Bloomberg All major US stock indexes declined and Treasuries extended a selloff that’s taken yields to the highest since early 2014 as traders gear up for a hectic week of data and policy announcements. The dollar strengthened against its biggest rivals. The euro retreated as German bonds dropped for a fourth day, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index inched lower ...

Bloomberg Cryptocurrency-related stocks rallied in Japan on Monday, even as news of a $500 million heist at an exchange run by Coincheck Inc. spawned security concerns about digital money. Remixpoint Co. rose as much as 6.1 percent after the BITPoint exchange operator said it will list more coins in a bid to win over customers. GMO Internet Inc. advanced as ...

Bloomberg The dot-com bubble was a lot more picky. Even on the day the S&P 500 Index hit its March 2000 peak an investor could buy a third of the index for less than 11 times earnings. Today that figure is just 6 percent. While the average valuation for the gauge of US equities is the same between the two ...

Bloomberg The enthusiasm in the oil markets is breaking records. Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both US and global oil benchmarks, along with gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006. “There is a lot of interest in the direction of crude oil,” Rob ...

Bloomberg Britain probably will risk more energy supply shortages after leaving the European Union, a panel of lawmakers from the House of Lords said, adding to pressure on the government to bring forward measures that protect consumers from higher costs. “It’s likely that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will lead to less-efficient energy trade, which could in turn increase ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq plans to build an oil refinery at the port of Fao on the Gulf with two Chinese companies, and is seeking investors to build three more, the oil ministry said on its website on Monday. The refinery in Fao will have a 300,000 barrel-per-day capacity and include a petrochemical plant, it said. Two other refineries, each ...

LONDON / Reuters Tehran is ready to file a case with the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) over the quality and price of gas it receives from Turkmenistan, the Iranian oil minister said on Monday, as a dispute between the two nations over payments escalates. The Central Asian nation stopped gas exports to Iran in January 2017, saying it was ...

Bloomberg In the latest reminder that coal still dominates the world’s biggest energy consumer, Chinese power producers are warning of supply tightness while one northern province plans to pause switching homes and industries to natural gas to avoid further heating shortages. Four of China’s biggest generators sent an “emergency report” dated Jan. 22 to the National Development & Reform Commission, ...

Bloomberg The rationale for merging some of Europe’s biggest lenders is compelling. That’s the view of many financial executives who met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. A decade after the financial crisis, some of the region’s biggest lenders are facing declining revenue as interest rates linger near record lows, while legal bills and capital demands ...

DUBAI / Reuters Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank plans to add more than 100 branches in Pakistan this year through its subsidiary Faysal Bank, to capitalise on the country’s low penetration rate of banking services, a senior executive said. Ithmaar Bank owns 66 percent of Faysal Bank, whose contribution to the Islamic retail bank’s overall balance sheet would likely grow to more ...