Bloomberg Oil demand in India rose 10.3 percent in the first month of 2018, the fourth straight monthly gain. Total oil consumption expanded at the fastest pace in 14 months to 16.9 million tons from 15.3 million a year ago, according to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Improvement in road freight transport following the stabilization of the …

CAIRO / Reuters BP is looking to invest over $1 billion in Egypt this year, making the country once again a top destination for investment, its CEO said. Speaking at an industry event in Egypt, Bob Dudley said the company was no longer owed any money by the Egyptian government. “The government owes us no money,” he said on the …

Bloomberg Natural gas is getting edged out of power markets across the US by two energy sources that, together, are proving to be an unbeatable mix: solar and batteries. In just the latest example, First Solar Inc. won a power contract to supply Arizona’s biggest utility when electricity demand on its system typically peaks, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. …

Bloomberg UK utilities may have to delay or give up on building power stations as new generators won only a fraction of the capacity offered in a tender to provide backup electricity. The auction process, set up to encourage new installations, only saw 1.5 percent of the total going to proposed plants. The lack of new projects could put pressure …

Bloomberg Singapore housing prices may rise as much as 10 percent this year, following a pickup in home sales, the chief executive officer of Southeast Asia’s biggest developer said. “Transaction volume has gone up and usually that’s a precursor to some price increase,” Lim Ming Yan, the president and CEO of CapitaLand Ltd., said in an interview in Singapore. “A …

Bloomberg Asian stocks rose amid signs markets are beginning to stabilize after the biggest weekly rout in two years. Japanese equities pared gains as the yen advanced. Shares in Hong Kong and China led the rally in Asia after the S&P 500 Index posted its biggest two-day advance in 18 months. Japan’s equities retreated from the day’s highs after traders …

Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz AB has abandoned a plan to try to get shareholders to reinvest their dividends in new stock. The Swedish fashion retailer said that the project proved too difficult, after the company encountered technical issues and ran up against time constraints. An “investigation” into the plan showed it wasn’t really feasible, H&M said. Shares initially jumped on …

DUBAI / Reuters Dubai’s stock market rose in early trade on Tuesday after Emaar Malls and Aramex reported strong earnings, but most of the Gulf was quiet, gaining little momentum from the rise of Wall Street and other global markets. The Dubai index added 1.0 percent as Emaar Malls , the emirate’s flagship mall operator, rose 3.1 percent after reporting …

DUBAI / Reuters A rebound in global equity markets may lift stock markets in the Gulf on Tuesday. Wall Street’s three main indexes surged well over 1 percent on Monday, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is up 1.2 percent on Tuesday morning. Brent oil has not recovered much, however, standing at $62.95 per barrel. In Egypt, …

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s biggest banks are increasingly locking mortgage rates to lure customers from upstart rivals in the world’s least affordable housing market, where borrowing costs are soon expected to rise. HSBC Holdings Plc and BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd. are offering fixed rates of 1.68 percent for the first year of a new mortgage, lower than the 2.15 percent …