Berlin / DPA In the middle of southern Israel’s desert, engineers are hard at work building the world’s tallest solar tower, reflecting the country’s high hopes for renewable energy. Once completed in late 2017, the Ashalim Tower will rise to 240 metres (787 feet), taller than Paris’s Montparnasse Tower and London’s Gherkin, according to the Israeli government and the consortium ...

  Bloomberg The U.K. referendum on European Union membership entered its final stages as David Cameron tried to capitalize on a swing in momentum back to the “Remain” campaign and former London Mayor Boris Johnson accused the prime minister of having nothing to offer voters. The pound surged on Monday as investors grew more confident British voters will opt to ...

  Luxembourg / AFP A British vote to leave the European Union would be “irreversible” and the country could only rejoin the bloc on what would be unacceptable terms, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned on Monday. “The message we are trying to get across to the British people is that this is an irreversible decision — if they decide to leave, ...

  Bloomberg The pound climbed the most since 2008, spurring a global rally in higher-yielding currencies, as polls signaled the campaign for the U.K to stay in the EU was gaining momentum. Sterling’s volatility diminished as surveys taken after the murder of pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox showed “Remain” gaining lost ground. A poll from Survation taken June 17-18 for the ...

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, warned a withdrawal by Britain from the European Union may lead to levies of as much as 10 percent on the cars it builds in the U.K. Brexit would challenge Toyota to cut costs or make its cars more expensive and hurt sales, the automaker said in a letter on Monday ...

  Bloomberg Jaguar Land Rover said a withdrawal by the U.K. from the European Union could mean new trade deals will have to be negotiated both within the region and beyond, resulting in uncertainty. Leaving the EU would be “highly damaging” and make the U.K.’s biggest carmaker’s products less competitive in Europe, JLR Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth said in ...

  Madrid, Spain / AP Spain is coaxing Indian moviemakers to use its colourful fiestas and historic monuments as settings for their films, in a move to grab a bigger share of India’s fast-growing overseas tourism market. As part of its bid to lure visitors from the world’s second most populous country, Madrid will host next weekend the annual International Indian ...

  Bloomberg Here comes Canadian oil to douse the hottest rally since 2009. Money managers reduced bets on rising oil prices by the most in 11 months as Canadian output continued to ramp up after Alberta’s wildfires. The recovery in oil prices remains “fragile” as disrupted supplies return to the market and prolong a global surplus, according to Goldman Sachs ...

  Bloomberg Morgan Stanley says investors should bet on longer-term bonds ahead of the U.K. vote on whether to leave the European Union. “We suggest investors remain long duration across developed rate markets into the EU referendum,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Matthew Hornbach, the head of global interest-rate strategy in New York, wrote in a June 17 report. “Rates would ...

  Bloomberg Crude prices around $50 a barrel are enough for Venezuela’s state oil producer to avoid a default on its debt, company president and national oil minister Eulogio Del Pino said in an interview. “$50 is enough,” he said on Bloomberg Television. The company’s average production cost is around $12 a barrel, he said. Petroleos de Venezuela SA will ...