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Bloomberg Commodities are set for the best annual performance since 2016, with crude to copper posting annual gains. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index has hit the highest since November 2018 as trade tensions ebb, a risk-on mood sweeps markets, and the dollar eases. The gauge is now up 11% in 2019. Commodities are benefiting from an end-of-year surge as the ...

Bloomberg The man who claims he invented the world’s largest cryptocurrency and was ordered by a judge to surrender about $3 billion of his Bitcoin holdings said he may not be able to do so anytime soon. In a statement to Bloomberg News, Craig Wright said that he “cannot be certain that information will in fact arrive” to help identify ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc delivered its first China-built cars, a milestone for Elon Musk’s company as it accelerates a push in the world’s largest electric-vehicle market. The company handed over the first 15 Model 3 sedans assembled at Tesla’s new multibillion-dollar Shanghai plant — its first outside the US — to company employees at the facility on Monday. More workers will ...

Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp to sell before its franchise expires in March. In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier ...

Bloomberg Protests against a new citizenship law in India risk making investors wary of doing business in Asia’s third-largest economy. At least 25 people have been killed in nationwide demonstrations against the new rules enacted into law earlier this month. The law bars undocumented Muslims from three neighboring nations seeking Indian citizenship, while allowing people of other faiths to do ...

Bloomberg HNA Group Co’s chairman predicted 2020 will be “the decisive year to win the war” against the Chinese conglomerate’s long-running liquidity challenges. HNA endured another year of difficulties with liquidity but it’s the group’s “political duty” to overcome the challenge, Chairman Chen Feng said on the company’s WeChat page. Still, the message didn’t specify how HNA would overcome its ...

Bloomberg The financial gearing of Asia Pacific’s largest companies has risen for a second year following a period of deleveraging, but market participants don’t see cause for alarm. The median total debt-to-total equity for non-financial companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index reached about 44% in the first nine months of 2019. That is slightly higher than the 41% seen ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Cabinet has approved the ‘People of Determination Protection from Abuse Policy’ to empower and protect persons with disabilities by allowing them to participate effectively within a safe community environment that offers them enhanced opportunities and guarantees their right to a dignified life. The policy aims to protect ‘the determined’ from abuse, empowering them, their ...

DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved a three-year budget cycle for the Government of Dubai, for the 2020-2022 period. The three-year budget cycle meets the aspirations of Dubai’s future, and confirms its determination to continue raising people’s happiness and stimulating entrepreneurship. The ...

DUBAI / WAM Enoc Group has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability for third year in a row. Among 228 global applicants, the group was recognised for its commitment to improving sustainability standards. Since 2014, Enoc Group reduced its emission intensity by about 24% and water intensity by about 17% in its manufacturing, retail facilities. The group also ...