Car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and energy firm BP PLC said they signed a deal to develop and manage a network of electric-vehicle charging stations across North America.
BP Pulse, which is BP's EV charging business, would power and manage Hertz's charging infrastructure under the memorandum of understanding, the companies said. The charging infrastructure will be open to taxi and ride-sharing drivers, as well as the general public, the companies said.
U.S., Europe Prepare New Sanctions on Russia After Kremlin's Nuclear Threats
The U.S. and European Union are poised to adopt new sanctions on Russia, though some EU members are questioning existing restrictions and the economic pain in Europe is growing.
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, is likely to propose new import and export controls on Russia as soon as Wednesday, according to officials involved in the talks, including an import ban on some Russian diamonds. It will also propose placing additional Russian officials and pro-Kremlin separatists on its sanctions list in the coming days, in a modest new package of measures to increase pressure on the Kremlin.
Russia Prepares to Annex Parts of Ukraine as Staged Votes End
MYKOLAIV, Ukraine-Russia is set to formally annex occupied territories in Ukraine after staging referendums that involved coercion, threats and, in some places, soldiers going door to door and forcing people to vote at gunpoint.
Kyiv and Western governments have described the votes as a sham designed to confer a veneer of legitimacy to Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian land seven months on from its invasion. They could also enable Moscow to claim that any effort by Ukrainian forces to recapture the territories, in the south and east of the country, amounts to an attack on Russia itself.
Iran Targets Celebrity Supporters of Protests as Movement Spreads
As protests in Iran over the rights of women expand, the Islamic establishment is now attempting to suppress the voices of the most visible supporters of a movement that so far has been leaderless: celebrities.
Many prominent Iranian actors, directors, artists, poets and sports professionals have publicly backed those protesting the Islamic Republic's morality laws, after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code.
GLOBAL NEWS
10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 4%
The yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds hit 4% for the first time in more than a decade Wednesday, the latest leg of a historically steep rise that has jolted financial markets this year.
Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, have been climbing at their fastest pace in four decades because of escalating expectations for how high the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates to tamp down the worst inflation since the 1980s.
China's Offshore Currency Hits Record Low Against Dollar
China's currency hit its weakest ever offshore trading level against the U.S. dollar, with the yuan falling below 7.2 to the dollar for the first time since a separate system for trading the currency outside mainland China was launched more than a decade ago.
The move caps a fall of about 12% for the offshore yuan against the dollar this year and comes despite repeated attempts by China's central bank to support its currency. The U.S. dollar has gained against currencies around the world amid a campaign of aggressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
Senate Advances Stopgap Funding Bill After Removing Joe Manchin's Permitting Overhaul
WASHINGTON-Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) on Tuesday threw in the towel on including his contentious proposal to speed up permitting of energy projects in a must-pass funding bill, clearing the way for the Senate to advance the legislation needed to keep the government open.
With the permitting language out, the Senate voted 72 to 23 to advance the stopgap bill, which would extend current government funding levels until Dec. 16 and prevent a partial shutdown this weekend, when the fiscal year ends. The bill now moves to final passage in the Senate and will also need approval in the House, which returns Wednesday, before heading to President Biden's desk.
Kashkari Says Fed Needs to Keep Tightening Until There's Compelling Evidence of Declining Inflation
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the U.S. central bank needs to tighten monetary policy until underlying inflation is declining, and then wait to see whether it has done enough.
"The one mistake that I'm acutely aware of-that I want to avoid repeating from the 1970s-is when policy makers saw the economy weakening, saw inflation start to tick down, and then they cut rates, thinking they had done the job. And then inflation flared back up again-that, I believe, is a mistake we cannot make and will not make," Mr. Kashkari said Tuesday during an online event hosted by The Wall Street Journal.
Stopgap Funding Bill Includes $12.3 Billion in New Ukraine Aid
WASHINGTON-Senate Democrats have included another $12.3 billion in economic and military aid for Ukraine in a must-pass government funding bill, a proposal that would bring U.S. spending on Kyiv's efforts to repel Russia's invasion to more than $65 billion this year.
Congress has until Friday, the end of the fiscal year, to pass the bill and keep the government funded through Dec. 16.
China's Xi Jinping Re-Emerges in Public After Quarantine
BEIJING-Chinese leader Xi Jinping got out of quarantine and made his first public appearance since visiting Central Asia, trumpeting his governance record over the past decade as he prepares to extend his rule for a third term.
Until Tuesday, Mr. Xi hadn't appeared in public since his trip earlier this month to Central Asia, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, because he was abiding by quarantine protocols that China imposes on people returning from overseas travel, according to people familiar with the matter.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-28-22 0530ET
