Bloomberg China’s government is stepping up efforts to contain runaway property prices, with the central bank clamping down further on mortgage lending in areas deemed overheated, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some lenders in those cities have been asked to suspend distributing new home loans, said the people, who asked not to be named as the change ...

  Bloomberg New Zealand is seeking to offset its global warming emissions by investing almost $5 billion in green projects overseas, saving six times that figure to meet its Paris climate commitments. Climate Minister Paula Bennett sounded out countries willing to sell emission-reduction credits as she met them at the United Nations climate talks in Morocco this month, she said ...

  Bloomberg German carmakers BMW, Daimler, Porsche and Audi and US competitor Ford said on Tuesday they would cooperate on a Europe-wide network of electric charging stations. The move is an “important step towards facilitating mass-market battery electric vehicle adoption”, the manufacturers said in a joint statement, and comes as German carmakers rev up their offers of electric cars for ...

  Chernobyl / AFP Ukraine on Tuesday unveiled the world’s largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of Europeans for future generations. The gigantic arch soars 108 metres (355 feet) into the sky — making it taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty — while its weight of 36,000 tons ...

  Bloomberg The US economy expanded more than previously reported last quarter on a sunnier picture of household spending, the primary growth engine. Gross domestic product rose at a 3.2 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in September, the fastest in two years, compared with an initial estimate of 2.9 percent, Commerce Department figures showed on Tuesday. The ...

  Bloomberg France and the UK are the two nations in Europe most at risk of power shortages this winter, particularly if there is a cold snap in early December or January. With availability of Electricite de France SA’s French nuclear fleet at the lowest level in a decade, the nation will need to rely on imports during several weeks ...

  Reuters Saudi Arabia’s stock market gave up early gains by the close on Tuesday as oil prices pulled back, while other Gulf bourses were mixed. Profit-taking pulled Egypt’ market lower after big gains this month. The Saudi index has soared over 25 percent — almost entirely erasing its losses this year — since the government’s $17.5 billion international bond ...

  London / AFP European stock markets mostly rebounded on Tuesday but London extended losses as mining shares lost their shine, while oil prices slumped almost a dollar on the eve of a crucial OPEC meeting. Asian traders had earlier moved cautiously, with the recent Trump-fuelled rally in stocks subdued by profit-taking, uncertainty over a key vote in Italy at ...

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo stocks ended lower on Tuesday as markets took a breather following a string of recent gains that propelled the benchmark index to its highest level in 11 months. Japanese shares advanced last week as the yen tumbled against the dollar on expectations that US interest rates will rise under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. “Japanese stocks ...

  Los Angeles / AFP On a soundstage no bigger than a large bedroom a cameraman takes up various angles to film a helicopter that isn’t there, landing in a field that isn’t there either. Until recently, virtual reality was the preserve of the gaming crowd but producers say the technology is on the cusp of a boom which could ...