Bloomberg China’s biggest oil refiner posted increased profits for the first quarter even as the country’s worst pandemic outbreak threatens a pullback in fuel demand. Sinopec reported 23.3 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in net income, an increase of 24% from the same period last year, according to an exchange filing. The Chinese oil giant, officially known as China Petroleum & ...

  Bloomberg Liquefied natural gas importers in Asia are bracing for higher spot prices as Russia’s move to cut some supply to Europe is poised to further tighten the global market. Moscow is cutting off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, making good on a threat to halt flows to countries that refuse President Vladimir Putin’s new demand to pay for ...

Call it poor judgment or bad luck, but India’s expansion of natural gas coverage to more than 90% of its population couldn’t have come at a worse time. In January, Adani Total Gas Ltd and others won keenly contested licenses to add new areas to city gas networks; in February, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, billions of dollars in investment ...

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Elon Musk tweeted after clinching his $44 billion takeover of the social-networking platform. What about nondemocracies, though? If there is one government that has reason to welcome Musk taking control of Twitter Inc, it ...

Digital finance is booming, with the value of cryptocurrencies outstanding reaching more than $2 trillion from almost nothing a decade ago — almost entirely without regulatory oversight to protect investors and the broader financial system. This is not likely to end well, unless officials intervene in a thoughtful way. So what should they do? One option is to avert disaster ...

As if there weren’t enough problems right now, the world is facing the threat of an oil embargo. No, not black gold — red gold, better known as palm oil. Prices gyrated after Indonesia, which produces about two-thirds of the global crop, promised to halt exports of the deep-orange edible fat to calm domestic food prices in the run-up to ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s latest moves to ease travel into the financial hub are getting a lukewarm reception from the business community and airlines. After months of criticism, the government is loosening a policy that suspends passenger flights for bringing in Covid-19 cases. It is also allowing all non-residents to enter the city for the first time in more than ...

  Bloomberg Air India Ltd, which was taken over by Tata Sons Pvt in January, has offered to acquire the entire share capital of AirAsia India, according to a filing with the country’s anti-trust regulator. The proposed offer seeks to buy the residual stake held by AirAsia Bhd, the filing on the website of the Competition Commission of India showed. ...

Bloomberg Malaysia relaxed virus restrictions including mask mandates and testing at airports as the Southeast Asian nation adjusts to living with Covid. The country is scrapping mandatory virus tests on all incoming vaccinated travellers beginning from May 1, an exemption it had initially bestowed to Singapore alone. Wearing masks outdoors will also be optional and physical distancing is no longer ...

Bloomberg Harry’s Inc catapulted to fame by selling sleek, low-priced razors over the internet. A decade on, it’s now generating more than half of its sales from brick-and-mortar stores, its founders said. The closely held company, which made a splash taking on what founders Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider saw as big corporations’ overpriced offerings, is seeing the sales payoff ...