The world’s $164 trillion debt pile is bigger than at the height of the financial crisis a decade ago, the IMF has warned, sounding the alarm on excessive global borrowing. The fund said the private and public sectors urgently needed to cut debt levels to improve the resilience of the global economy and provide greater firefighting capabilities if things go wrong. Vitor Gaspar, director of fiscal affairs at the IMF, singled out the US for criticism, saying it was the only advanced country that was not planning to reduce its debt pile as recent tax cuts will keep public borrowing high. The fund urged policymakers to stop providing “unnecessary stimulus when economic activity is already pacing up” and called on the US to “recalibrate” its fiscal policy and increase taxes to start cutting its debt. The fund was concerned that “an abrupt deleveraging process” in the private sector could trigger another financial crisis as borrowers simultaneously tightened their belts. (Financial Times*)
Energy
Walmart to double charging network for electric vehicles
Walmart shoppers will soon have far greater access to stations where they can charge their electric cars whilst buying goods and groceries. The world’s largest retailer has announced that it will work with Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America to roll out fast electric vehicle (EV) chargers at 100 locations across 34 states by the summer of 2019 – doubling the number of EV chargers installed at Walmart locations. Walmart already has electric car chargers at about 100 locations, working with vendors such as EVgo and ChargePoint, as well as Tesla. The Walmart charging network will use faster chargers than the current standard ones that are in use today. The DC chargers will be able to offer between 150 and 350 kilowatts of electricity, enabling customers to charge up 20 miles of battery range per minute. (GreenBiz)
Strategy
P&G to buy German Merck’s consumer health unit for €3.4 billion
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to acquire the consumer health business of Merck KGaA for €3.4 billion, giving it vitamin brands such as Seven Seas and greater exposure to both Latin American and Asian markets. The purchase price for Merck’s business suggests that the German company climbed down from price demands of as much as €4 billion that are thought to have deterred initial suitors such as Nestle, Perrigo and Stada owners Bain and Cinven. As part of the deal, P&G will buy a majority stake in the German company’s Indian consumer health business, Merck Ltd, and subsequently make a mandatory tender offer to minority shareholders. The deal does not yet include Merck’s French consumer health business, for which P&G has made a binding offer. P&G also announced it would terminate its consumer care joint venture with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, on the 1st of July 2018, saying that P&G and Teva’s strategies were no longer aligned. (Reuters)
Waste
Costa Coffee to recycle equivalent of all its takeaway cups each year
Costa Coffee is to become the first UK coffee chain to commit to recycling the same volume of takeaway cups used by its customers every year in a bid to stop hundreds of millions needlessly ending up in landfill. The coffee chain has pledged to recycle up to 500 million coffee cups a year by 2020 – the equivalent of its entire annual use of takeaway cups and one-fifth of the total 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups used in the UK each year. Costa is to pay a supplement of £70 to waste collectors for every tonne of cups collected, to make it more financially attractive for them to collect, sort and transport coffee cups to recycling plants, meaning fewer cups will end up in landfill. The company says these extra costs will not be reflected in higher prices for consumers. (Guardian)
Policy
EU circular economy plans clear major hurdle after MEP approval
EU proposals to set updated targets for recycling, food waste, textiles and packaging have cleared a major legislative hurdle with MEPs voting in favour of the Circular Economy Package in Strasbourg. The EU Parliament gave its final approval at the plenary session to a package of legislation that includes a headline target for member states to recycle at least 55 percent of waste from households and businesses by 2025, rising to 60 percent by 2030 and 65 percent by 2035. Having now been approved by MEPs, the package must now go back to the EU Council of Ministers for final formal approval before it becomes EU law. Italian MEP Simona Bonafè, the Parliament’s lead for the package, said the circular economy legislation would mean Member States for the first time having to follow a single, shared framework for waste and recycling. “With this package, Europe is firmly committed to sustainable economic and social development, which will at last integrate industrial policies and environmental protection,” she said. (BusinessGreen)
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