Paris / Bloomberg Equate Petrochemicals, a joint venture between US-based Dow Chemical and the Kuwaiti government, has commissioned a $70m carbon dioxide plant in Kuwait. The carbon dioxide-recovery facility has a capacity of 280 tonnes a day. The gas will be produced by existing Equate petrochemicals plants. It will filter and purify the carbon dioxide, then liquefy it, making it …

Bloomberg Crude extended gains after industry data showed U.S. inventories declined, while Iran cautiously supported a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze production at near-record levels. Oil rose as much as 4.3 percent in New York. U.S. crude supplies fell by 3.26 million barrels last week, the industry- funded American Petroleum Institute was said to report Wednesday. However, …

Beijing / AFP Prada’s annual sales were broadly flat for a second consecutive year in 2015 as the slowdown in China continued to weigh on the high fashion and luxury goods brand. Weak sales in Asia Pacific outside of Japan and in the United States failed to offset an improved picture in Europe, where the weak euro bolstered sales to …