From an office in Shenzhen’s sprawling electronics district, an engineering team is prototyping a bioreactor that will one day produce “cultivated meat”, discussing component sizes in a video call with scientists sitting in kitchens and bedrooms in the UK.

US crude oil stockpiles rose, while gasoline inventories fell, in a signal of steady demand for fuel, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels in the week to July 30 to 439.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop.

Tesla Inc chair Robyn Denholm sold more than $22 million worth of shares in the electric-car maker after exercising stock options, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Uber on Wednesday reported a profit in second quarter on one-time gains and  said its pandemic-stalled ride-hailing business was showing signs of  recovering.

Beijing’s ability to balance its virus response and economic growth is facing a big test.

After recovering strongly as widespread vaccinations allowed for an easing of pandemic restrictions, hiring by American firms slowed sharply in July, raising fears the US recovery may be running out of steam amid increasing Covid-19 infections.

Sony Corp raised its earnings outlook on Wednesday after a record first-quarter operating profit helped by pandemic stay-at-home demand for PlayStation 5 consoles, TVs, music and movies.

Oil prices  edged higher on Wednesday, supported by a fall in US inventories and  Mideast geopolitical tensions, but the increasing spread of the  coronavirus Delta variant in top consuming countries capped gains.

Fresh outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant in South-east Asia have crippled its factory sector, disrupting global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and sports utility vehicles and threatening the region’s recovery. 

Dubai’s state airport operator expects a “surge” in passenger traffic over the coming weeks and months, its chief executive said on Wednesday, after the United Arab Emirates announced an easing of travel restrictions from African and Asian countries.

Activity in India’s dominant services industry shrank for a third consecutive month in July as restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic hit demand, with companies turning the most pessimistic in a year, a private survey showed on Wednesday. 

British private-sector growth slowed sharply last month due to supply-chain bottlenecks and high worker absences prompted by Covid-19 isolation requirements, a closely watched survey indicated on Wednesday. 

Euro zone business activity raced ahead last month, expanding at its fastest pace in 15 years, as the lifting of more coronavirus restrictions and an accelerated vaccine drive injected life into the bloc’s dominant service industry, a survey showed. 

China may need more monetary and fiscal easing to halt an economic slowdown in the wake of torrential rains and flooding, and authorities’ tough response to outbreaks of the highly-transmissible coronavirus Delta variant, economists say. 

It was in 1964 that Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great and Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother first presided over the Maulid Nabi Celebration held by the Central Islamic Council of Thailand. At first, it might appear to be just another social event. But upon closer examination of the royal presence, one will realise that the monarchy and Muslims in Thailand have developed a lasting bond throughout history, one much deeper and meaningful than what may appear at first glance.

The coronavirus pandemic may have pushed the United States into a volatile era of stronger growth and better productivity, but higher interest rates and faster inflation as well, St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said, elaborating on why he thinks the U.S. central bank should end its crisis-era policies. 

The board of governors of the International Monetary Fund on Monday greenlit increasing the institution’s lending capacity by $650 billion, the last step in approving an initiative to boost aid to the most vulnerable countries. 

BP boosted its dividend and share buybacks after beating expectations with a $2.8 billion second-quarter profit powered by higher oil prices and recovering demand.

Despite complaints from US employers that workers are hard to find, there are almost 10 million people who are unemployed and more sitting on the sidelines of the labor market, said San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly, who expects many or most of them to return to work as the economy recovers. 

Asian markets fell on Tuesday while oil held most of the previous day’s losses as the impact of the fast-spreading Delta Covid variant on the global recovery fuelled concerns the outlook might not be as rosy as initially hoped.