TASHKENT / WAM ACWA Power announced the signing of three new strategic agreements, potentially worth up to $2.5 billion, with the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan to amplify power generation and develop technical expertise. The agreements include a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and Investment Agreement – with a total investment value of $1.2 billion – for the development, construction …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia plans to boost oil output next month to well above 10 million barrels a day, as the kingdom responds to the collapse of its Opec+ alliance with Russia. The world’s largest oil exporter engaged in an all-out price war by slashing pricing for its crude by the most in more than 30 years. State energy giant Saudi …

Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd warned that its maintenance plan must be supported by the government or South Africa can expect regular blackouts from power cuts of 8,000 megawatts by mid-2021, a move that would cripple the economy. Shortly after taking up the role in January, Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter said more planned power outages, known locally as …

Bloomberg Vienna utility Wiener Stadtwerke GmbH agreed to buy a stake in neighbouring Lower Austria’s EVN AG from Germany’s EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG, tightening Austrian provincial governments’ grip on the power market. Wiener Stadtw-erke agreed to buy EnBW’s 28% stake in EVN, subject to antitrust approvals in Germany and Austria, the municipality-owned company said in a statement. The parties agreed …

Bloomberg US coal use plunged more than 13% in 2019, the most in 65 years, as power plants shut down across the country. That’s poised to happen again this year. Total consumption slumped to 596 million tons in 2019 from 688 million tons in the prior year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This year, the figure is expected …

Bloomberg After a decade-long uphill battle against passive investing, active funds are getting a rare moment of respite, courtesy of the worst equity sell-off since 2018. About 60% of large-cap mutual funds beat their benchmarks as the S&P 500 tumbled into a correction in February, the best hit rate in two years, according to data compiled by Bank of America …

Bloomberg A second hit could be coming for China’s economy after its initial shock from the coronavirus, said Joe Davis, chief economist at fund giant Vanguard Group. While China has seen new cases of the virus slow, its spread is intensifying in the US and Europe. Should that trend keep hammering the economies of both regions, it could knock a …

Bloomberg Global central bankers enter a new week under fresh pressure to outline the next steps in their battle to address the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Policy makers got a wakeup call last week as the Federal Reserve’s emergency interest rate cut did little restore confidence, leaving officials hunting for innovative ways to add stimulus that can have a …

Bloomberg Intesa Sanpaolo SpA will go ahead with its plan to take over smaller rival UBI Banca SpA if at least 50.1% of its shareholders adhere to the offer, Chief Executive Officer Carlo Messina said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “Given the value of the deal for the country, as well as for Intesa Sanpaolo and UBI itself, …

Bloomberg The fallout from the global spread of coronavirus may be starting to affect credit and funding markets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Supply-chain disruptions and demand shock from the virus fallout could already be causing cash-flow problems for businesses, JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note. That’s probably even more true for smaller companies and those in …