Bloomberg Plentiful reserves of fossil fuels and rich seams of valuable minerals are no guarantee of national health, wealth or happiness. The “resource curse” has blighted many countries: Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, have suffered from years of graft, civil unrest and poverty. After discovering oil in the 1960s, Norway has managed to escape these troubles. ...

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will write down between $15 billion and $22 billion in the second quarter, as the company gave investors a wider glimpse of just how severely the coronavirus crisis has hit Big Oil. The pandemic left no part of the energy giant’s sprawling business unscathed. Shell lost money from pumping oil, fuel sales fell ...

Bloomberg Tanzanian authorities detained executives from three oil-marketing companies overnight on suspicion that they hoarded supplies to cause a shortage, according to the utilities regulator. The Tanzania Oil Marketing Association denied the allegations, saying the companies comply with fair competition rules that prohibit cartels, and that the shortage is because of the coronavirus pandemic. Petroleum imports were cut by half ...

After a week of voting, with plenty of inducements to get people to the polls, Russians have backed constitutional changes that could keep President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin longer than Josef Stalin. With most precincts now counted, the Central Election Commission says 78% of voters came out in favour and turnout was 65%. It’s almost too impressive — given ...

You probably need only look inside your own pantry to have some idea of what a blockbuster spring it has been for the packaged food industry. General Mills Inc reported that organic sales, a measure that excludes currency fluctuations and other factors, shot up 16% in the quarter from a year earlier as people loaded up on Gold Medal flour, ...

While a world awash in a pandemic awaits a coronavirus vaccine, Gilead Sciences is bringing a treatment to market. Remdesivir is an experimental drug that may help Covid-19 patients recover more quickly — but it doesn’t immunise them. Its price tag is $600 for a series of six treatments for patients who live in developing countries where Gilead, to its ...

When New York City’s Covid-19 epidemic peaked in late March and early April, the city was reporting more than 5,000 new confirmed cases a day, and more than 60% of tests for the disease were coming back positive. In Arizona, which has a similar if somewhat smaller population (7.3 million versus 8.3 million), new cases are currently averaging about 3,000 ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc told flight attendants it has as many as 8,000 more of them than it needs, and said it would offer more leave programs and a voluntary separation package to try to minimise the need for furloughs. The airline also will reduce staffing on international and cross-country flights to the minimum required by federal regulations, plus ...

Bloomberg Grupo Aeromexico SAB, Mexico’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy in the US, becoming the latest in a string of Latin American carriers to seek court protection after the Covid-19 pandemic caused a severe downturn in travel. The carrier will “continue operating and use Chapter 11 as a way to strengthen its financial position and liquidity,” according to a statement ...

Bloomberg Testing of the 737 Max jetliner’s revised flight-control systems by US regulators and Boeing Co wrapped up, laying the foundation for the plane’s possible return to service later this year. The tests concluded an important milestone in assessing the grounded aircraft’s safety, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. “During three days of testing this week, FAA pilots ...