Bloomberg National Grid Plc again requested that coal-fired power units prepare for service to bolster the network’s spare capacity, then called off the notice as it has done previously. The grid asked three coal stations to warm in the early hours, before cancelling the request for Electricite de France SA’s unit at West Burton shortly after 5 am local time ...

  Bloomberg South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal, the continent’s biggest export facility for the fuel, increased shipments to Europe last year to meet increasing demand even as the project struggled with infrastructure disruptions. Security issues, a wage strike and equipment shortages for state-owned rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. cut coal deliveries from mines to the port, contributing to overall ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s worst ever power blackouts are threatening platinum and palladium supplies in the top miner, both now and in the years ahead. Outages last year curbed output of the metals, and the power crisis that’s crimping the economy has worsened in recent months. The nation’s platinum-group metals production will likely fall this year, according to Impala Platinum Holdings ...

  Bloomberg Intel Corp. gave one of the gloomiest quarterly forecasts in its history after a personal-computer slump ravaged the chipmaker’s business, sending shares tumbling and further setting back turnaround efforts. The company predicted a surprise loss in the current period and a sales range that missed analysts’ estimates by billions of dollars. At the low end of Intel’s projections, ...

Bloomberg Spain grew more than anticipated in the final quarter of last year, indicating the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy is on track to avoid a recession even as high inflation squeezes household spending. Output rose 0.2%, according to data from the INE statistics agency published on Friday. That matches the pace in the previous quarter and exceeds the 0.1% median ...

Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt dismissed calls for tax cuts and pushed back against green energy subsidies, warning that “sound money must come first” as he argued that Brexit will drive UK economic growth. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Hunt said: “At the moment, we don’t have the headroom for major cuts. Businesses want that, who wouldn’t? ...

  Bloomberg A record share of Londoners are shunning property portals and opting to sell their homes on their own terms — which are increasingly negotiated over WhatsApp. Almost a quarter of London homes were sold off-market in the final three months of last year, according to broker Hamptons International. That’s more than double compared to the same period of ...

  Bloomberg The UK’s battery manufacturing industry is doomed unless the government ramps up support for the sector, according to the founder of failed battery startup Britshvolt Ltd. Formerly the UK’s main hope for a homegrown supplier to the electric-vehicle industry, Britishvolt went into bankruptcy this month. The company could have been saved had the government given it only a ...

  Bloomberg Nearly a year into an invasion that was supposed to take weeks, Vladimir Putin is preparing a new offensive in Ukraine, at the same time steeling his country for a conflict with the US and its allies that he expects to last for years. The Kremlin aims to demonstrate that its forces can regain the initiative after months ...

Bloomberg The Palestinian Authority said it’s ending security ties with Israel after nine civilians were killed in a West Bank gunfight, in an escalation in violence that was later followed by a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian government body, on Thursday announced three days of mourning following the clashes in the city of ...