February, 2018

• 12 February

  ‘US market challenging for Pandora’

  Bloomberg Pandora A/S said the US retail market remained challenging for its physical stores last quarter, but pointed to an improved performance in online sales. Revenue grew 16 percent in the Americas last quarter from a year earlier, the Copenhagen-based company said. In local currency, Pandora saw a 27% increase. “Growth was supported by the acquisition of franchise stores in …

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• 12 February

  Amazon is turning four US cities into ‘grocery battlegrounds’

  

  Bloomberg The Amazon-fuelled grocery price war may have finally arrived. News that Amazon.com will start offering two-hour delivery from Whole Foods stores in four US cities has the food world buzzing that competition is about to heat up in an industry that survives on razor-thin margins. In the six months since Amazon acquired the organic grocer, the e-commerce giant has …

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• 11 February

  Saudi ACWA Power sees $4.5bn in local project tenders this year

  

  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power expects to submit tenders for projects this year worth $4.5 billion in Saudi Arabia and will also target projects in Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, its chief executive said. ACWA Power CEO Paddy Padmanathan also confirmed the developer of electricity and water projects in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast …

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• 11 February

  Lebanon signs offshore energy exploration deal amid dispute with Israel

  

  BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon said it had signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production agreements for two blocks, including a block disputed by neighbouring Israel. Lebanon’s energy minister said the dispute with Israel would not stop Lebanon benefiting from potential undersea reserves in the contentious Block 9, while consortium operator Total said it would not drill the …

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• 11 February

  Shell commits to expanding gas stations as some rivals retreat

  

  Bloomberg While many oil producers are stepping back from their retail operations, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is doubling down. Shell, which has about 44,000 filling stations around the world, opened its first one in Mexico last year, the start of $1 billion in investments over the next decade. Shell also is ramping up spending in China, India, Indonesia and Russia, …

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• 11 February

  Asia catapults to top spot as US’s biggest crude buyer

  Bloomberg Asia pushed past the rest of the world last year to become the biggest buyer of America’s crude oil — and it’s poised to do it again in 2018. Just two years after Washington ended its crude-export ban, the continent soaked up 37 percent of the oil the US sent abroad in 2017, up from about 9 percent in …

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• 11 February

  Hedge-fund investors embrace Europe as economic woes retreat

  

  Bloomberg Europe is suddenly the hot market for hedge-fund investment. After years of being overlooked, the continent is attracting capital from investors who want to take advantage of a recovering economy as the last effects of the euro-zone debt crisis disappear. Buyers are also piling in to diversify portfolios swelled by the stock-market boom — which after this week’s correction …

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• 11 February

  US junk-bond market sees worst loss in 2 yrs

  

  Bloomberg A selloff in the market for speculative-grade corporate bonds accelerated amid turmoil in the stock market, handing investors their worst weekly loss since the oil slump two years ago. The bonds lost 1.5 percent on the week, the worst performance since February 2016, Bloomberg Barclays index data show. The average spread on high-yield bonds — or the premium investors …

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• 11 February

  Bank of Italy revises 2018 GDP forecast up

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Italy expects the nation’s economy to expand in 2018 at the same pace as last year since monetary policy “is working” and the ongoing reduction of economic slack has strengthened confidence, Governor Ignazio Visco said. The central bank expects Italy’s gross domestic product will expand about 1.5 percent this year and should remain above 1 percent …

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• 11 February

  Mexico raises key rate after inflation rises

  

  Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank raised its key interest rate as expected for a second straight meeting and signalled it will prioritise the peso’s inflation implications rather than moves by the Federal Reserve for its future decisions. Banco de Mexico’s board voted unanimously to lift borrowing costs a quarter point to 7.5 percent, a move forecast by 23 of 26 economists …

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