News

  Bloomberg The Malaysian state of Sarawak is in talks with Norway about setting up a sovereign wealth fund, Premier Abang Johari Tun Openg said in a statement. Sarawak, home to some of the biggest aluminum smelters and hydroelectric dams in Southeast Asia, would try to achieve the same standard and success of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the premier said ...

  Bloomberg Hiro Mizuno, former chief investment officer of Japan’s GPIF, the world’s largest pension fund, has recounted how Kofi Annan once said to him that Asian nations were a “desert” of responsible financing. Mizuno told the story in 2019, two years after he began to champion investing based on environmental, social and governance metrics. Things have changed since then. ...

Bloomberg California Governor Gavin Newsom said that his state has a record $97.5 billion operating surplus, as high tax rates on its wealthiest residents mean he has more cash to fund liberal priorities such as education and health care. The surplus is bigger than the entire 2020 spending of any other state except New York and Texas. Of that windfall, ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) cut its prediction for 2022 euro-area growth and almost doubled its estimate for inflation, according to new draft projections. In the first forecast since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the European Commission says gross domestic product will expand 2.7% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg. That’s down ...

  Bloomberg Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is considering a visit to Indonesia to explore investment opportunities in the resource-rich Southeast Asia country. The chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the rocket manufacturer’s site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday, during which Widodo extended an invite. “Hopefully in November, thank ...

  Bloomberg Technology companies including ASML Holding NV and Adyen NV called on the Dutch government to maintain a tax break that seeks to attract expatriates to the Netherlands. Ingrid Thijssen, head of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, said the government for budget reasons is considering shrinking or scrapping a rule that exempts 30% of an expat’s salary ...

  Bloomberg Bill Gates sold about $940 million of Canadian National Railway Co. shares, trimming one of the largest holdings of the investment firm that controls his $117 billion personal fortune. Cascade Investment unloaded roughly 12% of its shares in the Montreal-based company from April 27 to May 12, leaving it with a stake of about 9% or $6.8 billion, ...

  Bloomberg Allianz SE says car-shipping incidents are now a major cause of loss for the insurance industry after a cargo ship with about 4,000 Volkswagen AG vehicles caught fire and sank in the Atlantic two months ago. Fires on board car carriers have become a loss driver over the past decade, according to a report published by Allianz Global ...

  Bloomberg Oil climbed as a global squeeze on refined products continued to pull fuel prices higher with Russian diesel exports falling sharply. West Texas Intermediate rises 4.1% and eked out a weekly gain of 0.7% after a series of tumultuous trading sessions where lowered liquidity exacerbated price moves. Diesel exports from Russia dropped in April from their prewar level ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Federal Supreme Council on Saturday unanimously elected His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as President of the United Arab Emirates. The council held a meeting on Saturday at Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ...