Bloomberg The UK’s National Grid Plc will run a test of one of the country’s coal-fired power generators that’s being kept in reserve to boost supplies this winter. A Drax Group Plc unit will start up and generate as much as 300 megawatts as the grid operator checks that contingency tools are ready and working if needed. Temperatures plummeted to …

  Bloomberg Australia passed a law to cap domestic prices of natural gas to limit the impact of soaring global costs on local power bills, ignoring protests from the nation’s powerful energy exporters. At a special sitting, Australia’s parliament passed legislation to cap wholesale gas prices for 12 months. The government also agreed with state and territory leaders to impose …

  Bloomberg California will spend $2.9 billion building out its network of electric vehicle chargers and hydrogen fueling stations as the state moves to phase out fossil fuel-burning cars and trucks. The California Energy Commission said it would more than double the 80,000 public chargers already deployed across the state and keep the city on track to reach its goal …

  Bloomberg Scientists in California have made a key breakthrough in nuclear fusion, a technology with the potential to transform the global energy landscape. Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco were able produce a fusion reaction that generated more energy than it consumed. Fusion is the same process that powers stars and …

  Bloomberg Russia’s central bank left interest rates unchanged for a second meeting, capping a year that included a steep monetary easing cycle that more than reversed an emergency hike after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Policymakers kept their benchmark at 7.5%, according to a statement, in line with the unanimous forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The ruble maintained …

  Bloomberg Investors are concerned that too much tightening from the Federal Reserve could trigger a hard economic landing next year, as the central bank continues its most aggressive rate hike campaign since the 1980s, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp. That’s marked by a renewed selloff in equities, which is unlikely to end as long as the …

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc said it will wind down its consumer banking business in China, a move which is expected to affect about 1,200 employees in the country. The exit will include products such as deposits, insurance, mortgages, investments, loans and cards, the lender said in a statement. The bank will also explore options for those employees who wish to …

  Bloomberg The Bank of Italy raised its inflation forecasts for the next three years on the continuing increase of energy costs and more pronounced wage growth in 2024, according to its macroeconomic projections. Consumer prices are seen increasing 8.8% this year and 7.3% next year, from previous forecasts of 8.5% and 6.5% respectively. Economic output was revised upwards to …

  Bloomberg Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) named Senior Managing Executive Officer Akihiro Fukutome as its next president, as the Japanese lender seeks to attract a younger generation of customers and build up businesses in Southeast Asia. The appointment will be effective from April, according to a statement from the core banking unit of Japan’s second-largest lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial …

  Bloomberg Norway’s central bank raised borrowing costs to the highest level in more than a decade, and signaled it still plans to hike its key interest rate to 3% at the beginning of next year even as the Nordic country faces a recession. Norges Bank lifted its key deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, the highest level …