International News

  Oslo / AFP Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, posted a positive return on Wednesday for the second quarter, despite market pressure from Britain’s decision to leave the EU. The fund registered a return of 1.3 percent, or 94 billion kroner, putting its value at 7.18 trillion kroner ($876 billion, 777 billion euros) at the end of the ...

  Bloomberg After spending billions of dollars constructing a world-class liquefied natural gas export project in Australia, Santos Ltd. has found itself short of gas. The country’s third-largest energy producer, which isn’t pumping enough of its own gas to feed its Gladstone LNG plant yet, is having to buy expensive local supplies to fill the gap. Meanwhile, prices for the ...

  Bloomberg Nickel’s rally is only just getting started, making the metal an attractive bet for investors, according to Jinchuan Group, China’s biggest producer of the refined metal. Tightening global supplies because of a mining clampdown in the Philippines and rising demand from the stainless steel industry in China will push prices higher even after they climbed 35 percent from ...

  Paris / Bloomberg India urged investors to capitalize on a trillion-dollar opportunity that will emerge over the next 15 years when power consumption is expected to quadruple. Investors should bring advanced technologies and “meticulous planning” to the electricity industry, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday at an India-Japan joint seminar on smart meters in New Delhi. The country ...

  Bloomberg China’s latest attempts at reforming the country’s extensive pipeline network are aimed at lowering prices for end users and boosting gas demand, analysts said Wednesday after the country released draft guidelines. The National Development and Reform Commission proposed setting gas transmission fees for companies rather than for individual pipelines, the country’s top economic planner said in the policy ...

  AFP Philippine food giant Universal Robina Corp said Wednesday it would buy Snack Brands Australia for US$460 million, the latest big deal in a global shopping spree by Filipino firms reflecting the nation’s economic rise. URC said it had sealed an agreement to buy the Australian company — maker of popular local brands including Kettles, Thins, CC’s and Cheezels ...

  London / Bloomberg The UK government gave the go-ahead for the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, a 6 billion-pound ($7.8 billion) project in the North Sea by Danish utility Dong Energy A/S. “Britain is a global leader in offshore wind, and we’re determined to be one of the leading destinations for investment in renewable energy, which means jobs and ...

  London / AFP Britain’s annual inflation rate edged higher last month, official data showed on Tuesday, and is set to climb further as a weak pound caused by the Brexit vote raises import prices. The 12-month Consumer Price Index rose by 0.6 percent in July, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. CPI had risen by 0.5 ...

  Berlin / AFP German industrial gas supplier Linde and its US competitor Praxair “are discussing a merger of equals”, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. A potential tie-up between the two companies would create a giant that would overtake French group Air Liquide as the world’s number one supplier of industrial ...

  Berlin / AFP Investor confidence in Germany rebounded slightly in August, as the shock over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union began to wear off, a leading survey showed on Tuesday. The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute gained 7.3 points to stand in positive territory at 0.5 points in August, recovering from a massive ...