Business

Brazil is presenting itself with confidence at the Hannover Messe, the world's largest trade fair for the manufacturing industry, opening on April 20 in Hannover, Germany. "We want to show that Brazil is not only an agricultural powerhouse, but also a global player in industrial technology," said Patricia Gomes of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. The goal, she explained, is to position Brazil as a leader in green, digital and resilient industries like renewable energy and electric mobility. A focus on energy and technology Brazil is already a regional leader in Latin America when it comes to electric mobility and the expansion of smart charging infrastructure. Last year, 224,000 electric vehicles were registered in the country — an increase of around 40% compared t...

Brazil is presenting itself with confidence at the Hannover Messe, the world's largest trade fair for the manufacturing industry, opening on April 20 in Hannover, Germany. "We want to show that Brazil is not only an agricultural powerhouse, but also a global player in industrial technology," said Patricia Gomes of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. The goal, she explained, is to position Brazil as a leader in green, digital and resilient industries like renewable energy and electric mobility. A focus on energy and technology Brazil is already a regional leader in Latin America when it comes to electric mobility and the expansion of smart charging infrastructure. Last year, 224,000 electric vehicles were registered in the country — an increase of around 40% compared t...

How will Trump's blockade of Iranian oil work? After US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan collapsed at the weekend, US President Donald Trump said the US Navy would block ships entering or leaving any Iranian port or coastal facility via the Strait of Hormuz. Until the war began in late February, a fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade passed Hormuz, the narrow stretch of water between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. If successful, the blockade would sever Iran's main source of revenue by halting its nearly 2 million barrel-per-day oil export trade, which Trump is betting will force Tehran back to the negotiating table. US officials said the goal was to strip Iran of leverage gained from its control of the waterway, which Tehran effectively shut when the war began, stranding hundre...

Jennifer Herb spends a lot of time alongside railway tracks in all kinds of weather. As a shunting attendant at DB Cargo, a subsidiary of German railway giant Deutsche Bahn, she checks brakes, inspects undercarriages and couples and uncouples freight cars. Her work clothes have to move with her every step: bending, climbing, turning and walking kilometers on uneven ground. They must be visible day and night and protect her from snow, wind, sun and rain. Herb usually wears a high-visibility jacket and trousers in bright orange with reflective stripes. They were made specifically for women and have a high stretch content. "The clothing works with me, like another colleague," wrote the shunting attendant on the blog of the Cologne-based workwear manufacturer Bierbaum-Proenen. Poorly fitt...

Pilots with Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and subsidiary Eurowings began a 48-hour strike on Monday morning. The airline is also facing a cabin crew work stoppage right after the pilots end their strike. Lufthansa is struggling to negotiate terms both with the pilots' trade union Vereinigung Cockpit and the UFO cabin crew union that called on members to strike just last week.  On Monday afternoon, UFO said that it had called on its members to strike again on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, meaning Lufthansa could face four consecutive days of disruptions.  Hundreds of flights were canceled on Monday, with the major hubs of Frankfurt and Munich hit hardest, in the fourth strike of 2026 at the airline. Middle Eastern flights are exempt from the strike, amid t...

Some things are hard to calculate in dollars and cents. NASA's space programs definitely fall into this category. The agency has an enormous annual budget, and its portfolio includes powerful spacecraft, telescopes and weather and asteroid forecasting. It's difficult to measure the scientific and material gains born from its basic research that have entered everyday life, such as memory foam, scratch-resistant lenses or home air purifiers. But while the Artemis II mission made history when the Orion capsule carried four astronauts farther away from Earth than any humans in history, many questioned the cost and overall point of space travel. Artemis II, Orion and $93 billion During its 10-day mission, much attention has focused on Artemis II's onboard toilet. Not only has it malfunct...

Energy security has once again taken on urgent priority in the European Union, as the Iran war reveals how exposed many member states still are to abrupt oil and gas supply shocks — despite the lessons of Russia's full‑scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.   The crisis has prompted member states to reexamine their efforts to diversify and cut their reliance on external energy sources. It has also sparked a fresh push for nuclear power. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month that Europe's turn away from nuclear energy had been a "strategic mistake." Brussels is now considering additional funding for nuclear, prioritizing the deployment of so-called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in the bloc by the early 2030s. Even in Germany, which completely switched off...

The commercial real estate sector has been reshaped in multiple ways in recent years, from the boom in e-commerce to the rise in remote working. Now a new force is making arguably the biggest impact of all — artificial intelligence. AI's impact is being felt in multiple sectors, but commercial real estate might not immediately come to mind as an industry primed for disruption. After all, what's more "real" than the bricks and mortar of real estate. Yet increasingly, commercial real estate services firms face a battle in convincing their clients they need as many humans to do the work as previously assumed, whether that be brokers negotiating office leases or managers guiding investment decisions. Last month, the stocks of several leading commercial real estate service firms sank in a se...

Telenor is facing a class action lawsuit in Norway over the actions of its subsidiary in Myanmar.  The case alleges that Telenor Myanmar passed phone data of more than 1,200 people to the country's military junta following the 2021 coup. The company, which is 54% owned by Norway's government, has since withdrawn from Myanmar as internal conflict intensified in the aftermath of the removal of a more civilian-led government under Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi that temporarily ruled the troubled the country. In 2014, amid hopes for a new system of governance in the Myanmar, Telenor set up a subsidiary in the countryImage: Khin Maung Win/AP Photo/picture alliance What wrongdoing is Telenor accused of?  The class action lawsuit, filed by a Swedish non-profit called the Justice a...

Air Canada's CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, the airline said on Monday, following criticism of his English-only message of condolence after the death of two pilots in a collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport.  Canada's largest airline, based in Montreal in French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau told the board he would retire by the end of the third quarter.  The chairman of Air Canada's board of directors, Vagn Sorenson, thanked Rousseau for his years of service as chief financial officer, deputy CEO and then CEO.  "We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided not only in steering our company through the 2007-2008 financial crisis, COVID and other challenges, but also in capturing opportunities such as the acquisition of Aeroplan, in restoring the s...