 64 people in a hospital treating Covid-19 patients in southern Iraq late Monday in the second lethal blaze in a coronavirus facility in the country in less than three months, according to Iraqi officials..
Videos of the incident reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed flames and plumes of black smoke along with the sound of sirens at the Al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah.
South Africa Deploys Army to Contain Unrest Over Former President Zuma's Arrest
JOHANNESBURG-South Africa deployed its army Monday to help quell violent protests and widespread looting following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma, as his lawyers sought to convince the country's highest court that it had erred in convicting the former antiapartheid campaigner for contempt of court.
Hundreds of angry residents ransacked shops and malls, torched cars and blocked major roads, bringing public transport to a near standstill in Mr. Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal and the economic capital, Johannesburg. Others, many armed with sticks, marched through downtown Johannesburg and the city of Durban. There were reports of live bullets being fired at police.
GLOBAL NEWS
June Consumer Prices Likely Rose Sharply Again as Economy Rebounded
U.S. consumer prices likely continued to climb swiftly in June, as the economic recovery gained steam and demand outpaced the supply of labor and materials.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that the Labor Department will report the consumer-price index increased 5% in June from a year ago, matching May's increase and continuing the highest 12-month rate since 2008. The so-called core price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, likely rose 4% from a year before, they estimate.
Fed's Bullard: Time Is Right to Pull Back on Central Bank Stimulus
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is ready to start slowing the pace of central bank bond buying as soon as his colleagues are, worried in part that the purchases risk overheating the gangbusters housing market.
"I think with the economy growing at 7% and the pandemic coming under better and better control, I think the time is right to pull back emergency measures," Mr. Bullard said Monday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
China's Export Engine Accelerates, Defying Expectations
China's imports and exports posted stronger-than-expected growth in June as global demand for Chinese goods remained solid and sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks in the country's biggest export hub didn't hit outbound shipments as much as expected.
China's exports increased 32.2% from a year earlier in dollar terms, accelerating from a 27.9% gain in May, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Tuesday. The reading was far stronger than the 23.2% growth forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, defying concerns that China's post-Covid export boom was coming to an end.
Record Natural Gas Prices Give Power Markets a Jolt
A scramble for natural gas is creating pockets of scarcity in the global market, boosting prices for the fuel and for the electricity generated by burning it.
Rampant demand in China is sucking in chilled cargoes of gas from the U.S., after a year in which American energy companies throttled back production. A drought in Brazil has added to the competition by curtailing power output from hydroelectric dams.
Democrats Hone Price Tag for Climate and Antipoverty Package
WASHINGTON-Senate Democrats haggled late Monday over the size and scope of a package including climate provisions, child care and other programs they plan to squeeze through the chamber later this year without any GOP support.
Back in Washington after a two-week recess, Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee said they would resume discussions Tuesday as they rush to settle on the overall price tag of a colossal legislative package they hope to pass later this year through a special process tied to the budget, known as reconciliation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), who met with the committee's Democrats Monday, said he hopes to pass a budget resolution setting its parameters before the chamber departs for its August break.
Haiti on Brink of Anarchy Amid Hunger, Gang Violence and Power Vacuum
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-Nearly half of the population on this island nation is facing acute hunger, while gang members block fuel distribution routes to the capital and scare away tourists from pristine beaches. In contrast to neighboring countries, Haiti has yet to administer a single vaccine against Covid-19.
A country that for much of its history has been stifled by poverty and strife is now mired in its worst crisis in a generation after President Jovenel Moïsewas assassinated in his home last week in a murky attack the police blame on two dozen foreign mercenaries and a 63-year-old doctor they say wanted to be president.
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