Bloomberg Vision Esports, an investment fund focussed exclusively on professional video gaming, has finished a $38 million funding round led by Evolution Media, the firm founded by Creative Artists Agency and TPG Capital. It’s one of the bigger efforts to gather money in the fast-growing esports industry. Other new Vision Esports investors include baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, Giants wide receiver ...
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Spain’s auto parts supplier lightens up for EV era
Bloomberg Gestamp Automocion SA will be largely insulated from the car industry’s high investment costs to develop electric autos after taking steps years ago to produce the large, lightweight metal parts the vehicles need, Chairman Francisco Riberas said. Gestamp’s leadership in hot-stamping technology already enables it to supply lower-weight steel body structures and chassis that help automakers grapple with ways ...
Read More »Uber CEO to court carmakers beyond Toyota for self-driving
Bloomberg The world’s largest car maker and biggest ride-hailing company plan to team up on autonomous driving as technological changes sweep through the transportation industry. Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies Inc., posted a photo on Twitter of him and Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda and Executive Vice President Shigeki Tomoyama at the automaker’s headquarters. The Uber ...
Read More »Indian state-owned oil refiners see strong margins for 2018
MUMBAI / Reuters India state refiners expect their profit margins to hold their strength this year as demand growth accelerates for fuel products amid a record $93 billion spent on infrastructure and stable crude oil prices, company executives and analysts said. India’s sales of cars and especially motorbikes are forecast to rise rapidly, even as the development of a Delhi-Mumbai ...
Read More »Exxon, BHP axe lengthy sale of Australia fields
Bloomberg Two of the world’s biggest energy producers have abandoned the sale of some of Australia’s oldest oil fields after running a 20-month sales process. Exxon Mobil Corp. and BHP Billiton Ltd. will retain ownership and operation of fields, licenses and associated infrastructure held in the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture after concluding a sale process, Exxon’s Esso Australia unit said ...
Read More »LNG rollercoaster gets wilder until China builds storage
Bloomberg The rollercoaster that drags liquefied natural gas prices higher as demand jumps in the northern hemisphere winter is going into overdrive. After a winter in which an unexpected boost in demand from China pushed prices to three-year highs, spot LNG in northeast Asia has plummeted about 30 percent from its mid-January peak. Summer plunges and winter spikes are the ...
Read More »Rise of green energy may lead to higher fossil fuel subsidies
Bloomberg Fossil-fuel subsidies may actually rise in Europe because of the switch to green energy. European Union governments will have to pay out increased compensation for closing coal-fired plants, according to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Several countries are also rolling out programs that pay power plants to guarantee electricity supplies, mechanisms that often favor fossil-fuel generation. Renewables ...
Read More »Centrica plans nuclear asset sales, deeper cost cutting drive
Bloomberg Centrica Plc stepped up its cost cutting drive and planned the sale of nuclear assets as its profit dropped. The UK’s biggest energy supplier increased its cost savings target by about 66 percent to 1.25 billion pounds ($1.73 billion) a year by 2020, Centrica said in its full-year earnings statement. It intends to sells its 20 percent stake in ...
Read More »Libya’s NOC declares force majeure on El Feel oilfield
Reuters Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday it had declared force majeure on the 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) El Feel oilfield after a protest by guards closed the field. El Feel was shut after guards withdrew from the field to push demands over pay and other benefits earlier this week. The NOC said force majeure was declared ...
Read More »China’s Geely buys Daimler stake worth $9 billion
Bloomberg The founder of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. has accumulated a stake worth about 7.3 billion euros ($9 billion) in Daimler AG, marking the biggest investment in a global automobile manufacturer by a Chinese company. Li Shufu acquired the 9.7 percent holding through Geely Group, a company owned by the billionaire and managed by his carmaking group, according to ...
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