Monthly Archives: <span>October 2020</span>

Floods, Drought Are Destroying Crops and Sparking Food Inflation

Wild weather is wreaking havoc on crops around the world, sending their prices skyrocketing. On wheat farms in the U.S. and Russia, it’s a drought that’s ruining harvests. The soybean fields of Brazil are bone dry too, touched by little …

Insurance Costs Too Steep? Try Writing Your Own

LONDON — Fed up with rising prices and more stringent terms and conditions for their insurance policies as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, companies are turning to in-house insurance firms. These so-called “captive” insurers are already common among large …

Monsanto Loses Final Appeal Over French Farmer’s Weedkiller Accident

Bayer’s Monsanto division on Wednesday lost a final appeal in a long-running French legal battle in which the crop chemical maker has been held liable for the accidental inhalation of a weedkiller by a crop farmer. Monsanto had been trying …

Some Alaska Phones Beyond Danger Received Tsunami Warning

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Some Alaska residents received tsunami warnings on their cellphones following an earthquake earlier this week, including customers in the Anchorage area who were outside the potential danger zone. There was no concern over a tsunami reaching Anchorage, …

Investors Gauge Future Climate Risks With Satellite Imaging

The world was watching end-of-days scenes: ­Firefighters in yellow jackets, blurry against a copper sky, battled to push back walls of flames. Veterinarians tended to badly burned koalas and kangaroos. Dazed survivors picked through the ruins of their torched houses. …

California Braces for Most Dangerous Fire Weather of 2020

California is bracing for the most powerful gusts of the 2020 fire season, raising the threat of more blazes and blackouts in a region that’s already seen a record 4.1 million acres scorched this year. A storm coming off the …

N.C. Judge First to Favor Policyholders in COVID-19 Closure Lawsuit

A judge in Durham County, North Carolina has handed down what may be the nation’s first dispositive ruling in favor of policyholders in a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit. Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. ruled on Oct. 7 that closure …

Nuclear Plants in South Carolina, Missouri Face the Highest Quake Risks

WASHINGTON — The U.S. nuclear power reactors facing the highest risks of a meltdown from earthquakes are not in tremor-prone California, but states including South Carolina and Missouri, an analysis of government data published on Thursday said. The chances of …

Tesla’s Release of New ‘Self-Driving’ Software Closely Watched by U.S. Regulator

The U.S. auto safety regulator on Thursday said it was closely watching Tesla Inc’s release of a software version intended to allow its cars to drive themselves, saying it stood ready to protect the public against safety risks. Tesla on …

More Fire-Prevention Power Shutoffs Possible in California

SAN FRANCISCO — Electricity may be shut off to about 54,000 Northern California utility customers this week to try to prevent power lines from sparking and igniting new wildfires during a predicted new round of gusty, hot and dry weather. …