News

  Bloomberg Britain’s labor market isn’t cracking under the weight of Brexit yet. Companies added 172,000 jobs in the second quarter and the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent, showing resilience in the buildup to the June 23 referendum when the UK decided to quit the European Union. While the data available for July—after the vote—are more volatile, they show ...

  Moscow / AFP The Russian government has unexpectedly halted the sale of its stake in oil producer Bashneft planned as part of a privatisation drive to shore up dwindling financial reserves, reports said Wednesday. The decision to postpone the sale indefinitely, reportedly taken by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and agreed with President Vladimir Putin, came after the economy ministry ...

  Bloomberg Poland’s law restricting the proximity of turbines near homes is bringing the wind-energy industry to a standstill, according to environmental researchers. At stake are more than 500 million zloty ($131.4 million) spent by investors to date on developing wind projects, according to a survey published on the website of Ambiens sp. z o.o. Environmental consultants last month polled ...

  Portugal / Bloomberg Portugal’s government bonds fell for a second day amid speculation that ratings company DBRS Ltd. may downgrade the nation’s sovereign debt. The country’s 10-year bond yield rose to the highest in more than two weeks. DBRS’s rating of BBB (low) leaves it the only major company to rank Portugal’s debt as investment grade. That’s essential for ...

  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 ...