Bloomberg As crude prices continue to get dragged down by a global glut that shows no signs of abating, oil traders may find some profit by going to sea. The market structure for Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, now makes it viable to store supplies in a vessel to potentially lock in profits ...
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Saudi Aramco CEO expects oil price rise next year
RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Aramco expects oil prices to rebound in the first half of 2017 and for demand to remain healthy following two years of painfully low prices, the state-owned producer’s Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said. “The gap between supply and demand is closing … Our anticipation now is that it will be balanced by the first ...
Read More »OPEC special-case nations increase output
Bloomberg The OPEC countries claiming exemption from a deal to limit oil production increased output by almost half a million barrels last month, potentially jeopardizing the group’s agreement unless other members deepen their own cuts. Libya, Nigeria and Iran — granted special status after OPEC members reached a supply deal Sept. 28 in Algiers — pumped an extra 400,000 ...
Read More »Egypt delays on capital gains tax amid currency crunch
Bloomberg Egypt delayed the introduction of a capital gains tax on equities for three more years, as it tries to attract investors to help ease a hard currency crunch that’s hurting growth. Stocks rose. The postponement was included in a group of tax exemptions decreed by the Supreme Investment Council, the Presidency said in an e-mailed statement late on ...
Read More »Qatar vows ‘100% compliance’ on key labour reform
AFP Qatar said it expects “100 percent compliance†from businesses by the end of 2016 on a labour reform introduced to ensure the country’s vast migrant workforce receive their salaries on time. Government figures released in Doha on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the Wage Protection System (WPS) show that 1.8 million — around ...
Read More »Japan pledges $390mn to boost Myanmar peace
Tokyo / AP Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday and pledged 40 billion yen ($390 million) in aid to back her government’s peace process with ethnic minorities, amid growing international concern about reported army attacks on a Muslim group. Abe told Suu Kyi that Japan fully supports her efforts at ...
Read More »Malaysia to purchase four navy ships from China in landmark deal
Bloomberg Malaysia said it will buy at least four Littoral Mission Ships from China as Prime Minister Najib Razak announced “new steps†in military cooperation between the two countries. Najib oversaw the purchase of the vessels on Tuesday during a state visit to Beijing. While no details were released on the value of the ships, the deal comes after ...
Read More »Sony Pictures bolsters ties with China market
Bloomberg Sony Pictures Entertainment is planning an initiative with writers in China as part of the film company’s efforts to increase its presence in the world’s second-biggest movie market. The studio, part of Tokyo-based Sony Corp., plans to work with and host established as well as up-and-coming writers, the company said in a statement. Sony executives are participating this ...
Read More »India wavers on emissions goal as power plants balk at price tag
Bloomberg India may ease a deadline to cut pollution from coal-fired power plants blamed for causing the world’s worst air quality amid pressure from generators who say it’s too difficult to implement the $37 billion reforms. The deadline to meet all the new standards may be pushed back beyond the original December 2017 target, said S.D. Dubey, chairman of ...
Read More »Germany ‘unshaken’ by Brexit promises to Nissan
Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is relaxed about the assurances Britain gave to Nissan Motor Co., viewing attempts to keep the carmaker in the U.K. as inevitable given the expected negative economic fallout of Brexit. British efforts to keep companies based in Britain are understandable as Prime Minister Theresa May has to do what’s needed to prevent the ...
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