Bloomberg Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida brushed aside news of weaker-than-expected retail sales in November and said the US economy looks headed for a solid 2020 based on a strong labour market and a robust consumer. “The US consumer’s never been in better shape in my professional career,” Clarida said in an interview with Fox Business Network, repeating an ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank warned property speculators that “homes are for living in” as the regulator pledged to properly regulate the real estate market. The People’s Bank of China also said it will be “flexible” and “appropriate” in setting prudent monetary policy, and will boost financial support to manufacturers and the private sector, according to a statement after a meeting. ...

Bloomberg Malaysia, the world’s second-largest grower of palm oil, plans to publish concession maps and make them accessible to the public, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council. The group, also known as MPOCC, said it aims to achieve 100% traceability at the farm level via the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification scheme — or MSPO — by 2025, ...

Bloomberg Indonesia has taken legal action against the European Union (EU) over stricter limits on how palm oil can be used in green fuels, marking a further deepening in trade tensions. The nation filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization on December 9 alleging discrimination against Indonesian palm-oil exports, the trade ministry said. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of ...

Bloomberg China plans to target economic growth of around 6% in 2020, at the low end of this year’s range of 6% to 6.5%, Reuters reported, citing policy sources. To cushion a sharper slowdown, the state also plans to spend more on infrastructure by allowing local governments to issue more special bonds next year, Reuters said. The proposed target to ...

Bloomberg China’s ambassador threatened Germany with retaliation if it excludes Huawei Technologies Co as a supplier of 5G wireless equipment, citing the millions of vehicles German carmakers sell in China. Resistance against Huawei is growing among lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, who have challenged her China policy with a bill that would impose a broad ban on “untrustworthy” ...

Bloomberg Japan Post Holdings Co is set to release a final report on missold insurance as early as December 18, and the findings will show more cases than an interim probe uncovered, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. After speaking to more than 120,000 clients, a special investigation committee composed of external lawyers found 9,000 incidents of insurance sales at post offices ...

Bloomberg California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected PG&E Corp’s proposed restructuring plan, dealing a major blow to the power giant as it tries to exit the biggest utility bankruptcy in US history. Newsom said in a letter to PG&E Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson that the utility’s restructuring plan falls “woefully short” of the state’s requirements. The governor said any reorganisation ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo will proceed with a smaller version of the Inga III hydropower project and expand the facility over time, President Felix Tshisekedi said. The Inga III dam, which will begin as a 4,800 megawatt plant, will have its capacity increased to 7,500 megawatts and 11,000 megawatts eventually, Tshisekedi told lawmakers in his first state of ...

Bloomberg State Grid Corp of China is nearing an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Oman’s state-owned transmission company in the first major privatisation by the Middle East’s largest non-OPEC oil producer, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Beijing-based company will acquire the stake in a deal that values Oman Electricity Transmission Co at about $2 billion, ...