Bloomberg Kering SA’s Gucci label outpaced competitors in the fourth quarter, though the 28 percent sales growth won little applause from investors who had high expectations after rival LVMH trounced estimates last month. The last of the major luxury-goods makers to report for 2018, Kering wraps up an unusually strong earnings season for the industry. The Gucci owner confirmed a …

Bloomberg A mining company claiming interests in copper and gold reserves estimated at $58 billion on the Pacific island of Bougainville said its rights are under threat by efforts to revive the resource sector in the run up to a independence referendum. At the heart of the dispute is the Panguna mine, which was operated by Sydney-listed Bougainville Copper Ltd. …

Bloomberg Forces loyal to Libya’s eastern leader Khalifa Haftar have taken control of the country’s biggest oil field and say the deposit is secure and ready to resume production. Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army fanned out in the southwestern Sharara field, people with knowledge of the matter confirmed. Armed protesters had closed down the 300,000 barrel-per-day deposit in December, demanding …

Bloomberg US solar jobs fell for a second straight year as companies delayed projects in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s import tariffs. The good news: Employment is set to bounce back in 2019. The sector lost about 8,000 jobs in 2018, a 3.2 percent drop, as uncertainty over the tariffs announced early that year slowed large-scale projects, according to a …

Bloomberg Venezuela’s oil minister made a surprise appearance at an energy event in India, as the embattled Opec producer seeks closer ties with major crude customers in the face of crippling US sanctions. Manuel Quevedo said on Monday his nation wants to sell more crude to India, and that US measures have resulted in a $20 billion loss to the …

Bloomberg Drax Group Plc has started capturing carbon dioxide at its Yorkshire power plant for the first time in a pilot project to develop the technology. The six-month bioenergy carbon capture and storage test aims to suck up a ton of carbon dioxide a day at its biomass plant, with technology that isolates the pollutant from flue gases released when …

Bloomberg US equity futures climbed with stocks in Europe at the start of a week that could be pivotal for the global trade outlook. The dollar strengthened for an eighth day. Contracts on the S&P 500 reversed earlier declines and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained as investors looked ahead to high-level trade talks this week between Chinese Vice Premier …

Bloomberg The bullish mood building in China’s equity market is entering a new phase, with investors flocking to riskier stocks as trading reopened on Monday. The ChiNext Index closed 3.5 percent higher in Shenzhen for a second straight session, its best two-day performance since October. A gauge of Shanghai-traded large caps added 1.1 percent following the Lunar New Year break. …

Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz signalled support for a “national champion” in the banking industry, amid speculation that the government is seeking to drive forward a potential merger of Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG. While he stopped short of explicitly spelling out a plan for Germany’s biggest lenders, Scholz’s comments at a Bloomberg event in London are the …

Bloomberg With weeks to go before Brexit, it’s not just UK politicians who are bitterly divided over the country’s withdrawal from the European Union — large banks are also at loggerheads. British lenders and their Wall Street rivals are pushing widely different views on Brexit, a clash that was highlighted at a meeting last week with UK government officials, people …