Fri, Nov 25, 2022 page11

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  South Korea

  Truckers go on strike

  Truck drivers are on strike for the second time in less than a year, targeting major ports in a bid to disrupt key exports from autos to petrochemicals. The strike began yesterday, with demonstrations at 16 sites across the country. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, which represents 25,000 workers, earlier this week said it planned to block all ports in the country. The work stoppage threatens a repeat of the union’s actions in June, when protests caused production disruptions costing about 1.6 trillion won (US$1.2 billion). Auto, petrochemical, steel and other key industries were hit as companies from POSCO Holdings Inc to Hyundai Motor Co curbed output. A lengthy dispute could affect global supply chains, as the country is the largest exporter of memory chips and is home to some of the world’s biggest automakers.

  United States

  Gene therapy approved

  Regulators approved CSL Behring’s hemophilia B gene therapy, a one-off infusion that frees patients from regular treatments, but costs US$3.5 million a dose, making it the most expensive medicine in the world. CSL Behring’s Hemgenix, administered just once, cut the number of bleeding events expected over the course of a year by 54 percent, a study found. It also freed 94 percent of patients from time-consuming and costly infusions of Factor IX, which is used to control the potentially deadly condition. “While the price is a little higher than expected, I do think it has a chance of being successful because 1) existing drugs are also very expensive and 2) hemophilia patients constantly live in fear of bleeds,” Loncar Investments chief executive officer Brad Loncar said.

  Energy

  LNG supplies tighten

  Asia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot price rallied to the highest level since early last month on concern that disruptions to production and the arrival of colder weather in key markets could tighten supply. The Japan-Korea Marker, North Asia’s LNG benchmark, jumped 20 percent in the week through Wednesday to US$34.24 per million British thermal units, traders said. An ongoing outage at a key US export plant and forecasts for frigid weather in Europe are boosting global competition for the fuel this winter, and potentially curbing shipments to Asia, the traders said. Although LNG importers such as Japan and China are optimistic that they have secured enough fuel for winter, supplies remain tight and a sudden cold snap in those nations could quickly deplete inventories. Asia is in direct competition with energy-starved Europe for a dwindling amount of available LNG.

  Sweden

  Interest rates rise to 2.5%

  The Riksbank raised borrowing costs by 75 basis points, sustaining its heightened aggression against stubborn inflation even as the economy succumbs to a likely recession. In his final decision as central bank governor, Stefan Ingves and his colleagues lifted the key interest rate to 2.5 percent, the highest since 2008. “The forecast shows that the policy rate will probably be raised further at the beginning of next year and then be just below 3 percent,” the Riksbank said. The risk that “current high inflation will become entrenched is still substantial, and it is very important that monetary policy acts to ensure inflation falls back.” The inflation measure tracked by officials would average 5.7 percent next year, forecasts released with the decision said.
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