Bloomberg US oil refiners won’t be allowed to complete shipments of Venezuelan crude they booked before the Trump administration slapped new sanctions on the Latin American nation. US Treasury Department officials have informed some companies that previously contracted cargoes won’t be exempt from a new rule blocking payments to Venezuela’s PDVSA, according to two people familiar with the matter. The …

Bloomberg New Fortress Energy LLC fell 6.6 percent in its trading debut, as the markets gave a cold shoulder to the first operating company to go public after the US government reopened. The energy infrastructure company raised $280 million on Wednesday, selling 20 million shares for $14 each — below the $15 price it had set for them. The shares …

Bloomberg Australian building approvals suffered the biggest annual back-to-back drop in almost a decade as a housing slump deepens. Building permits fell 22.5 percent in December from a year earlier after plunging 33.5 percent in November, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed in Sydney on Monday. That’s the worst two-month result since January-February 2009, during the depths of the global …

Bloomberg Germany’s NordLB will be bailed out by public-sector savings banks and the state of Lower Saxony at a cost of as much as 3.7 billion euros ($4.2 billion), thwarting a bid by Cerberus Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners for a stake in the struggling lender. The restructuring package, which Lower Saxony Premier Stephan Weil called “the best of all …

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s change in tone may mean investors should reconsider the timing of the investment cycle, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. That means investors shouldn’t be driven by fears of recession for now, JP Morgan analysts said. The Fed signalled last week that it’s done raising rates for at least a little while, and that it’ll be …

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S may be facing billions of dollars in fines for its Estonian laundering scandal, but its employees don’t need to worry about having their bonuses cut. Jesper Nielsen, who’s been running the bank on an interim basis since Thomas Borgen was relieved of his duties as chief executive in October, says there might be some bonus adjustments …

Bloomberg Philippine central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said a quick reversal of last year’s monetary tightening — either through a reduction in the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves or a cut in key interest rates — would be “bad economic or monetary policy.” While inflation in the last two months of 2018 cooled from a …

Bloomberg The final report of an inquiry into misconduct in Australia’s financial system will land with a thud at National Australia Bank Ltd.’s headquarters. It’s just not the size of the three-volume report, but the blast aimed at Chief Executive Officer Andrew Thorburn and Chairman Ken Henry, who testified during the Royal Commission’s final round of hearings. “Having heard from …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary will step back from day-to-day management as the discount carrier moves to a group structure that puts union negotiations into the hands of subordinates after a year of labour strife. Chairman David Bonderman, in the post since 1996, will also leave next year, according to a statement on Monday, following investor …

Dubai / Emirates Business Since the announcement of visa free travel for Emiratis to Ireland in early 2018, dnata Travel, the UAE’s longest-standing travel provider, has experienced a 63.5% overall increase in year on year travel from the UAE to Ireland. The report showed a dramatic 55% increase in travel arrangements made within 14 days in advance of travelling, including …