Bloomberg US stocks rose as earnings season continued with another major bank reporting healthy results. The dollar rose, while Treasuries declined with gold, as Congress appeared closer to a deal to avert a government shutdown after January 19. All major equity gauges were higher, with semiconductor companies leading gainers. The S&P 500 Index climbed after Bank of America Corp. beat …
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Bitcoin sinks below $10,000
Bloomberg Bitcoin tumbled below $10,000, bringing its loss to almost 50 percent from a record set only a month ago, as increased scrutiny from regulators around the world weighs on the digital- coin craze. The largest cryptocurrency dropped 10 percent to $9,610.05 as of 9:33 am in New York, its first foray below $10,000 since December 1, according to consolidated …
Read More »Gulf stock markets mixed
Reuters Gulf stock markets were mixed on Wednesday with Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s second-largest bank by market value, pulling the Qatari stock index 0.2 percent lower. Shares in Masraf Al Rayan sank 2.7 percent after the bank reported a 9.6 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit to 466 million riyals, below an average 562.5 million riyal forecast by Reuters analysts. …
Read More »China solar boom boosts clean energy funding near record
Bloomberg China’s insatiable appetite for solar power led to a surprise increase in global clean-energy investment last year even as US President Donald Trump pushed to undermine pollution rules and curbs on coal. About $333.5 billion poured into renewable energy and cutting-edge power technologies, up 3 percent from 2016 and 7 percent short of the record set in 2015, according …
Read More »Flow of unwanted oil from China set to turn into a deluge
Bloomberg The pace at which China exports the fuel it doesn’t want is set to jump by more than four times in 2018, according to the nation’s biggest energy producer. That’s a harbinger of bad news for processors in the rest of Asia — from South Korea to Japan and India — who now have to contend with higher crude …
Read More »Trump’s offshore oil plan will struggle to lure rigs from Guyana
Bloomberg The world’s hottest offshore prospect for oil companies is off the coast of Guyana, where a string of major discoveries has drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in a quest for crude. The Trump administration is hoping to lure some of that investment to the US with a proposal to sell leases in almost every inch of the nation’s …
Read More »Algeria inks deal with Vitol to cut fuel import bill
TIGUENTOURIN / Reuters Algeria’s state oil firm Sonatrach will exchange crude for refined products with the world’s largest oil trader Vitol, a Sonatrach official said of the rare move that aims to reduce a record fuel import bill. Vitol would receive up to 2 million barrels a month of the OPEC member’s light, sweet crude and would deliver gasoline and …
Read More »Engie, ACWA bid for 800MW solar project in Morocco
Bloomberg Morocco attracted bids from France’s Engie SA and EDF Energies Nouvelles to build 800 megawatts of solar power as the North African country seeks to curb energy imports. The French utilities, as well as Riyadh-based ACWA Power International, led groups bidding last month for engineering, procurement and construction contracts, Obaid Amrane, a member of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable …
Read More »Yen emerges as top currency wager for fund bets on central bank shift
Bloomberg A minor tweak in the Bank of Japan’s bond purchases has emboldened investors to bet the central bank is about to wind back monetary stimulus. Going long on the yen is the biggest currency wager for AMP Capital Investors Ltd.’s Nader Naeimi. Singapore-based hedge fund Kit Trading Fund Ltd. started a bet on the yen last week, predicting the …
Read More »Citigroup positive on lower tax rates ahead
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. envisions years of tax-reform benefits ahead, even as competitors warned that their rewards may soon start fading away. Last month’s Republican-led legislation cut Citigroup’s effective threshold to about 25 percent in 2018 and company executives said it will go even lower from there, leading the bank to boost its forecast for profitability. That contrasts with JPMorgan Chase …
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