December, 2018

• 22 December

  World’s richest lost $511bn in a year of market turmoil

  

  Bloomberg The richest people on earth lost $511 billion this year after record first-half gains were obliterated by a succession of bruising market selloffs. Global trade tensions and worries about a US recession dragged markets lower at year-end. It’s only the second annual decline for the daily wealth index since its 2012 debut, and represents a sharp about-turn from the …

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• 22 December

  Trump outlines plans for crude drilling in Arctic wildlife refuge

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration outlined plans for selling drilling rights on every acre of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, despite acknowledging potential oil spills and impacts to polar bear and caribou that roam through the region. The Interior Department’s draft environmental impact statement, published online, is a major milestone in the administration’s push to sell drilling rights in …

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• 22 December

  Shale explorers boost drilling

  

  Bloomberg Crude drilling increased in American fields even as explorers face the biggest quarterly drop in oil prices since 2014. Working US oil rigs rose by 10 this week to 883, according to data released by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. More than 100 additional rigs have been deployed across American fields this year. It’s likely one of the last …

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• 22 December

  Wartsila bids for Kenya solar contracts

  

  Bloomberg Wartsila Oyj’s East African unit submitted bids for engineering, procurement and construction contracts to develop grid-connected solar farms in Kenya. The East African nation, which has an electricity sup-ply deficit, is boosting production from renewable sources including wind and geothermal as it cuts reliance on expensive diesel-powered plants. There are about 15 utility-scale solar projects announced in Kenya with …

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• 22 December

  Bill Franke targets Canada with new no-frills carrier

  

  Bloomberg Bill Franke, who helped pioneer bare-bones airlines in the US and around the world, is expanding into Canada. Franke’s Indigo Partners will join a Canadian investment group that intends to revamp charter airline Enerjet into a low-cost carrier in the mold of Spirit Airlines Inc. and Ryanair Holdings Plc. The first flights are targeted for around September. The plan …

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• 22 December

  Virgin wins ruling to stop Christmas strike

  

  Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic won a court ruling blocking a strike by a group of its pilots during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Judge Akhlaq Choudhury granted the airline an injunction against the pilots, saying the breakaway union didn’t inform the airline how many captains and first officers were striking. The walkout, which was due to start from December 22, …

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• 22 December

  Flyadeal drops Airbus for Boeing with 30-jet order

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabian discount carrier Flyadeal will defect to Boeing Co. jets from an all- Airbus SE fleet after ordering 30 737 Max narrow-body planes worth $3.5 billion at list prices. The unit of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines or Saudia announced the purchase this week and said it has options to add 20 more of the aircraft, which feature upgraded …

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• 22 December

  UK retailers get boost as sales surge

  Bloomberg Black Friday gave UK retailers an unexpected boost in the run-up to the key Christmas trading period. The volume of goods sold in stores and online jumped 1.4 percent in November, the most in six months, following two months of declines. An increase of just 0.3 percent was forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Office for National Statistics says increase …

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• 22 December

  Gatwick resumes flights after drone causes brief suspension

  

  Bloomberg London’s Gatwick airport resumed flights after another reported drone incursion caused a brief interruption on December 21. “The sighting was confirmed, so there definitely was a drone in the area,” an airport spokeswoman said. Military measures “have given us the reassurance we need that it is safe to reopen.” Service had been halted as a precautionary measure while the …

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• 22 December

  LG plans selling TVs that roll up like posters in 2019

  

  Bloomberg LG Electronics Inc. plans to begin selling big-screen TVs next year that can be rolled up and put away like a poster, the centerpiece of an effort to revive an ailing business, according to a person familiar with the matter. The envisioned 65-inch TVs will retract automatically at the touch of a button like a garage door, the person …

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