In this week’s recap we will mention two huge events that shocked the world. U.S. will reclaim sovereignty as a space-faring nation as astronauts Douglas Hurley & Robert Behnken, were set to leave earth from American soil, for the 1st time since 2011. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has beaten Boeing’s Starliner to the finish line, in a chance to become the 1st private company to fly humans into orbit. The death of George Floyd, an African American man that was killed in Detroit, has awoken several demonstrations across the US.
Mexico’s central bank predicts the domestic economy could contract by as much as 8.8% in 2020, its biggest contraction in decades, as it hedged projections with a range of forecasts, due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A U.S. army unit to arrive in Colombia in the coming days, to help the country’s armed forces fight against drug trafficking for a 4-month period, the U.S. embassy in Bogota has stated. Last year Colombia saw cultivation of coca leaves, the chief ingredient in cocaine, rise to 212,000 hectares (523,863 acres), from 208,000 hectares in 2018.
Nissan has committed to slash production capacity by 20% & will be closing a plant in Spain as part of a sweeping reorganization after the Japanese carmaker revealed its 1st annual operating loss in more than a decade. It posted an operating loss of $376M for its fiscal year ended in March, vs. an operating profit of $2.9B for the previous fiscal year, in company’s worst performance since 2009.
Zoox has been working to develop the hardware & software needed to create electric-powered robot taxis that would be summoned by a smartphone app starting this year. Amazon is now in advanced talks to acquire Zoox, that will expand its reach in autonomous vehicle technology. The companies are discussing a deal that will value Zoox at less than the $3.2B it achieved, in a funding round in 2018.
Argentine peso is being held artificially high; LATAM Airlines Group filed for bankruptcy; Lufthansa & the German government finalize terms of financial bailout; U.S.-China Tensions continue to rise; Mako Energy is making underwater turbines; Hertz paid bonuses to senior managers before filing for bankruptcy.
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