Economy

The ship attacks 

Oil prices rise after increased tension in the Red Sea 

 

Oil prices are climbing in Tuesday morning's trading, after tensions increased further in the Red Sea, write CNBC and Bloomberg.  

 

A barrel of Brent oil is traded at 08:30 Swedish time for 78.50 dollars, an increase of just under 2 percent for the day. Meanwhile, WTI oil is trading at $72.80 a barrel, up 2.2 percent for the day.  

 

According to state media, Iran sent a warship to the Red Sea on Monday. The type of mission the ship was on was not stated, but according to Iranian media, such trips are made periodically to secure trade routes, according to CNBC.  

 

This time, the news about the ship comes days after the US Navy sank three of the boats of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, after the cargo ship Maersk Hangzhou sounded the alarm about shelling. Ten Houthi rebels died in the clash.

 

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Economy  

Neighbor feud in Texas: 43,000 monkeys arouse strong emotions 

 

Last year, the biomedical analysis firm Charles River Laboratories bought a plot of land in Texas to house up to 43,000 monkeys. Now the neighbors demand that the project be stopped, writes WSJ. 

 

- I thought this was a place where you could get away from it all. Now a monkey farm is my neighbor, says John Stern, a retired veterinarian. 

 

Shrimp fisherman Jason Robert is another one of those who are now fighting to stop the "circus from coming to town". Animal rights organization Peta has also got involved by warning about the spread of disease and pollution of land and water. 

 

Charles River Laboratories' business idea is to sell monkeys to universities and pharmaceutical companies. The primates are important for research into human diseases and treatments. 

 

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The development of electric cars BYD overtakes 

Tesla - is the largest electric car manufacturer 

 

Tesla delivered slightly more cars than expected in the fourth quarter, but China's BYD takes over as the world's largest electric car manufacturer on a quarterly basis.  

 

The American electric car giant delivered 484,507 vehicles, which is the highest figure ever for the company. The record quarter helped Tesla reach its goal of delivering at least 1.8 million vehicles in the full year of 2023.  

 

According to Bloomberg, analysts had expected 483,200 vehicles delivered, and according to Reuters, 473,000. 

 

Yesterday, BYD reported roughly 526,000 sold electric cars in the last quarter.  

 

The stock traded sideways on Wall Street. 

 

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The future of defence  

New Gripen investment raises criticism: "Brutal starvation diet" 

 

The Gripen E is to be rolled out to the Swedish defense next year, but Saab has already started work on the next generation fighter, writes SvD.  

 

- We are looking at what can arrive towards 2045, says Peter Nilsson at Saab.  

 

He adds that talks are ongoing with "the Swedish customer", which means the Norwegian Defense Forces and the government. According to SvD, the stage is set for a new debate about the costs. Sweden is one of the few countries that develops combat aircraft on its own instead of in cooperation with other countries.  

 

FOI's defense expert Robert Dalsjö describes it as the rest of the defense being "put on a brutal starvation diet" so that Sweden can afford the Gripen.