TheEconomistJuly17th 2021 9
The world this week Business
TheEuropeanUnionunveiled
ambitiousgoalstoreduce
greenhouse-gasemissionsby
55%by 2030 (comparedwith
1990 levels)andtoreachnet
zeroby2050.Theplansetsout
a rangeofpoliciestohelpmeet
thetargets,butthemainthrust
isanexpansionoftheeu’s
EmissionsTradingScheme,in
whichcompaniespaytopol
lute.Itwouldalsointroducea
CarbonBorderAdjustment
Mechanism,ineffecta tariff
ongoodsfromoutsidetheeu
thatarenotgreenfriendly.The
announcementcamedays
beforeChinawasexpectedto
announceanemissionstrad
ingschemethatwillcreatethe
world’slargestcarbonmarket.
Doingnicely
China’s economyexpanded by
1.3% in the second quarter,
compared with the previous
three months, helped by
growth in manufacturing,
retail sales and investment.
China’s exports, meanwhile,
rose by 32% in June (in dollar
terms) over June 2020.
Although the rebound in trade
reflects an easy comparison
with the depths of the pan
demic, it is much stronger
than analysts had forecast.
America’s annual rate of
inflationhit 5.4% in June,
another 13year high. Consum
er prices have been driven up
by higher energy costs, in
cluding for petrol, and also by
demand for used cars. Prices
for secondhand vehicles have
accelerated as the production
of new cars stalls amid a global
shortage of chips.
The Bank of Englandscrapped
the restrictions on banks’
dividend payouts and share
buybacks that it imposed
during the pandemic. The
Federal Reserve has already
removed similar curbs on
most banks in America; the
European Central Bank is
expected to follow suit.
Meanwhile, the ecbgave the
goahead for a pilot project for
a digital version of the euro as
an alternative to crypto-
currencies, such as bitcoin. In
London police seized
£180mworth ($249m) of
cryptocurrency linked to
moneylaundering and other
nefarious activities. It was one
of the biggest such seizures
globally and came a few weeks
after the city’s police confiscat
ed £114m in cryptocurrency
from other illicit gains.
The European Commission
said it had put plans for a
digital tax on hold. America
has been lobbying hard for the
proposal to be scrapped. Janet
Yellen, America’s treasury
secretary, suggested this week
that the g20agreement on a
global minimum corporate tax
of 15% depended on getting rid
of “discriminatory” levies on
digital companies.
America’s biggest banks
reported earnings for the
second quarter. Revenues
dropped at Bank of America
and Citigroup year on year;
income from loans was down
at both. Revenue also fell at
JPMorgan Chase, but net profit
doubled, to $11.9bn, as it
released money set aside for
loan losses that didn’t materi
alise. At Goldman Sachs rev
enue from asset management
compensated for a drop in
income from trading, by com
parison with its gains from the
market turmoil of a year ago.
TheUnitedNationsreported
that efforts to end world hun
ger and malnutrition by
were dealt a serious blow by
covid19. The prevalence of
food insecurityhas been
rising slowly in recent years,
but in 2020 an additional 320m
people did not have regular
access to food, as many as the
increases for the previous five
years combined. Last year also
saw the biggest rise in under
nourishment (food intake that
is below the minimum need
ed) in two decades. The eco
nomic turmoil in 2020 that
caused sharp rises in food
prices has left 2.4bn people
without adequate food.
Flipkart, India’s biggest e
commerce retailer, raised
$3.6bn in its latest fundraising
round, valuing it at $37.6bn as
it reportedly prepares for a
stockmarket listing. India’s
army of middleclass online
shoppers is growing fast.
revil, a ransomwaregroup
operatinginRussia,suddenly
wentoffline.revilhasbeen
behinda spateofrecentcyber
attacksoncompaniesinAmer
icaandelsewhere,demanding
tensofmillionsofdollarsin
bitcoinpaymentstodebugthe
computernetworksit had
infected.Itsdisappearance
fromthedarkwebcameafter
JoeBidenwarnedVladimir
Putinthatif Russiadidn’ttake
any action, America would.
An industryreadytolaunch
Sir Richard Branson became
the first among his cohort of
space-tourismentrepreneurs
to take a flight to the edge of
space. Sir Richard flew in the
vssUnity, a Virgin Galactic
rocket plane, 85km above New
Mexico before gliding down to
land. Jeff Bezos is next, flying
in one of his Blue Origin craft
on July 20th.
Tech billionaires are not the
only ones investing in futur
istic transport. United Airlines
struck a deal this week to buy
electric planesbeing devel
oped by Heart Aerospace, a
Swedish startup, which will
come into service in 2026 if
they pass regulatory muster.
The es-19aircraft will have a
range of 250 miles (400km)
and can carry 19 passengers.
Undernourishment
In low- and middle-income countries
Annual change, people, m
Source: United Nations
120
90
60
30
0
10052001 2015