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Koch VC Arm Leads $85 Million Round in Self-Driving Truck Startup
Koch Industries Inc., through its venture division, led an $85 million financing of an autonomous truck startup that focuses on operating along fixed routes. The Series B round demonstrates the future role such technology could play as corporations look to automate various steps in what has become a clogged supply chain.
The startup, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Gatik Inc., already has signed agreements with companies like Walmart Inc. to run its trucks on set routes between distribution centers and retail locations. Gatik has more than 20 trucks operating commercially, almost all of them with a driver in the cab.
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New York Times' Wirecutter Product-Review Site Moves Behind Paywall
New York Times Co. plans to put its consumer product-review site Wirecutter behind a paywall as the publisher looks to further diversify its subscription business beyond its flagship news product.
Starting Wednesday, readers can purchase a stand-alone Wirecutter subscription for $5 every four weeks, or $40 annually. Those who already pay for the Times' premium digital subscriptions or home delivery will continue to get unlimited access to Wirecutter, with no change to the subscription's price.
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Energy Traders See Big Money in Carbon-Emissions Markets
LONDON-Big energy trading houses, long focused on deep, volatile markets such as oil and natural gas, are now bulking up their carbon-trading operations as governments around the world push to expand the market for trading carbon emissions.
Two of the world's biggest oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC, already have significant carbon-emissions trading arms, thanks to a relatively well-developed carbon market in Europe. Big carbon emitters such as steel producers receive emission allowances, and can buy more to stay under European emissions guidelines. Companies that fall below those limits can sell their excess carbon-emissions allowances.
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Europe's Banks Get a Cash Boost From ECB Credit Moves
The European Central Bank wants to make sure credit is flowing into Europe's economy to support its recovery as the pandemic drags on. Banks are cashing in.
Eurozone banks are making money from an ECB program that basically pays them to lend, boosting their earnings and helping offset some of the costs associated with the continent's long-running negative interest rates.
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States That Cut Unemployment Benefits Saw Limited Impact on Job Growth
States that ended enhanced federal unemployment benefits early have so far seen about the same job growth as states that continued offering the pandemic-related extra aid, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis and economists.
Several rounds of federal pandemic aid boosted the amount of unemployment payments, most recently by $300 a week, and extended them for as long as 18 months. The extra benefits are set to expire nationwide next week. But 25 states ended the financial enhancement over the summer, and most of them also moved to end other pandemic-specific unemployment programs such as benefits for gig and self-employed workers.
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Eurozone Manufacturing Sector Cooled Slightly in August Amid Persistent Supply Disruptions
Manufacturing activity in the eurozone held up in August and seems to have grown at a solid pace, albeit losing some momentum from the previous months amid widespread supplier shortages and inflation pressures.
The final reading for the eurozone's manufacturing PMI for August was 61.4, a six-month low, data from IHS Markit showed Wednesday. This was down from 62.8 in July and marginally below the 61.5 preliminary estimate. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion an activity, while below this threshold signals a contraction.
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China's Caixin Manufacturing Gauge Shows Contraction in August
A private gauge of China's manufacturing fell to its lowest level in a year-and-a-half in August, as lockdowns to contain Covid-19 outbreaks shut factories.
The Caixin China purchasing managers index dropped to 49.2 in August from 50.3 in July, Caixin Media Co. and researcher Markit said Wednesday. Index levels below 50 indicate contraction in activity.
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CIOs Say PC Shipments Are Delayed by Months
Chief information officers say they face increased delays in the fulfillment of orders for new personal computers, with waiting times extending from weeks to months in some cases.
Two major PC makers, HP Inc. and Dell Technologies Inc., said last week that demand for computers outpaced their ability to satisfy customer orders. Shortages of semiconductors and a range of supply chain problems related to the Covid-19 pandemic, port backlogs and the weather all have held back sales.
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Social Security Costs Expected to Exceed Total Income in 2021 as Covid-19 Takes Financial Toll
WASHINGTON-The severe economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic last year weighed on the financial health of Social Security, but not nearly as much as many forecasters originally feared, according to new projections of the program's finances.
Trustees for the Social Security trust fund in an annual report released Tuesday said the program is expected to pay benefits that exceed its income in 2021, the same as it anticipated last year at the outset of the pandemic.
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White House to Unveil Steps Aimed at Easing Housing Supply Shortage
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration is poised to unveil a series of steps aimed at addressing the U.S. shortage of entry-level homes and rental properties, according to people familiar with the matter, moves designed to boost their financing and construction over the coming years.
The changes would draw upon the administrative authority of government regulators such as the Federal Housing Finance Agency as Congress weighs broader policy changes tied to the debate over revamping U.S. infrastructure, according to a draft plan reviewed Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal. Details could change before the White House releases its final version. FHFA oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants that back about half of the $11 trillion mortgage market.
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Europe's Tourist Hotspots Stay Open to Americans, for Now
Many European countries are in no hurry to close the door to American tourists, despite a new European Union recommendation to national authorities to halt nonessential travel from the U.S.
The EU's recommendations for travel rules aren't binding on the bloc's 27 member countries, and major tourist destinations Spain and Greece said on Tuesday they would stay open for American visitors for the coming weeks at least. Others including France and Italy said they have no immediate plans to change their rules for travel from the U.S.
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Biden Defends Afghanistan Withdrawal
WASHINGTON-President Biden vigorously defended the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, saying his administration had evacuated the vast majority of Americans who wanted to leave the country and would refrain from future military action that lacked "clear achievable goals."
"I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit," Mr. Biden said in a speech from the White House.
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As Caldor Fire Spreads, Lake Tahoe Area Is on High Alert
Firefighters expressed hope Tuesday that the Caldor Fire may narrowly miss burning the town of South Lake Tahoe after edging close to it this week.
The fire had burned 191,607 acres and was 16% contained as of Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Evacuation orders have cleared out the popular California tourist town, population 22,000, as firefighters try to protect its homes and businesses.
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In Israel, Being Fully Vaccinated Now Means Three Shots
TEL AVIV-Israel is upping the vaccine ante, pressing citizens to get Covid-19 booster shots and saying those who don't will face restrictions on traveling, dining out and other activities.
Holders of Israel's vaccine passports must get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within six months of their second dose, or lose the so-called green pass that allows them more freedom.
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Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Major Drilling Grp Intl Inc. (MDI.T) 1Q
Economic Indicators (ET):
0930 Aug Canada Manufacturing PMI
Stocks to Watch:
Canadian National Voting Trust for Kansas City Southern Deal Denied by Regulators
Canadian National Railway Co.'s $30 billion bid to buy Kansas City Southern ran into a major obstacle Tuesday, with regulators ruling the Canadian railroad won't be permitted to complete a deal using a temporary voting trust that was a crucial part of the offer.
The Surface Transportation Board, a five-member panel that must bless mergers of freight railroads, said Tuesday in a filing posted to its website that Canadian National hadn't demonstrated that its use of a voting trust would be consistent with the public interest.
The unanimous decision, which had been eagerly awaited by the companies and investors, is the latest twist in a slow-motion drama that has gripped the railroad industry since Kansas City Southern emerged as a takeover target roughly a year ago.
Canadian National had agreed to buy Kansas City Southern in May after prevailing in a bidding war with rival Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., which received the go-ahead from regulators for a similar trust months ago.
"In view of the heightened scrutiny that both the use of a voting trust and the proposed transaction face under the current major merger regulations, it wouldn't be in the public interest to allow CN to own KCS until the competitive issues have been thoroughly examined," the STB said.
Other News:
Canada GDP Contracted 1.1% in 2Q on Declines in Home Resales, Exports
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
09-01-21 0606ET
