Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s former chief executive officer, Martin Winterkorn, approved a plan to disclose only partial information on the carmaker’s software rigging to U.S. authorities seven weeks before the scandal broke last year, Bild newspaper reported, citing newly uncovered documents. On July 28, 2015, Winterkorn signed off on talking points prepared ahead of an informal meeting with regulators in ...
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Indonesia struggles to tap volcano power
Wayang Windu / AFP Columns of steam shoot from the ground at an Indonesian power plant sitting in the shadow of an active volcano, as energy is tapped from the red-hot underbelly of the archipelago. Pipes zig-zag up rugged mountainsides covered in tea plantations, carrying steam from the Earth’s core to power enormous, electricity-generating turbines at the Wayang Windu ...
Read More »Li seeks new tack in ties with Cuba
Havana / AFP Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said it was time for a new direction in relations with Cuba, during a landmark visit to the Americas’ lone communist-ruled state. During the first visit by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations 56 years ago Li pledged to “inject a new dynamic in (bilateral) relations,” Cuban state ...
Read More »China starts up world’s largest radio telescope
Beijing / AFP The world’s largest radio telescope began operating in southwestern China on Sunday, a project Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the mountainous region of Guizhou, began working around noon, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Built at a cost of 1.2 billion ...
Read More »Corbyn re-elected as UK Labour leader, urges unity
Bloomberg Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected as the leader of Britain’s Labour Party with an increased share of the vote and then urged the movement to heal its bitter divisions and unite against Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. Corbyn took 62 percent of the votes of more than 500,000 party members and supporters, according to the result announced on Saturday ...
Read More »Petrobras plans to sell Braskem stake before end-2018
Bloomberg Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to sell its stake in petrochemicals producer Braskem SA before the end of 2018 to help fund its business plan and reduce debt, Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro said. Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based state-run producer is known, has included the Braskem stake in a plan to raise $19.5 billion through divestitures in ...
Read More »First Solar, SunPower rise as 8Point3 Yieldco offers shares
Bloomberg First Solar Inc. and SunPower Corp., the two biggest U.S. solar manufacturers, rose after their jointly controlled yieldco raised about $102.6 million to acquire completed power plants from its parents. First Solar rose 4.6 percent to $37.06 at the close in New York, the most since June 28. SunPower rose 3.3 percent to $8.52. 8Point3 Energy Partners LP, ...
Read More »Poland’s outsider finance minister at risk in Cabinet change
Bloomberg Finance Minister Pawel Szalamacha’s hold on his post didn’t appear that strong to begin with. So when his boss announced a cabinet reshuffle on Friday, investors focused on whether the lawyer tasked with safeguarding Poland’s budget is heading for an exit. Adding to the anxiety, state news agency PAP reported late on Friday that Szalamacha may be ousted ...
Read More »Oracle reduces co-chief’s pay to $41.5 million
Bloomberg Oracle Corp., which has faced shareholder opposition to its compensation practices, cut pay for its top executives in 2016. Co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison received $41.5 million, a 35 percent decrease from last year. Co-Chief Executive Officers Safra Catz and Mark Hurd each received about $41 million, a 23 percent decline. The drop for the co-CEOs is accentuated ...
Read More »Leung vows more land for low-income housing
Bloomberg Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying pledged to provide more land to build apartments for low-income people in a bid to lower housing prices in the world’s least-affordable city. Only a small portion of Hong Kong’s 11 million square kilometers (6.8 million square miles) of land has been developed, and is the reason housing is expensive and land ...
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