Bloomberg The euro-area economy plunged into a record contraction, an outcome that will only add more urgency to controversial demands for joint government fiscal support. Output in the 19-country region shrank 3.8%, reflecting shutdowns to contain the coronavirus that have pushed businesses close to collapse, sent unemployment surging and forced governments to unleash billions of euros in emergency stimulus. Italy, …

Bloomberg New leadership at Petroleos de Venezuela SA is considering a major overhaul that could see the company streamlining its oil business and even forsaking decades of state monopoly, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal, outlined in a document seen by Bloomberg and dated March 2020, was devised by newly appointed PDVSA head Asdrubal Chavez, who is …

Bloomberg South Africa said it will proceed with a court case to invalidate the sale in 2015 of its strategic oil stocks, despite crude prices recently dropping below what traders paid at the time. The $280 million deal for 10 million barrels of South Africa’s reserves, criticised as a rip off when oil prices were in a slump, was sold …