Bloomberg Australia, one of the world’s biggest users of rooftop solar panels, likely added the most new capacity on record last year as electricity users sought to ease escalating power bills. A preliminary estimate by Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator of 1.05 gigawatts installed last year would be a record for the country, the government body said in an emailed statement. ...

Bloomberg In northeast Brazil, beyond the resorts and pristine beaches, lie some of the world’s best winds for generating electricity. Welcome to Serra Branca. It’s a wind generator’s heaven, featuring breezes so perfect for spinning turbines that this Brazilian region is capable of churning out more wind energy than any other part of the world. In the latest testament to ...

Bloomberg Carillion Plc, a UK construction company with government contracts in everything from hospitals to the HS2 high-speed rail project, filed for compulsory liquidation after failing in a last-ditch effort to shore up finances and get a government bailout. The company employs 43,000 people worldwide, almost 20,000 of them in the UK, and has as much as $2.1 billion in ...

Bloomberg Europe’s growth resurgence is showing little sign of losing steam yet and economists have taken notice. In Bloomberg’s monthly survey, the first of the year, respondents bumped up their 2018 outlook to 2.2 percent, close to the decade-high 2.4 percent pace estimated for 2017. The optimism is in contrast to the muted view at the start of 2017. Economists ...

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co. will more than double spending on electrified vehicles, amplifying its investment in a segment that the auto industry sees growing from what’s now just a fraction of the market. The carmaker will shell out $11 billion bringing 40 electrified vehicles to market by 2022, Jim Farley, president of global markets, said during a presentation at the ...

Bloomberg In the first revamp of the G-Class since the rugged sport utility vehicle’s introduction nearly four decades ago, Mercedes-Benz took the approach that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There’s a special “G” mode for offroad driving and a large flat screen. But aside from such flourishes, the styling is still dominated by flat steel surfaces and a ...

Bloomberg Palestinians will “slap back” for the humiliation they’ve suffered from the Trump administration and seek to replace the US with other international players in future peace negotiations with Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said. Opening a conference of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee in Ramallah, Abbas criticized US President Donald Trump for recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump told reporters he’s “the least racist person” as fallout continues from a vulgar remark about immigrants from Africa and Haiti attributed to the president following a meeting with lawmakers last week. “I am not a racist,” Trump said in response to a shouted question from reporters as he entered his Palm Beach golf club. “I am the ...

Bloomberg Czechs will decide in a runoff presidential election whether pro-Russian incumbent Milos Zeman keeps his post for five more years or is ousted by a pro-European Union professor who’s won endorsements from candidates who tumbled out in the first round. Zeman, a veteran politician who supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin and was one of early backers of US President ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s ruling-party leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that while Jacob Zuma’s government must obey the decisions of the African National Congress, he doesn’t want to “humiliate” the president and divide the nation. Ramaphosa, speaking in a television interview broadcast by Johannesburg-based eNCA, said the ANC has to be careful about deciding on Zuma’s future as the nation’s leader before ...