Bloomberg Norway’s $890 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, took the step of independently cutting the value of its massive UK real estate portfolio by 5 percent after Britain voted to leave the European Union. “It’s an extraordinary measure,” Deputy Chief Executive Officer Trond Grande said at a press conference in Oslo as he presented second-quarter results. Given ...

  Bloomberg US home construction unexpectedly accelerated in July to the fastest pace in five months, indicating the housing industry remains an area of support for the economy. Residential starts increased 2.1 percent to a 1.211 million annualized rate, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey, from 1.186 million in June, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday in Washington. Permits, a ...

  Bloomberg Luxury builder Extell Development Co., trying to cobble together funds for a condo tower in Lower Manhattan, is finding out just how much time costs these days. Extell is hoping to complete a $463.2 million financing agreement with office landlord RXR Realty LLC to build One Manhattan Square on South Street, but that partnership was postponed for a ...

  Bloomberg Moving to Manhattan? Here’s a listing for a three-bedroom apartment in a doorman building in the East Village, offering 900 square feet for the low price of $3,384. It would be a steal, if only the houndstooth rug and surfboard art shown in the photos didn’t so closely resemble the décor seen in this listing for a one-bedroom ...

  Bloomberg Ford Motor Co., which put the world on wheels a century ago, is now taking the driver out of the driver’s seat. The company said it plans to have a fully autonomous vehicle — no steering wheel, no gas or brake pedals — available by 2021 for ride-hailing services. “We see the autonomous car changing the way the ...

  Bloomberg A former top executive behind China’s biggest acquisition of an overseas carmaker is setting out to make history twice, raising $1 billion in an initial fundraising round as the latest homegrown electric vehicle startup to challenge Tesla Motors Inc. Freeman Shen left Volvo Cars owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. in 2014 and last year founded WM Motor, ...

  Bloomberg A year-old technology firm wants to simplify currency markets by streamlining the way trading data is stored using blockchain-based technology. Cobalt DL, a London-based firm created last year by former Traiana Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Coyne, announced Wednesday that it began beta testing on a distributed ledger network, which the firm hopes can cut post-trade costs and ...

  Bloomberg Airbnb Inc. is pressing ahead with plans to expand into new travel services including restaurant reservations and city tours, transforming the company from a single-minded home-rental service to a multipurpose trip planner. The company is testing a standalone mobile app for finding and organizing travel plans, highlighting the importance of the initiative to the company. A test version ...

  Bloomberg It’s like rooftop solar, without the rooftops. A growing number of consumers are buying into community solar farms that allow renters and apartment dwellers to access renewable energy produced on neighborhood plots that can be small enough to host a little league baseball game. Some are so modest they’re referred to as “solar gardens.” Conventional solar farms such ...

  AFP A tiny, invasive whitefly that is resistant to pesticides and carries crop-devastating viruses has been found outdoors in the United States for the first time, raising concerns among fruit and vegetable growers. The Q-biotype whitefly turned up in April in the heavily manicured gardens of an affluent neighborhood in south Florida’s Palm Beach County, where landscapers were spraying ...