April, 2018

• 15 April

  Tax cuts halt 3-month retreat in US retail sales

  

  Bloomberg Tax cuts have given a boost to Americans’ take-home pay this year. The question hanging over the US economy is whether they are putting the extra cash towards savings and debt, or using it to go shopping. Retail-sales data due on Monday from the Commerce Department will help provide an answer, and economists are betting that consumers finally opened …

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• 15 April

  Rolls-Royce, airlines grapple with more Dreamliner engine issues

  

  LONDON / Reuters Rolls-Royce requires more money and more inspections to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines on Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, leading to further disruption for airlines and testing relations between Rolls and its customers. Problems with engine turbine blades wearing out sooner than expected have hampered a restructuring programme prompted by the engineering company’s declining older engine programmes …

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• 14 April

  Saudi, Chinese firms sign contract to build 4th phase of Dubai solar park

  

  SHANGHAI / WAM Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Shanghai Electric have signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for the 700MW fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), said, “I am pleased to be here today (Saturday) in Shanghai …

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• 14 April

  Telecom giants begin jostling for connected-car riches

  

  Bloomberg The phone companies spent decades extending internet access across the US, first to homes and then to mobile devices, only to be stuck collecting relatively small service fees while Google and Amazon built lucrative online empires. Now that a surge of American cars are getting their own internet connections, Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. don’t want to be …

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• 14 April

  Google releases new Africa app to help users beat slow internet

  

  Bloomberg Google is releasing an app in Africa that will help internet users overcome obstacles such as the lack of high-speed connectivity and the cost of data on the continent. The release of Google Go is the US technology giant’s latest attempt to extend its reach into emerging markets such as sub-Saharan Africa, where Facebook Inc. is also making inroads. …

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• 14 April

  Spotify plans new version of free music service

  

  Bloomberg Spotify Technology SA is developing a new version of its free music service, the first big product change since the streaming company went public last week, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is tweaking the free service to make it easier to use, especially for customers on mobile phones, said the people, who asked not to …

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• 14 April

  Instagram to allow users download their data

  Reuters Facebook Inc’s Instagram will soon allow its users to download a copy of all the content they have uploaded on the photo-sharing platform, a spokesman said. The disclosure comes amid global concerns about the privacy of users’ information on social media platforms and the amount of user data that companies keep. While Facebook has allowed its users to download …

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• 14 April

  OPEC near ‘mission accomplished’ as global oil glut vanishes, says IEA

  

  Bloomberg OPEC is on the verge of “mission accomplished” in its quest to clear the global oil glut that caused the worst industry downturn in a generation, the International Energy Agency said. Less than 10 percent of the surplus in oil inventories remains, as OPEC and its partners have cut production by even more than they intended while world demand …

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• 14 April

  Italy’s Eni defies sceptics, plans raising stake in nuclear fusion project

  

  MILAN / Reuters Italian energy group Eni is considering stepping up its investment in nuclear fusion, potentially doubling down on a technology considered so uncertain that Eni remains the only global oil company prepared to place a bet on it. Eni and bigger rivals such as Shell and BP have been looking at moving into renewable energy as climate change, …

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• 14 April

  Iraq delays oil auction after late contract tweaks

  Bloomberg Iraq delayed an international auction of rights to 11 of its oil and natural gas deposits, pushing back the bidding date after introducing changes to the contract, according to people familiar with the matter. The oil ministry re-scheduled the auction for April 25, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. …

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