Bloomberg Taiwan’s pro-independence leader, Tsai Ing-wen, has just over a year to win back public support if she wants to avoid going down in history as the island’s first one-term president. Her Democratic Progressive Party suffered a resounding loss to the China-friendly Kuomintang in local elections. The scale of the defeat was far greater than forecast, with the DPP losing ...

Bloomberg Switzerland overwhelmingly rejected a plan that could have caused a worsening of relations with the European Union by forcing the government in Bern to renegotiate international treaties. Two-thirds voters opposed the “self-determination” initiative, which argued for the constitution to take precedence over international law, potentially triggering revisions of treaties if there are conflicts. Polls had indicated a likely rejection. ...

Bloomberg Plans in Australia to import gas to ease a supply squeeze may fail to bring down domestic prices as it pits the nation against some of the world’s biggest buyers for supplies. Australia finds itself in the odd position of having to consider four projects to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) while simultaneously being on track to become the ...

Bloomberg President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is pursuing the sale of Brazil’s deep-sea treasure-trove of oil, but just weeks after his election he’s facing the same political obstacles as his two predecessors. While Bolsonaro’s transition team argues the sale could net some $30 billion to help plug fiscal deficits, a squabble over how to divvy up the spoils between various states and ...

Bloomberg An influential panel of lawmakers in UK parliament is encouraging the government to develop hydrogen as a way to provide a green form of heat for industry and homes. The Committee on Climate Change, which advises the government on energy and environmental policies, said ministers should write a strategy for removing carbon emissions from heat in the next three ...

Bloomberg Oil rose from its lowest settlement in more than a year in New York. Futures added 1.7 percent, after slumping 7.7 percent. Saudi Arabia is pumping as much as 11.2 million barrels of crude a day, the most since the kingdom extracted its first oil eight decades ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. Theb West Texas ...

Bloomberg Justin Trudeau’s federal budget update stirred some anger in Canada’s oil-rich West. Alberta’s Finance Minister Joe Ceci, while welcoming corporate tax breaks announced, said he was disappointed that the urgent need to ease a dramatic crude-shipping glut and price crash wasn’t addressed. The tax changes that will allow businesses to write off capital investments more quickly will help oil ...

Bloomberg The ongoing trade war between China and the US is pushing the Asian powerhouse to sweeten ties with neighbouring India. China’s refiners are considering the purchase of unprecedented amounts of Indian raw sugar, with a delegation visiting the South Asian nation next month to meet mill officials and inspect logistics infrastructure, according to an Indian official. Refiners may buy ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd. has told India’s top court that its asset sale to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. may not go through if approvals aren’t in place by mid-December, putting at risk planned debt repayments by the distressed company. India’s government has moved the Supreme Court against allowing the sale unless it is given $417 million in ...

Bloomberg A massive dust storm rolled through China’s northwestern province of Gansu on Sunday, enveloping office blocks and apartment buildings. The People’s Daily posted footage of the dust storm advancing through Gansu’s Zhangye city to its social media accounts on Sunday. The mass reached 100 metres and blotted out the blue sky as it moved through the city, according to ...