China’s BYD is set to overtake Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs), marking the first time it has outpaced its American rival for annual sales.   On Thursday, BYD said, external that sales of its battery-powered cars rose last year by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million.   […]

BP has struck a $6bn deal to sell a majority stake in its motor oil division Castrol to a US investment firm.   The oil giant sold a 65% stake in Castrol, which makes lubricants for cars, motorcycles and industrial vehicles, to New York-based Stonepeak.   The deal valued Castrol at $10.1bn, with BP receiving […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 26th December. There were increases of 10 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and ABS. In the UK, prices fell against some grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers fell with reductions of between 5 and 10 USD per […]

The US economy picked up speed over the three months to September, as consumer spending jumped and exports increased.   The world’s largest economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.3%, up from 3.8% in the previous quarter. That was better than expected, and marked the strongest growth in two years.   The report, which […]

An Amazon executive has said the US technology giant has blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents.   North Koreans tried to apply for remote working IT jobs using stolen or fake identities, Amazon’s chief security officer Stephen Schmidt said in a LinkedIn post.   “Their objective is typically straightforward: get […]

The US is immediately pausing leases for offshore wind energy projects currently being built near the Atlantic coastline, citing security concerns.   In a statement, the Department of the Interior said it was pausing five large-sale projects to look into how windmills could interfere with radar and create other risks to east coast cities.   […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 19th December. There were increases of 10 and 11 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and PET. In the UK, prices rose across all grades as the Pound lost value against the Euro.   Asian polymers fell with reductions of between 5 and 15 […]

A £150m support package has been announced for the Ineos industrial site at Grangemouth in Scotland.   The UK government will invest £125m and owners Ineos will contribute £25m to support 500 jobs at the site.   Scottish secretary, Douglas Alexander, said the joint deal was a “stark contrast” to the closure-hit Mossmoran chemical plant. […]

European Union governments have agreed to immobilise indefinitely Russian assets of up to €210bn that have been frozen in the EU since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.   Most of Moscow’s cash is held in Belgian bank Euroclear, and European leaders are hoping to agree a deal at next week’s crunch EU […]

Ford is backing away from plans to manufacture large electric vehicles, the US carmaker said, citing lacklustre demand and recent regulatory changes under US President Donald Trump.   The company will instead invest in producing profitable hybrid and gas-powered vehicles and smaller, more affordable EV models.   Ford said it expects its profits to take […]