Bloomberg Most of China’s provinces are expecting slower economic growth in 2020, underlining the nationwide trend which is expected to result in a tweaking of the formal goal when the legislature meets in March. Twenty-two of 31 major cities, provinces and autonomous regions have so far cut their 2020 target for gross domestic product (GDP) expansion, according to their work ...

Bloomberg China Water Environment Group Ltd, backed by the nation’s state-owned investment holding company, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong that could raise more than $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The water treatment company is working with advisers on a listing that could take place as soon as in the second half of ...

Bloomberg BP Plc handed more power to a new generation of executives, announcing that Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary will join his boss Bob Dudley in retiring this year. Murray Auchincloss, currently the finance chief of BP’s oil and gas production division, will succeed Gilvary. The energy giant already announced last year that Bernard Looney, who runs that unit, will ...

Bloomberg Australia is set to add a record amount of renewable power in 2020, driven by growing corporate demand for clean electricity and to fill generation gaps created by the retirement of aging coal-fired plants. New markets are expected to unlock growth as pilot hydrogen projects start and oil, gas and mining projects invest in off-grid renewables generation, according to ...

Bloomberg The world needs a single carbon price to reach climate targets including Europe’s pledge to eliminate emissions by 2050, said the head of the region’s biggest utility. Such a level should be between 20 euros ($28) to 40 euros per ton of carbon dioxide for the coming years, then rising gradually to punish even the most efficient fossil-fuel plants, ...

Bloomberg Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump agreed to a truce in their dispute over digital taxes that will mean neither France nor the US will impose punitive tariffs this year. Macron said he had a “great discussion” with Trump on the issue, without giving details.“We will work together on a good agreement to avoid tariff escalation,” he said on ...

Bloomberg Investor confidence in Germany’s growth outlook rose to the highest in more than four years after easing trade tensions bolstered prospects for the country’s ailing manufacturers. ZEW’s index of expectations for the next six months increased to 26.7 in January, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The gauge turned positive last month for the first time since April, ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) got a boost in its crackdown on tax breaks for Spanish companies buying stakes in foreign firms after EU judges said a challenge involving Banco Santander SA was inadmissible. The EU Court of Justice rejected a Spanish tax tribunal’s request for guidance on the validity of European Commission decisions that found those tax breaks violated ...

Bloomberg The UK labour market held up in the face of political turmoil in the three months through November, giving Bank of England (BOE) policy makers pause as they weigh whether to cut interest rates. The employment rate hit a record high after the number of people in work surged by 208,000, the most in almost a year and double ...

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc’s chief executive officer urged the US and European Union to coordinate regulatory approaches on artificial intelligence, calling their alignment “critical.” In a rare public speech in Brussels at an event hosted by European economic think tank Bruegel, Sundar Pichai, who is also CEO of Google, said “there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs ...