Luthando Kolisi jokes that if he finds work at another factory, it will probably end up shutting down. That’s how he lost his last two jobs. Since being let go from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. factory in Nelson Mandela Bay — a coastal South African city that is the heart of the country’s automotive industry — he’s sent out countless applications, while eking out a bit of cash from odd jobs. “I’...
Luthando Kolisi jokes that if he finds work at another factory, it will probably end up shutting down. That’s how he lost his last two jobs. Since being let go from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. factory in Nelson Mandela Bay — a coastal South African city that is the heart of the country’s automotive industry — he’s sent out countless applications, while eking out a bit of cash from odd jobs. “I’m slowly beginning to lose that hope,” he said. The auto sector makes up the biggest share of South Africa’s manufacturing and its contribution to the country’s economic output rivals that of the mining sector, but it is buckling under the pressure of rising costs and a flood of cheaper imports from India and China. Companies, including giant manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG , are clamoring for urgent policy interventions to help them compete. In a rare alignment, unions and investors have joined forces to do the same. In Nelson Mandela Bay, Goodyear is not the only plant to have shed jobs. The municipality lost 41,000 jobs last year, according to official statistics. Among all of South Africa’s metro regions, Nelson Mandela Bay experienced the steepest jump in joblessness, with more than 28% of people out of work in the final quarter — up from less than 22% a year before. “It used to be called the Detroit of South Africa,” Mziyanda Twani, a local leader of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, said from his office overlooking the center of Nelson Mandela Bay. Now, without drastic action to save the industry, he said, “this area is soon going to be defined as a ghost town.” The half-hour drive to Volkswagen’s factory northwest of Nelson Mandela Bay is strewn with evidence of industrial decline. Mangled roadside armco forms a flimsy barrier to moldering colonial-era buildings marked by peeling paint and rusted corrugated roofing. Volkswagen builds VW Polos for all markets outside of South America at its plant in Kariega, on the outskirts of th...
German pharmaceutical firm Stada said it’s ready to make a major consumer health acquisition as it books record profit and transitions to new ownership. “We have absolutely enough firepower to do meaningful acquisitions in the consumer health space,” Stada Chief Executive Officer Peter Goldschmidt said in a phone interview. He added that he’s open in terms of geographies and deal size, declining t...
German pharmaceutical firm Stada said it’s ready to make a major consumer health acquisition as it books record profit and transitions to new ownership. “We have absolutely enough firepower to do meaningful acquisitions in the consumer health space,” Stada Chief Executive Officer Peter Goldschmidt said in a phone interview. He added that he’s open in terms of geographies and deal size, declining to comment on specific targets. “It has to make sense for us,” he said, adding the company aims to further boost revenues and profit this year. Stada’s sales rose 6% in 2025 to a record €4.3 billion ($5 billion), it said in a statement Wednesday. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 8% to €961 million on a constant exchange-rate basis, which was also an all-time high. London-based CapVest Partners agreed in September to buy control of Stada from fellow private equity firms Bain Capital and Cinven . The deal, which values the business at about €10 billion including debt, is set to close in the next few weeks. Stada is based on the outskirts of Germany’s financial capital of Frankfurt. It makes generic drugs, consumer health products like Grippostad cold medicine and Ladival sunblock, as well as specialty drugs. The specialty segment grew the fastest last year, thanks to drugs like Uzpruvo, a biosimilar alternative to Stelara used to treat Crohn’s disease, according to the statement. The firm struck over 100 in-licensing deals for drugs it hasn’t developed itself, strengthening the pipeline going forward, Goldschmidt said. Read more: CapVest Jumps Into PE Big Leagues With €10 Billion Stada Buyout
Thursday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was supposed to see the two leaders sit down in advance of Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to ensure the allies were on the same page. Instead, with the US-China summit postponed and the Israel-US war on Iran going full blast, their meeting is likely to find Japan more on the defensive, ac...
Thursday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was supposed to see the two leaders sit down in advance of Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to ensure the allies were on the same page. Instead, with the US-China summit postponed and the Israel-US war on Iran going full blast, their meeting is likely to find Japan more on the defensive, according to analysts and former government officials. Takaichi will be trying to finesse shifting tariff levels, huge US investment demands and criticism over Tokyo’s hesitation at deploying support ships to the Strait of Hormuz, they said. Advertisement “Back then, her primary concern was getting into Trump’s ear before he headed off to his summit with Xi in Beijing. You had really positive momentum,” said Jeremy Chan, senior analyst with the Eurasia Group. “And now the double whammy of the Iran war and the delay to the China trip. It’s higher stakes, but for the wrong reason.” Analysts said Takaichi could find Trump keen to have a “normal” summit that distracts from the Middle East – or he could light into her for failing to support the unpopular war and lash out, rhetorically and economically.
In this article USO UAMY Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. - | Afp | Getty Images Iran's de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has stoked fears of the gravest disruption to global oil supply in history , as the Middle East conflict stretches into its third week. The blockade has squeezed shipping traffic to a tr...
In this article USO UAMY Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. - | Afp | Getty Images Iran's de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has stoked fears of the gravest disruption to global oil supply in history , as the Middle East conflict stretches into its third week. The blockade has squeezed shipping traffic to a trickle, with just 21 tankers transiting the route since the war began on Feb. 28, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, compared to more than 100 ships daily before the conflict. Most vessels appear to be holding positions outside Hormuz, with thousands of seafarers stranded aboard vessels in the Gulf. Some have explored a pivot to disperse to alternative ports. Roughly 400 vessels were spotted operating in the Gulf of Oman, as a massive backlog of ships waited near the chokepoint, according to a report from maritime intelligence firm Windward on Sunday. While Iran has kept a tight grip on the strait, a small number of other ships have made the crossing under varying circumstances, signaling that Tehran is selectively letting through some non-Iranian oil cargo in negotiated safe voyages, according to maritime analysts. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards CNBC Europe Here's a look at some of the countries that have had their vessels go through the critical energy route since the war began. China Tehran has largely avoided targeting ships linked to China. Dozens of vessels broadcasting AIS — automatic identification system — destinations referenced Chinese ownership or crew presence while operating in the Gulf, according to Windward. "This pattern suggests the possibility of an informal access filter, where vessels signaling Chinese ownership or crew may be attempting to indicate neutrality or avoid targeting in the current conflict environment," Windward analysts said in a report last week. Beijing was reportedly in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari lique...