Bloomberg The world economy is entering the second half of 2020 still deeply weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic with a full recovery now ruled-out for this year and even a 2021 comeback dependent on a lot going right. It’s a scenario few if any predicted at the start of the year when most economists were banking on another year …

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) announced on Sunday that international credit rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings upgraded its final issuer ratings by three notches to Aa3 from A3 and by two notches to AA- from A, respectively. The ratings represent fourth highest investment grade rating on each of agencies’ rating scales and …

Bloomberg It’s the beginning of the end for the era of mega-dam building in China. China Three Gorges Corp turned on the first set of generators at the massive Wudongde hydropower plant, deep in the mountains of Yunnan province. About 170 kilometres (106 miles) downstream on the Jinsha River sits Baihetan, the last of its kind, scheduled to go into …

Bloomberg Total SA has deployed a rig to South Africa to look for more oil near a massive discovery, in a rare example of exploration in a frontier area. The Odfjell Deepsea Stavanger has left Bergen in Norway for the southern tip of Africa, Africa Energy Corp, Total’s partner in the project, said. While drilling work has dropped off dramatically …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil incurred an unprecedented second straight quarterly loss as almost every facet of the oil giant’s business slumped amid Covid-19 lockdowns that stunted economic activity. The explorer’s oil and natural gas unit took a hit of as much as $3.1 billion as prices for those commodities slumped, according to a regulatory filing. Margins in Exxon’s refining business contracted …

Bloomberg Remember last earnings season? When companies were reporting their worst quarter since the financial crisis. And nobody dared guess what the future held. Bankruptcy risk was everywhere. Oh, and stocks rallied so hard that $5 trillion got added to share prices. It’s safe to say investors were in a forgiving mood back then. With stocks up 25% since, the …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia led gains in the Gulf as the earnings season started in the kingdom with a positive tone. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index advanced as much as 0.7%. Food producer Almarai Co. JSC, the first Saudi company to deliver second-quarter numbers, gained as much as 2% after posting a 11% increase in profit. As more company results …

Bloomberg Software provider Kinaxis Inc. surged to a record high as it completed a deal for Rubikloud Technologies to boost its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI). Ottawa-based Kinaxis, whose clients include Unilever NV and Lockheed Martin Corp., briefly passed $4 billion in market value for the first time amid a broad rally in Canadian technology stocks. The company sells products …

Bloomberg Oil slipped, paring a weekly gain, as concern of demand erosion from a coronavirus resurgence countered strong US economic data. Futures fell to about $40 a barrel in New York as the virus continues to spread unabated across large parts of the US, clouding the outlook for energy demand. Crude prices gained 4.2% for the week as data showed …

Bloomberg India’s latest e-commerce policy draft includes steps that could help local startups and impose government oversight on how companies handle data. The government has been working on the policy for at least two years amid calls to reduce dominance of global tech giants like Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. Under rules laid out in a 15-page …