Bloomberg Saudi Basic Industries Corp, the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals producer, posted an 81 percent increase in second-quarter profit on higher sales prices and volumes. Net income rose to 6.7 billion riyals ($1.8 billion) from 3.71 billion riyals a year ago, the company known as Sabic said in a statement. Revenue climbed 26 percent to 43.3 billion riyals. The company ...

Bloomberg Bloom Energy Corp, the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers-backed maker of fuel-cell power systems, climbed on its first day of trading after pricing a rare alternative-energy IPO. The shares rose 47 percent to $22.10 in New York, giving the company a market value of about $2.34 billion. Bloom Energy sold 18 million shares for $15 apiece after marketing the ...

Bloomberg China’s solar power sector should strive to cut costs and improve quality, said a top industry group seeking to restore confidence in the world’s largest market as recent policy moves in Beijing straddle producers with shrinking demand and tumbling prices. The industry is moving away from rapid capacity expansions and suppliers should not expect sector to grow every year, ...

Bloomberg China used to rail against the outsize role of the US dollar. But in a major turnaround, the world’s second-biggest economy has started embracing the currency of its larger rival. Chinese companies and banks—and even the government—sold bonds denominated in dollars at a record pace last year, and underwriters expect that growth to continue for years. The roughly half-trillion-dollar ...

Bloomberg Retail punters now have another way to make risky wagers on cryptocurrencies. CMC Markets Plc, a London-based brokerage controlled by Peter Cruddas, has joined rivals including Plus500 Ltd. and IG Group Holdings Plc in allowing amateur investors to make bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the biggest digital coins. Retail traders can use contracts-for-difference, a form of derivatives ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank is on course to raise interest rates for a second consecutive policy meeting as it takes more decisive steps to rein in inflation and stem capital outflows. With inflation running well above the central bank’s medium-term target of 4 percent — and the outlook set to worsen as oil prices stay elevated and the currency slides ...

Bloomberg There’s a lot of cash swishing about in the Nordic region and that leaves plenty of potential for more mergers and acquisitions, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. “There’s massive amounts of dry powder both on the corporate side, where cash balances are very good, and on the private equity side, where we see a lot of activity,” said ...

Bloomberg Banco Santander is riding Spain’s economic recovery and rising demand for loans, helping offset emerging market currency volatility and the UK slowdown. Net income of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) beat analyst’s estimates in the second quarter, with earnings up in Brazil even after the real tumbled. In Spain clients took advantage of the economic upswing to take on ...

Bloomberg Some Chinese banks have received notice from regulators that a specific capital requirement will be eased in order to support lending, as the authorities try to mitigate increasing risks to the economy from the trade war. The People’s Bank of China told some institutions on Wednesday that the so-called “structural parameter” in the Macro-Prudential Assessment of their balance sheets ...

Bloomberg Nomura Holdings Inc.’s first-quarter profit plunged to the lowest in two years as its wholesale business lost money thanks to a slump in fixed-income trading, while the domestic retail operation lost steam. Net income fell 91 percent to $47 million in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, Japan’s biggest brokerage said. The firm posted its ...