Bloomberg The battle for control of Akzo Nobel NV escalated after Elliott Advisors called for the chairman’s ouster, drawing a fiery retort from the Dutch paint maker suggesting the activist shareholder is working with PPG Industries Inc. on its $24 billion takeover offer. The removal of Chairman Antony Burgmans would be irresponsible and damaging, and Elliott’s move for a …

  Bloomberg Britain’s major banks are making it tougher for consumers to get unsecured credit, which may slow the pace of lending that the Bank of England has identified as a risk to financial stability. In its Credit Conditions survey, the BOE said its measure of the availability of unsecured credit fell to minus 6.6 in the first quarter, to …

  Bloomberg The view from the biggest coal plant in the US West is spectacular: red rock buttes and wide desert vistas that change color with the movement of the sun. Set against this backdrop, the station’s towering smoke stacks seem to disrupt the serenity of the landscape, its three concrete pillars spewing a perpetual stream of heat and gas. …