US Business

Twitter owner Elon Musk was set to relaunch a subscription service on Monday after a first attempt saw an embarrassing spate of fake accounts that scared advertisers and created doubt on the site’s future.

The first try last month came just 10  days after Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the influential platform and a mass round of layoffs that saw company staff levels halved, including teams of workers moderating content.

The relaunch of Twitter Blue comes as the Tesla and SpaceX owner has stepped up his tweets endorsing right-wing causes, including against the use of gender neutral pronouns and the US government’s response to Covid-19.

The first rollout of the subscription plan caused an uproar when many fake accounts popped up pretending to be celebrities or companies and Musk’s team was forced to swiftly suspend the rollout.

This time, the company said that starting Monday subscribers would be required to be reviewed by Twitter before receiving the coveted blue check mark.

The checkmark will become gold for businesses and, later in the week, gray for government organizations, it added.

A blue checkmark on an account, which indicates it has been verified by Twitter, was previously free but reserved for organizations and public figures in an attempt to avoid impersonation and misinformation.

As of 1600 GMT, the new version had yet to go live on the Twitter website.

In the US relaunch, the Twitter Blue subscription service will cost $8 per month for users accessing Twitter on the web and $11 for those signing up on an Apple device.

The extra price for iPhone users could be explained by Musk’s anger that Apple charges up to 30 percent service fee on the app store while banning other payment methods.

– ‘One more lockdown’ – 

Since his takeover, content moderation has proved to be a huge headache for Musk, who has described himself as a free speech absolutist and vowed to free up most forms of censorship on the site.

But Musk’s free speech commitment has spooked away major advertisers, caught the attention of regulators and briefly challenged the company’s access to the Apple app store.

Musk believes that the previous ownership of Twitter held a strong left-wing and pro-LGBT bias and unfairly banned accounts, including that of former president Donald Trump.

On Sunday he also lashed out against the outgoing key advisor of the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Anthony Fauci, a frequent target of vitriol on right-wing media.

Musk posted a meme showing Fauci telling US President Joe Biden, “Just one more lockdown, my king…”

Early in the pandemic, Musk tweeted that concern over the virus was “dumb” and since taking over Twitter has removed its policy targeting Covid misinformation.

His embrace of right-wing talking points seemed to attract increasing scorn in San Francisco, a politically liberal city and the headquarters for Twitter.

Musk was loudly booed by a crowd in San Francisco on Sunday night after he was invited on stage by comedian Dave Chappelle.

“It’s almost as if I’ve offended San Francisco’s unhinged leftists … but nahhh,” Musk tweeted after the event.

A Franco-US satellite is due for launch this week on a mission to survey with unprecedented accuracy nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time and help scientists investigate its impact on Earth’s climate.

For NASA and France’s space agency CNES, which have worked together in the field for 30 years, it’s a landmark scientific mission with a billion dollar budget.

French President Emmanuel Macron went to NASA’s Washington headquarters at the end of November alongside US Vice President Kamala Harris.

He highlighted the liftoff — scheduled for early Thursday on the US west coast — of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to monitor the levels of oceans, lakes and rivers, including in remote locations.

Its predecessor, TOPEX/Poseidon, launched in 1992, was also a Franco-US joint venture that measured ocean surface to an accuracy of 4.2 centimeters (1.7 inches).

It aided the forecast of the 1997-1998 El Nino weather phenomenon and improved understanding of ocean circulation and its effect on global climate.

The 2.2-tonne SWOT mission will be put into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite’s primary payload is an innovative instrument to measure the height of water called KaRin, or Ka-band radar interferometer. Its two antennas, separated by a big boom, create paralleled swaths of data.

“We’re going to get ten times better resolution than with current technologies to measure sea-surface height and understand the ocean fronts and eddies that help shape climate,” said NASA Earth Science Division Director Karen St. Germain.

“It’s like looking at a car number plate from space when before we could only see a street,” added Thierry Lafon, SWOT project leader at the CNES.

The stakes are high. While the impact of major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream is known, more local flows and eddies covering dozens of kilometres remain more of a mystery.

But they too affect sea water surface temperatures and heat transfer as well as the absorption by the oceans of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

SWOT will improve weather and climate modelling, the observation of coastal erosion and help track how fresh and saltwater bodies change over time.

– Debris-free end of life –

With an “optimal” orbit of 890 kilometers (about 550 miles) above Earth, Lafon said SWOT will “take in all the components that affect water levels such as tides and the sun”.

NASA says SWOT will survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time.

It will monitor water levels, surface areas and quantities at more than 20 million lakes with shores of more than 250 metres. The entire length of rivers more than 100 metres wide will also be observed.

Water management, flood and drought prevention will be improved, said Lafon.

Flying the satellite to Vandenberg from the Thales Alenia Space (TAS) site in Cannes, southern France, proved a headache.

“Due to the conflict in Ukraine, there were no more Antonov 124s available and the 747 cargo is too small,” said TAS project leader Christophe Duplay.

“We decided to ask the USAF to provide one of its C-5 Galaxies.”

And that meant counting on NASA to have the US air force supply one of its rare giant aircraft to ship the huge payload.

SWOT has an estimated three-year lifetime — although Lafon said “nothing precludes the mission to last five to eight years” — and is set to become the first satellite to make a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, reducing the amount of space debris, in line with the French space operations act.

Nearly 80 percent of the 400 kilos (880 pounds) of onboard fuel will be used to that end.

One in five cars on Norway’s roads are electric, a share that has doubled in less than three years, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association said Monday.

“The snowball is rolling faster and faster and a growing number of good electric car models are on Norway’s roads”, the head of the association, Christina Bu, said on its website.

While it took almost 10 years for the country’s electric car fleet to go from zero to 10 percent of the market — a level reached in March 2020 — it took less than three years for the share to then double to 20 percent, the body said.

A market share of 30 percent could be reached within two years, it said.

By comparison, 0.64 percent of cars on France’s roads were electric, according to French government figures from January 2021.

Norway, which is paradoxically Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, aims for all its new cars to be “zero emission” — in other words, electric and hydrogen — by 2025.

Clean cars benefit from several advantages in the Scandinavian country.

Among other things, they are largely tax-free, enjoy lower fares for road tolls and public parking, and can in some cases use public transport lanes.

Electric cars now represent about 80 percent of Norway’s new car registrations, as an increasing number of models become available.

With the growing popularity of these cars, and the loss of income for the state, Norwegian authorities have started to roll back some of the benefits.

As of January 1, the 25 percent VAT exemption on the purchase of new electric vehicles will only apply to the first 500,000 kroner ($50,000) of the car’s price.

The change is expected to affect high-end electric car makes, such as Tesla, Mercedes and Audi.  

Wall Street pushed higher but European and Asian stock markets dropped Monday as investors looked ahead to interest rate decisions this week from major central banks including the Federal Reserve.

The dollar traded mixed against its main rivals, while oil prices rebounded following sharp falls last week.

Analysts are forecasting the Fed and the European Central Bank to announce smaller rate hikes at their meetings this week compared with recent decisions.

The Bank of England is meanwhile on course for a ninth increase in a row as policymakers try to bring down inflation from the highest levels in decades.

“Following a softer session in Asia, European markets are on edge, opening the week lower ahead of a critical few days for central bank action,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor. 

Wall Street opened higher, however, as bargain hunters moved in following losses at the end of last week.

“The ECB, the Fed and the Bank of England are expected to raise rates by 50 basis points each as the pace of tightening looks set to slow,” Scholar added.

The half-point jumps will still be steep rises, however, as central banks struggle to cool the pace of price increases, particularly regarding energy and food.

Ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting, investors were set to digest US inflation data due Tuesday.

“It will be a fitting hump day on Wednesday, because the (inflation) data and the Fed decision are big humps the market needs to get over if it wants to make a run at a year-end rally,” said market analyst Patrick J. O’Hare at Briefing.com.

“If either, or both, disappoint in a meaningful way, then a year-end rally becomes a more challenging proposition,” he added.

Traders were keeping an eye also on developments in China as it moves away from the zero-Covid policy that has hammered its economy, the world’s second largest after the United States.

The shift comes after widespread protests against the near three-year strategy, though there is concern about the expected spike in infections.

Uncertainty surrounding the strength of China’s demand recovery has hit oil prices hard, with crude futures shedding more than 10 percent last week.

“The gradual easing of Chinese Covid restrictions is… expected to lead to a further upswing in demand,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“However, concerns about the rapid spread of the virus remain, and China will have a tough fight on its hands, dealing with an expected explosion of infections while trying to open up the economy.”

– Key figures around 1430 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,446.42 points

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 14,301.97

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,644.94

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,918.42

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 33,597.24

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 27,842.33 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 19,463.63 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,179.04 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0559 from $1.0534 on Friday

Dollar/yen: UP at 137.04 yen from 136.57 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2284 from $1.2262

Euro/pound: UP at 85.96 pence from 85.90 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $71.88 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.4 percent at $76.37 per barrel

burs-rl/imm

German automaker Mercedes-Benz said Monday it planned to inject more than one billion euros into a new plant in Poland dedicated to building fully electric vans.

The site will be located in Jawor, southwestern Poland, where the group has already been manufacturing combustion engines since 2019 and battery systems since 2021.

“We will build our first pure electric plant in Jawor,” Mathias Geisen, head of Mercedes‑Benz Vans, said in a statement.

The move would “ensure our leading position in the field of all-electric light commercial vehicles” while at the same time “preserving the long-term prospects of the existing plants in Europe”, he added.

At a press conference in Warsaw, Geisen said the group planned to spend more than a billion euros on setting up the new site.

“The investment announced by Mercedes today is for Poland a very, very important investment,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters.

It comes as Mercedes-Benz and rival automakers around the globe are spending vast sums as part of a major industry-wide shift towards electrification.

Mercedes had initially planned to partner with US start-up Rivian and build all-electric vans in Europe together.

But Mercedes on Monday said plans to establish a joint venture were “on hold due to Rivian’s ongoing reprioritisation of projects”.

Rivian, which has been grappling with supply chain woes that have forced it to curb production this year, said it had decided “to pause discussions” with Mercedes.

“At this point in time, we believe focusing on our consumer business, as well as our existing commercial business, represent the most attractive near-term opportunities to maximise value for Rivian,” CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.

European stock markets dropped Monday following losses in Asia, as investors looked ahead to interest rate decisions this week from major central banks including the Federal Reserve.

The dollar traded mixed against its main rivals, while oil prices retreated further following sharp falls last week.

Analysts are forecasting the Fed and the European Central Bank to announce smaller rate hikes at their meetings this week compared with recent decisions.

The Bank of England is meanwhile on course for a ninth increase in a row as policymakers try to bring down inflation from the highest levels in decades.

“Following a softer session in Asia, European markets are on edge, opening the week lower ahead of a critical few days for central bank action,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor. 

“The ECB, the Fed and the Bank of England are expected to raise rates by 50 basis points each as the pace of tightening looks set to slow.”

The half-point jumps will still be steep rises, however, as central banks struggle to cool the pace of price increases, particularly regarding energy and food.

Ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting, investors were set to digest US inflation data due Monday.

Traders were keeping an eye also on developments in China as it moves away from the zero-Covid policy that has hammered its economy, the world’s second largest after the United States.

The shift comes after widespread protests against the near three-year strategy, though there is concern about the expected spike in infections.

Uncertainty surrounding the strength of China’s demand recovery has hit oil prices hard, with crude futures shedding more than 10 percent last week.

“The gradual easing of Chinese Covid restrictions is… expected to lead to a further upswing in demand,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“However, concerns about the rapid spread of the virus remain, and China will have a tough fight on its hands, dealing with an expected explosion of infections while trying to open up the economy.”

– Key figures around 1200 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,462.48 points

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 14,329.81

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,659.99

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,926.69

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 27,842.33 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 19,463.63 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,179.04 (close)

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 33,476.46 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0570 from $1.0534 on Friday

Dollar/yen: UP at 136.84 yen from 136.57 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2275 from $1.2262

Euro/pound: UP at 86.13 pence from 85.90 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $70.55 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $75.44 per barrel

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he was pushing back his presentation of a major pensions overhaul denounced by labour unions, citing recent leadership changes at two opposition parties.

Both the Greens and the right-wing Republicans have elected new chiefs, and Macron said he would consult with them before unveiling details of the major reform on January 10, instead of Thursday as planned.

“This will give a few more weeks for those… who have taken over to discuss some of the key elements of the reform with the government,” Macron said during the latest gathering of his so-called “national refoundation council.”

Macron says the retirement age needs to be extended to 64 or 65, from 62 currently — one of the lowest ages in the EU — in order to finance the pay-as-you-go system as more people live longer and enter the workforce later.

The system is likely to have a surplus of 3.2 billion euros this year, according to a September report from the government’s pensions advisory board (COR), but is forecast to fall into structural deficits in coming decades unless new financing sources are found.

Macron has also promised to streamline the country’s 42 separate pension regimes, which offer early retirement and other benefits mainly to public-sector workers.

There has been bitter opposition to the planned reform, which has been one of Macron’s long-standing targets in power.

Unions staged huge protests and strikes when the reform was first attempted two years ago, before the government abandoned it as the Covid-19 crisis engulfed the world in early 2020.

Macron’s overhaul would be the most extensive in a series of pension reforms enacted by successive governments on both the left and right in recent decades aiming to end budget shortfalls.