Bloomberg The scale of Boris Johnson’s challenge to revive the UK economy was laid bare on Wednesday as house prices posted their first annual decline since 2012 and firms reported a record slump in sales. The prime minister has unveiled part of his plan for boosting the UK’s recovery, reconfirming his commitment to long-term investment in some of the country’s …

Bloomberg European stocks edged up in a muted start to third-quarter trading as investors mulled mixed economic data and fresh warnings about the spread of the coronavirus. Treasuries slipped alongside the US equity futures. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index opened modestly higher, led by oil and gas shares, with data showing German unemployment rose to the highest level in nearly …

Bloomberg Deutsche Boerse AG’s electronic trading system was halted due to a technical glitch on Wednesday, the second such outage this year. It disrupted derivatives trading and stock markets in several Central and Eastern European countries, and prompted Denmark to postpone a bond auction. Only about 30 of 99 stocks in Germany’s HDAX large and mid-cap index were showing electronic …

Bloomberg The intraday trading chart for Taiwan’s currency is looking more and more crazed as suspected intervention by the central bank combats pressure on the exchange rate to strengthen. Take Tuesday. The Taiwan dollar jumped as much as 0.7% against the greenback in morning trading, before giving up all its gains at the noon-time break. Upon resuming trade it strengthened …

Bloomberg Oil edged lower as the resurgence of the coronavirus in the US continued to dampen the prospects of a broader demand recovery. Futures in New York fell 1.3% towards $39 a barrel. With the coronavirus running rampant across southern and western America and many states pausing or reversing reopening measures, the outlook for energy demand in the world’s largest …

Bloomberg China’s state-owned oil refining giants are in discussions to form a purchasing group to buy crude together, increasing their bargaining power and avoiding bidding wars. Senior executives from China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, PetroChina Co, Cnooc Ltd and Sinochem Group Co are in advanced talks to iron out details of the plan, said people familiar with the initiative, who …

Bloomberg BP Plc agreed to sell its chemicals business to Ineos Group Holdings SA, taking a big step in its transition away from being a traditional oil company, while also raising vital funds. The announcement comes just months after new Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney set the London-based energy giant on course to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2050, a …

Bloomberg Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) approved a plan to participate in an Indonesian coal power project despite mounting global pressure to move away from the most-polluting fossil fuel. The board of directors on Tuesday cleared the $51 million purchase of a 15% stake in the joint-venture developing the Jawa 9 & 10 project, according to a company spokesman. The …

Bloomberg Sasol Ltd expects binding bids within weeks for its stake in a natural gas pipeline running from Mozambique to South Africa, as the company accelerates asset sales to pay off debt, according to people familiar with the process. The bidding round underway for the Rompco 865-kilometre (537-mile) gas pipeline stake concludes in late July, according to two of the …

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank may buy billions of dollars of sovereign bonds at zero interest, or below its benchmark rate to help the government finance a wider deficit arising out of stimulus measures to counter fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Bank Indonesia may bear the full cost of an expanded health care and social safety net budget of $27.6 billion …