February, 2018

• 24 February

  Uruguay mall king eyes $60 million retail push

  

  Bloomberg Uruguay’s biggest commercial real estate developer wants to take its success in malls geared for the middle class to low-income neighbourhoods in the capital, Montevideo. Estudio Luis E Lecueder is studying building two shopping centres in northern Montevideo, senior partner Carlos Lecueder, 66, said in an interview. The firm will probably start work on those projects when its Plaza …

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• 24 February

  Canada retail sales drop unexpectedly in two decades

  Bloomberg Canadian retailers ended their strongest year in two decades on a down note, with a disappointing Christmas shopping season pulling back sales in December. Receipts fell 0.8 percent to C$49.6 billion in January of 2017, Statistics Canada reported. It was the biggest monthly decline since March 2016. Economists were expecting no change during the month. For all of 2017, …

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• 21 February

  US stocks rise with dollar before Fed minutes; Treasuries decline

  

  Bloomberg US stocks rose for the seventh time in eight days and the dollar’s rally reached a fourth day as strong corporate results bolstered optimism in the economy. Treasuries edged lower as investors await Federal Reserve meeting minutes. The S&P 500 Index jumped as industrial and financial shares paced gains. The index still sits 4.8 percent below its January 26 …

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• 21 February

  Emaar Properties boosts Dubai market

  

  Reuters A wave of buying in beaten down blue-chip stock Emaar Properties boosted the Dubai market on Wednesday while most of the region traded quietly in modest volumes. Dubai’s index firmed by 0.5 percent, but remains the Gulf’s worst-performing index this year with a decline of 2.5 percent, partly because of a sustained slump in the emirate’s real estate market. …

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• 21 February

  BP sees electric future with oil demand peaking in 2030s

  

  Bloomberg The future is electric for BP Plc, though it’s not giving up on oil just yet. The British company bumped up its forecast for electric vehicles by 80 percent to 180 million by 2035, according to an energy outlook. It expects a third of the miles driven in 2040 will be powered by electricity. The company forecasts the abundance …

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• 21 February

  Bahrain to introduce VAT by end of year

  

  MANAMA / Reuters Bahrain will go ahead with imposing a value-added tax to stren-gthen state finances, Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalifa said on Wednesday, after domestic political opposition slowed the plan. “We’ll be working with parliament on VAT and aim to have everything set up by the end of 2018,” Sheikh Ahmed told an investment conference in …

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• 21 February

  N-plants could run 80 years under Trump plan

  

  Bloomberg The US Energy Department is throwing its support behind a request by utilities to extend the life of some nuclear power reactors — keeping them in operation for as long as 80 years. An official with the department, who asked not to be named to discuss its decision-making process, said the agency was conducting research and working with utilities …

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• 21 February

  Oil drops as US stockpiles forecast to rise a 4th week

  Bloomberg Oil dropped as US stockpiles were forecast to have expanded for a fourth week, raising questions about OPEC’s success in draining a global oversupply. Crude in New York lost as much as 1.4 percent. Inventories in America rose by 3 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey. Oil has struggled to regain January’s highs as equities remain …

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• 21 February

  Vancouver’s hot housing market gets tougher for wealthy Chinese

  

  Bloomberg Vancouver, one of the hottest housing markets in North America, is getting a little tougher for wealthy Chinese buyers. British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James announced measures targeting foreign buyers and speculators in the first budget since her government was elected on a pledge to make housing more affordable for residents of Canada’s Pacific Coast province. Starting from February …

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• 21 February

  Latvia banking crisis: Riga points fingers at Russia

  

  Bloomberg The banking crisis engulfing the tiny nation of Latvia has turned into a potential diplomatic incident, as Riga points the finger at Moscow. “There is a high probability that an externally organised widespread information operation is being carried out that, by its structure and execution, is identical to those observed in pre-election periods in the US, France and Germany,” …

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