Bloomberg China’s oil refining giant said its trading unit lost almost $700 million last year after being wrong-footed by zigzagging markets, revealing one of the biggest losses by a commodity trader in the last decade. Sinopec blamed the losses at its Unipec unit in part on “inappropriate hedging techniques” and said it closed its positions after discovering the problem. Oil …

Bloomberg China’s offshore oil and gas experts are dipping their toes in wind power, bringing their experience working on the ocean floor and adding a new twist to their portfolios. Cnooc Ltd., the country’s top offshore oil explorer, said it wants to use its expertise in marine geology to replicate its success in the offshore wind sector. The company entered …

Bloomberg America’s gasoline producers can run, but they can’t hide from a plunge in refining profit margins that sanctions against Venezuelan crude would only worsen, analysts said. The biggest US refiners are expected to report strong fourth-quarter earnings thanks to profits from diesel processing in a strong US economy, as well as a drop of about 40 percent in crude …

Bloomberg Heavy Canadian crude isn’t getting any cheaper — but that hasn’t stopped companies from splurging on costly rail shipments. Rail-car loadings hit a record 356,000 barrels a day in the week ended Jan. 11, up from a daily average of 296,000 barrels in December, according to Genscape Inc., which monitors some of the larger crude-by-rail terminals in Western Canada. …

Bloomberg US stocks fell after Caterpillar and Nvidia blamed slowing global growth for disappointing results, adding to concern the trade war with China is hitting corporate profits. The dollar edged higher. The S&P 500 began a crucial week for trade and monetary policy sharply lower as the sector bellwethers doused enthusiasm over the young earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial …

Bloomberg The pound’s world-beating rally is unsustainable as traders are over-optimistic about the way forward on Brexit, according to money managers. Sterling has gained more than 3 percent versus the dollar this year, the most among its Group-of-10 peers, on conviction that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit has receded. Fund managers at both Aberdeen Standard Investments and BlueBay Asset …

Bloomberg Malaysia is planning a sale for $5.5 billion of real estate to bridge the gap between property oversupply and lack of affordable homes, with developers asked to offer at least 10 percent discount. The numbers are staggering: about 180 developers will offer 22,000 units worth a total of 22.5 billion ringgit ($5.5 billion) at the expo planned for March …

Bloomberg The European Central Bank’s (ECB) pessimism over its economic outlook might not last long even if the euro area fails to pick up speed — instead it’ll just revise the projections to reflect the heightened risks. Governing Council members Francois Villeroy de Galhau and Vitas Vasiliauskas said that policy makers expect to cut their 2019 growth prediction in March …

Bloomberg The European economy doesn’t show any signs of falling into a recession, ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said. “The European economy is doing pretty well,” and even though capacity utilisation is high and unemployment low, this isn’t leading to inflation, the Dutch central bank president said in Dutch television show Buitenhof. “I do find talk about a crisis, …

Bloomberg Chinese regulators have allowed S&P Global Ratings’ Beijing-based wholly owned unit to conduct credit rating business on the mainland, according to a statement from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The credit assessor is now allowed to register for bond rating service in China’s interbank market. The PBOC didn’t mention Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings in its announcement …