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Global Business Daily: Nissan buoyed by Brexit, Nord Stream 2 row
Louise Greenwood
Europe;United Kingdom

"Brexit has brought Nissan a competitive advantage for being in the UK as one of the largest automotive companies, not only for the UK but also outside [it]. That's why I say that Brexit is positive for Nissan." 

These were the words of the car giant's chief operating officer, Ashwani Gupta, speaking via videolink from Japan today. The future of the plant at Sunderland had been viewed by many in the auto industry and beyond as a litmus test for Brexit. With a deal in place that protects the company's tariff-free export status in the eurozone, its future seems secure for now at least. 

Elsewhere, Germany comes under renewed pressure from Washington to pull out of its controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline deal with Russia, following the jailing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny in Moscow. The spat could be the first big test of EU-U.S. relations for the Biden Presidency.

However, the latest figures on the EU energy market underline just how dependent some central and eastern Europe states are on Russian imports and how difficult securing alternative fuel sources may yet prove to be.

It's been (another) hair-raising week for Bitcoin investors, with fund managers again warning of burnt fingers all round. While in the digi-sphere, there is no sign of any return to service soon for the troubled social media platform Parler, after a ruling at a court in Seattle.

Read on for all the day's business news in full.

Louise Greenwood,

Digital correspondent

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Nissan says its UK plant is secure for the long term after the confirmation of the post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels. The Japanese car maker had previously warned that the loss of its zero-tariff export regime would have endangered the future of the site at Sunderland, which is the biggest auto making facility in the UK. Describing a "positive environment" in Britain post-Brexit, Nissan is reported to be exploring options to build other new models in Sunderland.

Business activity has slowed sharply in the EU's two biggest economies, according to the latest data. The influential Purchasing Managers' Index by IHS Markit has found that, despite strong manufacturing growth in Germany, along with France, figures show the services sector remains in steep decline. The survey has again raised the prospect of a double-dip recession across the EU as a whole in the early part of the year

However, the same report has found that shipping costs between Europe and Asia have quadrupled in the past two months, with German exporters in particular reporting "growing strain across supply chains." Earlier this month, the Danish logistics giant Maersk reported "crazy" demand for shipping containers globally as lockdown consumers splashed out on big-ticket household goods and home exercise equipment.

Meanwhile, Germany has come under renewed pressure from the new Biden administration in Washington to end its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline deal with Russia. The European Parliament has backed the U.S. calls for the project to be scrapped, after Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was jailed by a Moscow court this week. 

German car giant Volkswagen says operating profits fell by almost half last year, but a better-than-expected performance in the last quarter of the year lifted its share price. Full-year operating profit came in at $12.2 billion, compared with $19.3 billion in 2019, but the figures exclude costs related to its diesel emissions scandal.

Democratic Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi says lawmakers will be ready to pass the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill by February 1.

Government borrowing in the UK topped $46 billion last month, the highest December figure on record and the third-highest borrowing figure for any month since records began almost 30 years ago. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says public borrowing could reach $537 billion by the end of the financial year in March. 

The UK government is examining options to pay lower-income workers a one-off stipend to stay at home during lockdown, with evidence of many flouting guidance as household budgets come under pressure.  

Clothing sales in Britain suffered their biggest annual fall on record last year, down 25 percent on 2019. 

The Bitcoin price has tumbled 14 percent overall this week, its steepest decline since March last year. In Friday midday trading the virtual currency was holding steady at around $31,000, with analysts warning that 10 percent intraday swings could become the norm for asset prices across the sector. The cryptocurrencies Ethereum and Libra also posted losses in early trading, while making up ground later in the day.

A court in the U.S. has rejected efforts by the social media site Parler to be readmitted to Amazon's web hosting platform, after service was suspended ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Amazon had argued that Parler, which has become a popular alternative to Twitter for right-wing and conspiracy groups in the U.S., violated its terms of service by allowing an increase in violent content after the attacks on Capitol Hill earlier this month. Judges in Seattle ruled that Parler had failed to demonstrate how an injunction to that decision would benefit public interest.

 

 

WATCH: It's 45 years since the first commercial flight of Concorde – a dream of European technical collaboration that took the traveling public places at supersonic speeds. Here's the story behind the futuristic flier that broke the sound barrier.

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The COVID-19 outbreak has raised issues over how women, especially those in the developing world, have been affected. CGTN Europe was joined by Caroline Anstey, president and CEO of the global international development organization PACT, to discuss the situation.

 

I think recent World Bank statistics say that about 50 million people will be pushed back into poverty, the vast majority of those are clearly women. So you have joblessness, an increase in domestic violence, which is quite palpable across the world going forward. It may be harder to get back into the job market for women who have left jobs to take care of children because schools are closed. So it's a perfect storm, really pushing women back from some of the developments that have been made over the past 50 years

 

What does the "great reset" mean for female empowerment? 

First of all, it must mean that we get vaccines out to emerging markets in the developing world. The COVAX initiative has a goal of 2 billion vaccines equitably distributed. Unfortunately, that's going to be a real uphill struggle. We need to keep delivering on the kind of support for jobs and healthcare that we give to young women. We need female entrepreneurship to continue. And I think it's very important also that we strengthen our networks for domestic violence. So it's a number of things. But in the great reset, the reset for women has to be first and foremost at the top of the agenda. 

 

In terms of the role of business, how do we get away from governments handing out development aid and involve businesses more to become part of the solution? 

Business in many ways has been ahead of government. If you look at the climate agenda, which of course is very much related to women's empowerment, it's been business that has been pushing to have disclosure, carbon accounting, much more environmental, social, good governance indicators. Now, of course, we can't be naive about this - There's a lot of 'impact washing', 'green washing,' 'gender washing' among businesses that want to look good and perhaps aren't doing the right things. But I think businesses are coming to realize it's in their own interests to invest in women ... making sure they're getting a fair wage, an equitable wage, and also that they are part of that vital accountability and transparency around business supply chains. 

 

And finally, the latest figures on the energy market underline the vast disparities consumers across the 27 member states of the EU pay for domestic power. But analysts warn that weaning the low-income countries of the former Eastern bloc off cheap, often Russia-supplied, fuel remains one of the EU's biggest challenges in meeting its climate goals.

Source(s): Reuters

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