Bloomberg Sasol Ltd reported an annual loss after $6.5 billion in asset writedowns and the scheduling of a rights issue as its struggles continued amid the coronavirus pandemic. The shares slumped as much as 9.6%. Lower demand and prices for its products due to the virus, compounded by problems at its US Lake Charles chemical project, is making a bad …

Bloomberg Chaparral Energy’s filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years, paving the way for bondholders to take control of the Oklahoma driller in the aftermath of sluggish oil prices. The company filed for Chapter 11 in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware as it seeks to restructure its balance sheet and raise new money. Almost 80% of …

Bloomberg Whiting Petroleum’s Chief Executive Officer Brad Holly will leave the company just five months after receiving a $6.4 million payout to see the company through bankruptcy proceedings. The Bakken oil producer expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection on September 1, when Holly will resign and be replaced by Lynn Peterson, who previously led SRC Energy. Holly and fellow executives …

Bloomberg US stocks climbed toward an all-time high as a rally in technology companies tempered a slide in banks. Treasuries rose. The S&P 500 took aim at its February closing record, buoyed fresh Chinese stimulus overnight. The index twice popped above the high last week before fading. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed as a jump in Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. …

Bloomberg Hedge funds turned bearish on the dollar for the first time since May 2018, an indication that a summer slump in the world’s reserve currency will be prolonged. Net futures and options positions held by leveraged funds against eight other currencies dropped to minus 7,881 contracts last week, according to data aggregated from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The …

Bloomberg Indian stocks swung between gains and losses as investors weighed corporate earnings that beat expectations against rising coronavirus infections. The S&P BSE Sensex were little changed at 37,872.50 as of 9:48 am in Mumbai after dropping as much as 0.4% and gaining as much as 0.6%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index swung in a similar range and most recently …

Bloomberg The first commercial deal under an Africa-wide free trade zone will take place on January 1 next year as outstanding talks are set to move online, the African Union said. While African Continental Free Trade Area entered into force legally last year, transactions that were due to start on July 1 were delayed as the virus set back negotiations …

Bloomberg The US West Coast is set to have its hottest two weeks in 70 years, putting even more strain on power grids after California imposed rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001. Excessive heat warnings and watches stretch from the Pacific Coast inland to Montana, Utah and Arizona, according to the National Weather Service. Sacramento is forecast to …

Bloomberg Hitachi Ltd subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power has been holding detailed conversations with UK government officials in recent weeks to revive plans for a proposed nuclear power plant in north Wales, the Financial Times reported. Horizon has been trying to convince ministers that plans for the Wylfa Newydd plant on Anglesey could be quickly restarted if they can produce a …

Bloomberg On the surface the rebound in US retail sales is a V-shaped recovery, but the overall figure obscures lingering economic pain across many of America’s businesses. After a third straight monthly increase, albeit a weaker gain than expected, the total value of US retail sales has rebounded above pre-pandemic levels. But the composition of spending looks substantially different than …