Herald morning quiz: January 18

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UK weather: Freezing fog could disrupt travel as yellow weather warning issued

A yellow weather warning has been issued for fog, which is expected to blanket much of the UK this evening and could cause travel chaos.

The Met Office said the fog could freeze in some places, covering most of England and the eastern edge of Wales.

Temperatures are set to drop to near 0C overnight for many areas, which could lead to icy roads.

Oil Prices Rise On Supply Concerns

Oil prices were flat to slightly higher on Monday, with Brent futures touching their highest in more than three years, on expectations that supply will remain tight amid restrained output.

Benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.1 percent to $86.01 per barrel, after having touched its highest since Oct. 3, 2018 at $86.71 earlier in the session.

Markets were reacting to reports from the U.S. government that Russia’s pattern of activity could signal a ground invasion of Ukraine within the next 30 days.

Vladimir Putin has reportedly massed about 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border, and Western allies are trying to do their utmost to dissuade Russia’s president from invading its neighbor.

A weaker dollar, unresolved issues in indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and restrained output by major producers also supported prices and helped offset the news of China’s possible oil release from reserves.

According to Reuters, China plans to release oil reserves around the Lunar New Year holidays between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6 as part of a plan coordinated by the United States with other major consumers to reduce global prices.

U.S. Wholesale Inventories Jump More Than Expected In November

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The report said wholesale inventories surged up by 1.4 percent in November after spiking by 2.5 percent in October. Economists had expected inventories to increase by 1.2 percent.

The bigger than expected increase in wholesale inventories came as inventories of durable goods shot up by 2.1 percent, while inventories of non-durable goods rose by 0.3 percent.

The Commerce Department said wholesale sales also jumped by 1.3 percent in November after soaring by 2.5 percent in the previous month.

With inventories and sales both showing significant increases, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers was unchanged at 1.22.

Gold rallies ₹ 176 on global cues

Gold prices rose by ₹ 176 to ₹ 47,881 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday in line with gains in the precious metal in the global markets and a weaker rupee, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had settled at ₹ 47,705 per 10 grams.

Silver prices, however, declined by ₹ 505 to ₹ 61,005 per kg from ₹ 61,510 per kg in the previous trade.

The rupee dipped by 9 paise to close at 74.24 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday.

In the international market, gold was trading with gains at $ 1,822 per ounce and silver was flat at $ 23.03 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded firm with spot gold prices at COMEX trading 0.30 % up at $ 1,822 per ounce on Monday," HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel said.

Rivian CEO on partnership with Amazon

LondonAmazon said on Monday it would not stop accepting UK-issued Visa Inc (V) credit cards on its British website later this month as it had proposed, adding that it was working with Visa to resolve a dispute over payment fees.

“The expected  change regarding  the use of Visa credit  cards  on Amazon.co.uk  will no longer take place on January 19,” the company said in an email to customers.
“We are working  closely  with Visa on a potential solution  that will enable  customers to continue using their Visa credit cards  on  Amazon.co.uk.” 

Amazon (AMZN) said in November it would ban Visa’s card because of the high transaction fees charged by the payment processor.

It said customers could still use Visa’s debit cards, along with Mastercard and Amex credit cards and Eurocard.

A Visa spokesperson said on Monday: “Amazon customers can continue to use Visa cards on Amazon.co.uk after January 19 while we work closely together to reach an agreement.”

Visa had said in November it was “very disappointed that Amazon was threatening to restrict consumer choice”.
An EU-enforced cap on fees charged by card issuers is no longer in place in the United Kingdom following Brexit.

PHOTOS: Denver’s MLK Marade returns after pandemic hiatus – The Denver Post

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Marade returned to Denver on January 17, 2022, after going virtual last year due to the pandemic. This year’s event, the 37th anniversary, once again started in City Park at Denver’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and followed the traditional marade route, flowing west on East Colfax Avenue to Civic Center Park.