• COVID-19 outbreaks and congested ports have drastically increased the cost of moving merchandise across the world
• Dollar Tree said Thursday that rising freight costs will drag down its earnings by $1.50 to $1.60 per share — more than double the 60 cents to 65 cent decline that it had projected in May

Student debt will be canceled by Education Department for 115,000 borrowers

• On August 26, the U.S. Department of Education announced that they will waive $1.1 billion in student debt for 115,000 borrowers
• This debt forgiveness is extended to those who attended ITT Technical Institute, a for-profit school 
• Since January, the Biden Administration has canceled student loans for more than 563,000 followers

Chip shortage causes UK car production to drop to 1956 production levels 

• On August 26, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has announced that UK manufacturers built only 53,438 vehicles in July which is a 37.6% decrease from July of 2020
• The SMMT said a global semiconductor shortage, factory shutdowns, and worker absences amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic all contributed to the decline

Moderna Covid vaccine suspended by Japan over contamination concerns

• Over 1.6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been suspended by Japan on August 26 among concerns of contaminated vials
• Across 8 vaccination sites in Japan, 40 unused vials have been spotted with unspecified foreign matter over the past 10 days 

The post Business News – 08-26-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• A Boston restaurant company that specializes in automated kitchen technology named Spyce has been acquired by Sweetgreen 
• Since its founding in 2015, Spyce has raised over $24 million from investors including a famous chef, Daniel Boulud
• Sweetgreen could be more attractive to investors through this new deal as they seek to enter the public markets through an IPO

Maersk has invested $1.4 billion into “carbon neutral” cargo ships 

• Maersk has announced their vessels will be built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and have a capacity to carry almost 16,000 metal containers
• According to the International Energy Agency, in 2019 international shipping was responsible for approximately 2% of “global energy-related CO2 emissions.”

Wind farms have become Japan’s main target for their deep coastal waters

• RWE Renewables and Kansai Electric Power have signed an agreement that will “jointly study the feasibility of a large-scale floating offshore wind project” off Japan’s coast
• In June, a group of six companies was selected to develop a 16.8 megawatt floating offshore wind farm in waters off Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture

The post Business News – 08-24-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• With more than 251,000 Covid cases, the second largest continent Africa has seen a 20% increase in just one week and a 12% increase from peak of January
• Along with the countries Senegal and Malawi, there are upwards of 16 African countries that have experienced a surge in Covid cases 
• Due to the slow international vaccine rollout in Africa, less than 2% of the continent’s population has received the full vaccine 

NBA Finals: Suns v. Bucks game 1 gets 8.5 million viewers; 13% increase from 2020

• On ABC, The NBA Finals game has gotten more than 8 million viewers for Game 1 of this championship which is a 13% increase from last year in 2020
• In Milwaukee and Phoenix, the National Basketball Association has reported that the markets have finally appeared in the Finals after decades

• As a gas and Oil Giant in the UK, BP has reported that according to their statistics, some of the most dramatic energy crises in history have not surpassed the intensity of the energy crises happening from 2020 to 2021 during the pandemic
• The company has also reported that last year with the arrival of the Coronavirus came primary energy and carbon emission that failed at their fastest rates since World War II 

Stellantis plans to invest $35.5 billion in Dodge EVs and Ram pickup

• Through 2025, Stelantis has plans to invest a minimum of $35.5 billion into new software technology and electrification of vehicles
• The company now joins other automakers such as Fort Motor, Volkswagen, and General Motors with their announced investments in EVs
• Stellantis as a total of 14 brand which include Open, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Maserati, and Ram

Personal Lines of Credit at Wells Fargo will be shut down

• In the coming weeks, Wells Fargo Bank will be shutting down all of the existing personal lines of credit and the product is not offered anymore 
• The bank reports that in reviewing their product offerings, they found that closing all Personal Lines of Credit would allow them to focus on credit cars and personal loans
• Wells Fargo has also said that this closure may have an affect on the credit score of those this move affects 

Spectators will be banned from Japan Olympics as the country declares state of emergency

• After a significant rise in Covid-19 cases in the country mainly due to the delta variant, the Olympics will be banning spectators from the games in Tokyo
• After already being delayed for a year because of the pandemic, this poses another hue challenge for the Olympic games

The post Business News – 07-08-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.