Bloomberg SoftBank Corp. has pledged to provide free solar power from its projects in International Solar Alliance (ISA) countries after the developments recoup their initial investments. Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son told a conference on Wednesday in New Delhi that power from the projects will be free after the end of the initial 25-year power purchase agreements. The expected life of …

Bloomberg Oil steadied near the highest level in almost four years as fears of a supply crunch outweighed expectations for an increase in American crude inventories. Futures were trading around $75.50 a barrel in New York, up around 0.4 percent. Supply losses from Iran to Venezuela continued to rattle markets, boosting volatility and driving prices higher. The ongoing outlook for …

Bloomberg Saudi International Petrochemical Co. signed a non-binding agreement to acquire Sahara Petrochemical Co. in an all-share deal valued at just over $2 billion. Saudi International Petrochemical Co., or Sipchem, will issue each Sahara shareholder with 0.8356 new Sipchem shares, the companies said in statements on Wednesday. The deal is valued at about $2.2 billion, according to Tuesday’s closing price. …

Bloomberg US stocks rose towards records and the dollar gained after upbeat private jobs data bolstered confidence in the world’s largest economy. European assets firmed on news the Italian government may rein in spending. The S&P 500 Index headed for a record close as technology and financial shares advanced. Italian debt jumped after four days of selling and the Stoxx …

Bloomberg For some Philippine money managers, it’s still too soon to scoop up shares in the world’s worst-performing stock market. As the Philippine Stock Exchange Index dipped below 7,100, taking its valuation to its lowest level since January 2016, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. is among the firms that’s staying on the sidelines. John Padilla, the head of equities at …

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell welcomed recent increases in Americans’ wages while expressing confidence that low unemployment won’t spur a takeoff in prices that would force him to hike interest rates aggressively. “The rise in wages is broadly consistent with observed rates of price inflation and labor productivity growth and therefore does not point to an overheating labor market,” …

Bloomberg Randal Quarles, the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman for supervision, is vying with the head of the Dutch central bank to lead a watchdog panel for the global financial system. Quarles, the US central bank’s chief Wall Street regulator, and Klaas Knot are the front-runners to lead the Basel-based Financial Stability Board after Mark Carney steps down on Dec. 1, …

Bloomberg Italian assets were roiled yet again after a prominent euroskeptic said that the nation could resolve its debt problems with its “own currency.” The yield on the nation’s 10-year bonds touched the highest level in more than four years after Claudio Borghi, head of the lower house budget committee, said the euro was “not sufficient” to solve Italy’s fiscal …

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. hasn’t yet satisfied one of the regulators responsible for deciding whether the bank is properly reimbursing customers who might have been harmed by recent scandals involving its auto-lending and mortgage businesses. “We are not comfortable where we are with them,” Joseph Otting, chief of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, told senators at …

Bloomberg As Danske Bank A/S struggles through its worst crisis this century, it’s also undergoing an historic shift in its upper ranks. Denmark’s biggest bank has lost six of its highest-ranking people since December, including its chief executive officer, its chief financial officer, its general counsel and its heads of international banking and wealth management. The bank’s chairman has signaled …