Bloomberg Italy and Germany tied for first place in the worldwide energy-efficiency race, according to a biennial international scorecard released on Tuesday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. France, the United Kingdom and Japan followed suit. The United States fell, from 8th in 2016, to 10th in the new ranking of the 25 largest energy-consuming countries in the …

Bloomberg Ghana’s state-owned oil refinery is seeking credit guarantees from the government after lenders declined to issue it loans for crude purchases, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Tema Oil Refinery, 29 kilometers (18 miles) east of the capital, Accra, halted production on June 21 after running out of crude stock, said the people, who asked not …

Bloomberg US stocks fluctuated after the biggest selloff since April, as investors assessed the outlook for trade and its implications on global growth. The dollar rose and gold fell. The S&P 500 Index gyrated at its 50-day moving average, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average clung to small gains. Technology shares hit hardest bounced back to give the Nasdaq indexes …

Bloomberg Bitcoin bulls are seeking support at the $6,000 price level after the battered digital currency dropped below that threshold for the first time since February over the weekend. The biggest cryptocurrency rose less than 1 percent from its Friday close to $6,103 in New York, according to composite Bloomberg pricing. It slumped to as low as $5,780 on Sunday, …

Bloomberg Some of the world’s largest money managers soured on emerging markets as compounding trade threats deepened the worst monthly rout for developing currencies since the US election. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it’s reducing an overweight position in developing-nation currencies, preferring a more “defensive” stance as China and Europe warned the escalating trade war could trigger a global recession. …

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $5.1 million to settle a US regulator’s claims that employees abused clients by persuading them to sell certain investments before maturity, generating large fees for the lender. Brokers with Wells Fargo Advisors, from January 2009 to June 2013, encouraged retail customers to sell market-linked investments meant to be held to maturity so they …

Bloomberg Irish banks are set to be forced to hold more capital to cope with a future economic downturn, according to a person familiar with the matter. The country’s central bank is leaning towards increasing the so-called counter cyclical capital buffer from zero percent in coming months, according to the person, who asked not to be identified as the information …

Bloomberg Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda endorsed a Japanese government call for employers to raise wages by 3 percent a year — far faster than the current pace — to help the central bank meet its inflation target. “The government request for 3 percent wage increase is quite appropriate,” Kuroda said during a panel discussion at a European Central …

Bloomberg For months, global regulators have been scrambling to get a grip on cryptocurrencies. Yet, even as they debate potential action, a key question looms: What exactly are these things? Now, a consensus appears to be forming around how to define these new instruments. In a speech at the annual general meeting of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, …

Bloomberg With a month to go before the world’s major airlines must comply with Beijing’s order to recognise Taiwan as part of China, US carriers risk flying fewer mainland passengers by staying defiant. While Japan Airlines Co., ANA Holdings Inc. and Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. have changed how they described Taiwan on their websites, Delta Air Lines Inc. and American …