Bezos-backed plant food firm NotCo joins unicorn club after latest funding

Jeff Bezos-backed food-tech firm NotCo said on Monday it raised $235 million in its latest funding round that also included athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, valuing the plant-based food company at $1.5 billion.
German business morale down on supply shortages, virus fears

German business morale fell unexpectedly in July on continuing supply chain worries and amid rising coronavirus infections, a survey showed on Monday.
With $4 billion in losses, Heathrow tells UK: open up travel

London’s Heathrow Airport urged Britain on Monday to open up travel to vaccinated passengers after its recovery fell behind Europe, pushing its cumulative pandemic losses to $4 billion.
Ryanair nudges up annual traffic forecast as summer bookings surge

Ryanair (RYA.I) on Monday nudged up its forecast for full-year traffic on strong summer bookings but said fares remained well below pre-pandemic levels as it reported a first-quarter net loss of 273 million euros ($322 million).
S.Korea to toughen rules to collect cryptocurrencies from tax dodgers

South Korea will look to tighten a crackdown on tax evasion by cryptocurrency investors and high-income earners as it seeks fresh revenue to cover rising welfare costs, its finance ministry said on Monday.
Philips beats earnings forecast as it mobilises for respiratory device recall

Dutch health technology company Philips (PHG.AS) on Monday beat analysts’ expectations with a jump in second-quarter core earnings to 532 million euros ($626 million), boosted by its personal health and diagnosis businesses.
U.S. judge rules Lithium Americas may excavate Nevada mine site

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO) may conduct excavation work at its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, denying a request from environmentalists who said the digging could harm sage grouse and other wildlife.
‘Road to space’: billionaire Bezos has successful suborbital jaunt

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, soared some 66.5 miles (107 km) above the Texas desert aboard his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle on Tuesday and returned safely to Earth, a historic suborbital flight that helps usher in a new era of space tourism.
New York, drug distributors reach $1.18 bln opioid settlement as national deal looms

The three largest U.S. drug distributors agreed mid-trial to pay up to $1.18 billion to settle claims by New York state and two of its biggest counties over their role in the nationwide opioid epidemic, the state’s attorney general said on Tuesday.
June slump in Australia’s retail sales clouds Q3 growth outlook

Australian retail sales slumped in June as coronavirus lockdowns and mobility restrictions in much of the country hit demand, casting a shadow over the outlook for growth in the third quarter as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.