Black Sea incidents accelerate | Biden wants credit for IRA | SAF | Warning to shippers
In Ukraine, another series of Russian drones and missiles hit the critical port city of Odesa, injuring at least three people. Ukrainian officials claimed they’ve seen “some success” in their ongoing counteroffensive measures, but the campaign has been slower than expected and progress has been limited by widespread Russian-laid minefields. More in Russia & Ukraine section.
U.S. airlines are helping farmers seek subsidies for corn as jet fuel. More in Energy & Climate Change section. U.S. equities Friday: The Dow ended higher with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lower, echoing their weekly result. For the week, the Dow was up 0.6% while the Nasdaq fell 1.9% and the S&P 500 was 0.3% lower. On Friday, the Dow rose 105.25 points, 0.30%, at 35,281.05. The Nasdaq declined 93.14 points, 0.68%, at 13,644.85. The S&P 500 lost 4.78 points, 0.11%, at 4,464.05.U.S. inflation on the rise again. Inflation saw a decline in July, maintaining a downward trajectory.
American ports are behind Asia and Europe facilities in automating. The pandemic-induced port bottlenecks have highlighted a significant reality about U.S. supply chains: American ports are trailing behind their Asian and European counterparts in terms of automation adoption, the Wall Street Journal reports. While automation has provided a degree of stability to Southern California ports during disruptions caused by the pandemic, the deployment of robots on docks in U.S.
• The Panama Canal's operations are being impacted by drought conditions. The organization responsible for managing the canal has decided to restrict both the quantity of ships passing through each day and the amount of cargo they can carry. This measure is being taken due to a decrease in the water supply caused by the ongoing drought.
— Recent long-range missile attacks have targeted bridges connecting Crimea to Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine. The aim is to disrupt supply routes and make life and military operations in the Russian-controlled area difficult. The strategy is to weaken Russian defenses, create delays, and force the occupying forces to negotiate or withdraw, or even potentially enable a Ukrainian invasion to retake Crimea.