Saturday, February 4, 2023

Hello, I'm glad to see you once again. We have developments aplenty on China's wandering balloon, the Adani Group fallout, Elon Musk's courtroom win, Egyptian mummy-embalming supplies and more.

Antony Blinken walks across the tarmac at Phnom Penh International Airport, Cambodia, August 5, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool

U.S. calls off Blinken visit to China

What happened: Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States. China apologized for the "airship," saying it was blown off course and was being used for weather and science research. A Pentagon spokesman said the balloon changed course and demonstrated a capability to maneuver.
What's next: The State Department said the trip would happen "at the earliest opportunity when conditions would allow." Both sides have something to gain from avoiding what looks like steps toward a new Cold War, leading some experts to scratch their heads over just what China was intending to convey.

Zelenskiy keeps up weapons appeal, meets EU leaders

The latest: Ukraine's president hosted European Union leaders in Kyiv to discuss further sanctions on Russia. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine would fight to hold the city of Bakhmut, which Moscow said its forces were encircling. EU leaders did not commit to a quick timeline for Ukraine to join the bloc.
The longer view: Zelenskiy has been indefatigable in his appeal for more weapons, the latest of which are rockets that can hit targets deep behind Russia's front lines. Russian forces will need to adapt or face potentially catastrophic losses, our reporters write. Stay current with developments here.

Adani crisis ignites Indian contagion fears, credit warnings

This week: A U.S. short seller report raised concerns about the finances of the Adani Group, one of India's top conglomerates, and the fallout in markets has been huge.
Next week: The Indian government began a review of Adani financial statements and other regulatory submissions. Short sellers are curious to know how Hindenburg, the group that issued the report, made its bet.

Pakistan faces an 'unimaginable' economic crisis, PM says

A rough week: Shehbaz Sharif said the IMF was giving his country a "tough time" over unlocking funding, the country's foreign-exchange reserves with the central bank fell to a little more than $3 billion, the rupee fell further, and a suicide bomber killed more than 100 people in Peshawar.
Next door: Things are dire in Afghanistan, where more than 170 people have died because of cold weather in recent weeks.

Western oil companies score huge profits

Energy: Exxon Mobil set a company record and a historic high for the western oil industry with a $56 billion net profit for 2022. Its financial results and those of Shell and Chevron prompted renewed criticism and sparked calls for more windfall profit taxes.
Elsewhere in business: Meta pleased investors with stricter cost controls. Alphabet and Amazon offered more subdued results and forecasts. A U.S. jury took two hours to find Elon Musk and Tesla not liable for misleading investors over one of Musk's tweets. Plaintiffs had claimed billions in damages.

Before I forget...

The United States has plans to cut traffic deaths, slash credit-card fees and protect airline passengers. Its latest jobs report showed blowout job growth, with unemployment at 3.4%, its lowest since 1969. What to expect? Further rate increases from the Fed. Pope Francis had harsh words for rich nations that exploit African countries, and Australian authorities recovered a very small radioactive capsule that fell off a truck in the very big Outback.

We have a nice crop of science stories, from new ideas to revive farm soil and using concrete to trap carbon dioxide soaked from the air, to an unearthed statue of a Roman emperor posing as Hercules, the origins of ancient Egypt's mummification ingredients and the creation on earth of a form of ice more likely to be found in space. Speaking of ice, I'm sending this newsletter from a drafty house in New England that is (mostly) holding at bay a blast of frigid Arctic air. The wind chill is -32C/-26F in my neighborhood, which means it's warmer in my kitchen freezer. I wish you a good weekend from Ice Station Zebra.

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