Bloomberg Germany’s solar panels produced record amounts of electricity, exacerbating market forces that were already hammering the profitability of the country’s remaining coal plants. Gin-clear skies over central Europe helped photovoltaic plants produce 32,227 megawatts on April 20, beating the previous record on March 23. Bright conditions are expected to continue this week, according to Germany’s DWD federal weather service. ...

Bloomberg The oil and gas industry shed nearly 51,000 drilling and refining jobs in March, a 9% reduction that is likely to get worse as futures prices fell into negative territory Monday. March’s job losses rose by 15,000 when ancillary jobs such as construction, manufacturing of drilling equipment and shipping are included, according to BW Research Partnership, a research consultancy, ...

Bloomberg Clean energy is gaining a greater share of India’s energy mix, a silver lining amid the country’s prolonged virus lockdown that has cut power demand by about a quarter. Electricity generated from renewable sources, nuclear and hydropower made up 27% of India’s total generation as of April 15, data from grid operator National Load Despatch Centre show. That’s up ...

Bloomberg The Danish economy may lose more than 190 billion kroner ($28 billion) this year, the equivalent of 8.3% of gross domestic product, as a result of a slowdown in economic activity, according to a business survey conducted by the Confederation of Danish Industry. The figure is up from an estimate of 155 billion kroner four weeks ago, according to ...

Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) reported a drop in first-quarter revenue and pulled its profit forecast for the year, signalling that the Covid-19 pandemic has become another hurdle for the company in its transition to cloud computing. Sales declined 3.4% to $17.6 billion in the period that ended March 31, the Armonk, New York-based company said in a statement. ...

Bloomberg UK jobless claims increased last month as the coronavirus pandemic began to have an impact on the labour market. Claims rose 12,200 compared with a 5,900 gain in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. The claimant count rate rose to 3.5%, the highest since the start of 2014. Unemployment is sure to keep rising after the ...

Bloomberg French automaker PSA Group posted a 16 percent slump in first-quarter sales and forecast the European market will shrink by a quarter this year as the coronavirus pandemic slams the car industry. The company has secured liquidity and cut costs, Chief Financial Officer Philippe de Rovira said in the statement on Tuesday, adding that it is preparing for a ...

Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. won approval to serve as a business vendor to the US government, allowing the company to vie for an estimated $810 million in spending over the next five years. Politicians and campaigns have for years relied on Uber for rides to and catering for their events, but the decision is the first clearance for federal agencies ...

Bloomberg Mystery surrounded Kim Jong-un’s health after US and South Korean officials gave differing accounts of the North Korean leader’s condition following his unusual absence from recent holiday celebrations. Kim was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week and the Trump administration wasn’t sure of his current health, said US officials, who asked not to be identified. One ...

Bloomberg Italy will present a plan this week to ease its rigid lockdown, joining Germany, France and Austria in pursuing a gradual return to normality as coronavirus infection rates fall and pressure mounts to reopen businesses. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte aims to roll out a detailed restart program beginning on May 4, indicating that the process will take time to ...