Bloomberg Betting on growing demand to finance and support mini power plants, Schneider Electric SE said that it was partnering with investors to launch a new company focussed on microgrids for small and medium-sized US businesses. Investors led by Jeff Ubben’s new sustainable investment firm Inclusive Capital Partners and clean energy-focussed Huck Capital, will back the partnership. Having reliable, sustainable …

Bloomberg Shale explorers parked more drilling rigs in the US this week as stagnant oil prices push the industry to extend a historic retrenchment. The number of active oil rigs in US fields fell by 4 to 172, according to Baker Hughes data. That’s the lowest level of activity since 2005, before the shale boom kicked off. The worst may …

Bloomberg Facebook Inc joined a growing list of developers to publicly criticise Apple Inc over its revenue-sharing policy for in-app purchases, suggesting the iPhone maker’s fee structure is hurting small businesses during a global pandemic. The social network rolled out a paid events feature in 20 countries, offering businesses the ability to charge users for access to live video streams, …

Bloomberg Facebook Inc is beginning to merge the chat function of its Instagram and Messenger services, the Verge reported. The changes are coming with an update of the company’s apps on Apple Inc’s devices as well as Android devices, said the Verge, citing reports from users. Once updated, the Instagram app embeds Messenger functionality, and adds more emojis and features …

Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co will manufacture electric vehicles in Singapore starting in 2022, the Straits Times reported. The Seoul-based automaker will produce 30,000 electric cars a year at the Singapore plant, with as many as 6,000 set to be sold in the city-state, the newspaper said, citing Teo Hock Seng, executive chairman of Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors. The first vehicle …

Bloomberg Western Europe’s electric-vehicle sales pulled ahead of China’s last month after countries including Germany and France boosted government subsidies to stimulate demand that had been decimated by the pandemic. The roughly 500,000 plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles registered in Europe during the first seven months of the year exceeded China’s sales by about 14,000 units, according to a report …

Bloomberg At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, contact tracing was considered the best hope for getting people back to offices and schools safely without a vaccine. The tech industry was optimistic that apps would provide a faster, more effective alternative to the usual painstaking human process of calling and interviewing the networks of infected people to figure out possible …

Bloomberg Oil climbed to near a five-month high after an industry report pointed to a third straight weekly drop in American crude stockpiles. Futures in New York rose past $42 a barrel after losing 0.8% Tuesday. The American Petroleum Institute reported inventories fell by 4.01 million barrels last week. The improving picture in the US overshadowed lingering concerns about the …

Bloomberg Brookfield Asset Management Inc’s infrastructure arm is in talks to acquire Blackstone Group Inc’s minority stake in liquefied natural gas terminal operator Cheniere Energy Partners LP, according to people familiar with the matter. The alternative asset manager is working with a partner to acquire Blackstone’s interest, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t …

Bloomberg Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy Co will invest 20 billion yuan ($2.87 billion) to build photovoltaic cell manufacturing plants in Zhejiang province, according to an agreement between the company and the local government. The facilities will have total annual capacity of 36 gigawatts and construction will last for seven years, the company said in a filing to Shanghai stock exchange. …