The government says the agreement, which went into force just months ago, is hampering trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. The EU on Wednesday ruled out renegotiating the deal and the Biden administration is closely watching the dispute, warning against any steps that threaten the Good Friday agreement that brought peace to Ireland more than two decades ago.

Opening Its Economy as Delta Variant Surges, the U.K. Becomes a Covid-19 Test Case

LONDON-The battle between vaccines and the Delta variant of coronavirus is coming to a head in the U.K., closely watched by the rest of the world. At stake is whether advanced economies with high vaccination rates can enjoy something approaching pre-pandemic life in the face of fast transmitting versions of the virus.

The experiment should give a strong signal of whether Covid-19 can be relegated to the status of a manageable, seasonal menace such as influenza and whether lockdowns and social distancing can be consigned to the past.

BHP Inks Nickel Supply Deal With Tesla

SYDNEY-BHP Group Ltd. said it has signed a supply deal with Tesla Inc. for nickel, a commodity used in electric-vehicle batteries, from its Nickel West operations in western Australia.

The world's biggest miner by market value said it and Tesla have also agreed to collaborate on sustainability efforts in the battery industry supply chain, such as ways to trace raw materials from pit to product using blockchain.

EU Climate Plan Puts Cost of Sustainable Aircraft Fuel in Focus

Airlines are calling for more government funding for sustainable aviation fuels in the wake of proposed European Union measures that would compel carriers to increase use of the scarce, expensive fuels.

The climate plan published last week by the European Commision, the bloc's executive body, included measures aimed at the aviation sector, which the EU says accounted for 3.8% of its carbon-dioxide emissions in 2017.

Chips' Biggest Political Pawn Still Has a Strong Game

The extremely expensive nature of chip manufacturing makes efficiency paramount. But for some producers of chip manufacturing equipment, inefficiency could become a saving grace.

Consider ASML. The Dutch company's extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, tools are so key to advanced chipmaking that semiconductor manufacturers looking to produce cutting-edge processors for products such as personal computers, smartphones, data centers and network gear simply can't get by without them. That also has made ASML into a key weapon in the global semiconductor Cold War that keeps warming up. The U.S. has leaned on the Dutch government to prevent those EUV tools from being shipped to Chinese chip makers.

Write to paul.larkins@dowjones.com

Expected Major Events for Thursday

04:30/NED: Jun Unemployment

04:30/NED: Jul Consumer confidence survey

04:30/NED: May Consumer Spending

06:00/DEN: Jul Consumer expectations

06:00/NOR: 2Q Business tendency survey

06:45/FRA: Jul Monthly business survey (goods-producing industries)

09:00/MLT: Jun RPI

10:00/IRL: Jun WPI

10:00/UK: Jul CBI Industrial Trends Survey

11:45/EU: ECB interest rate announcement

12:00/POL: Jun Broad money M3

13:00/BEL: Jul Consumer Confidence Survey

14:00/DEN: Jun Central Government Finance & Debt

14:00/EU: Jul FCCI Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator

23:01/UK: Jul UK Consumer Confidence Survey

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-22-21 0016ET