Bloomberg Venezuela’s Minister of Industry and National Production was charged with violating a US law targeting foreign drug traffickers with sanctions by using private jets supplied by American companies. Prosecutors claim Tareck Zaidan el Aissami Maddah and his business partner, Samark Lopez Bello, broke the law by taking the flights, including one on February 23 from Russia to Venezuela. El ...

Bloomberg Nigerians began voting on Saturday for state governors and assemblies in an election that the military said may be threatened by violence. The balloting in 29 of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Africa’s biggest oil producer is the second round of general elections that saw President Muhammadu Buhari win a new and final four-year term ...

Bloomberg A new gas supply deal between the US and China that’s expected to be part of a broader trade agreement has been in the works since before the trade war began and was put on ice after tensions flared, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A deal between Cheniere Energy Inc. and China’s Sinopec, expected to be ...

Bloomberg Crescent Point Energy Corp., the Canadian oil driller that fended off an activist investor last year, wrote down the value of its assets by C$2.73 billion ($2 billion) and is putting more holdings on the block as its new chief executive officer targets core operations. The after-tax writedown reflects the fair value of its assets, many of which were ...

Bloomberg The enforcement mechanism for a prospective deal to end the trade war between China and the US must be “two way, fair and equal,” according to Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen. Speaking on Saturday at a press conference in Beijing, Wang said he “feels hopeful” about the prospects for the negotiations, which are nearing completion amid pressure from US ...

Bloomberg China’s coal imports in February tumbled 42 percent from the prior month as the world’s top buyer stalled custom clearances of shipments from Australia, sparking speculation it was retaliating politically against one of its biggest suppliers. Shipments dropped to about 630,036 tons a day from 1.08 million in January, which was the highest since 2014, according to Bloomberg calculations ...

Bloomberg A bankruptcy court approved ArcelorMittal’s offer to buy Essar Steel India Ltd., taking the world’s largest steelmaker closer to opening shop in the South Asian nation after months of court battles. The National Company Law Tribunal approved the resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal and partner Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., according to ArcelorMittal ’s lawyer Ruby Ahuja. The ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s success in tapping the overseas bond market for $2.4 billion will help the island nation cover its debt obligations for this year and lift foreign reserves, Central Bank Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. Sri Lanka’s currency is also likely to continue to appreciate in 2019 after falling to record lows in 2018 amid a political crisis, due ...

Bloomberg Japan’s economy expanded more than first estimated in the fourth quarter, driven partly by stronger business investment. Yet more recent gauges of factory output and exports point to a gloomier outlook for this year. Gross domestic product grew at an annualised pace of 1.9% in the three months through December. That compared with an initial reading of 1.4% and ...

Bloomberg Taiwan’s three biggest financial firms plan to boost headcount by more than 10 percent this year as the local stock market rebounds. Cathay Financial Holding Co. and CTBC Financial Holding Co. plan to hire 5,000 people each, while Fubon Financial Holding Co. is looking to add more than 6,800 roles, the companies said this week. Taiwan’s benchmark equity index ...