Tuesday newspaper round-up: Clean power, Apple. productivity
The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show. A report by the energy thinktank Ember said the milestone was powered by a boom in solar power capacity, which has doubled in the last three years. The report found that solar farms had been the world’s fastest-growing source of energy for the last 20 consecutive years. – Guardian
The UK has lost an attempt to keep details of a legal battle with Apple away from the public. The investigatory powers tribunal, which investigates whether the domestic intelligence services have acted unlawfully, on Monday rejected a bid by the Home Office to withhold from the public the “bare details” of the case. – Guardian
Britain has suffered an “almost unprecedented” plunge in productivity over the past five years in a fresh setback for the Chancellor’s growth ambitions. The Resolution Foundation said GDP per head slumped by 0.5pc between 2019 and 2024, marking the worst drop since the 1970s outside of the financial crisis. It means UK workers are even less productive than official data suggests, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimating that an increase of 1.8pc over the same period. – Telegraph
Brussels has threatened to bar American companies from bidding for taxpayer-funded contracts as Europe seeks to retaliate against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice president of the European Commission, said the EU has “the cards” to hit back at Mr Trump’s new levies of 20pc on goods and 25pc on cars. “We could decide to withdraw all American companies from European public procurement,” Mr Séjourné, who is also commissioner for industrial strategy, told Radio France. – Telegraph
Two of America’s best-known financiers have called on President Trump to soften his position on tariffs or risk recession, higher inflation and even “an economic nuclear winter”. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of the biggest US bank, JP Morgan Chase, issued a warning in his annual letter to shareholders, saying that the tariffs imposed by the US would push up inflation and slow growth. – The Times