May, 2020

• 26 May

  Nuclear fusion startup gets $84m to enter next phase

  

  Bloomberg US clean-energy startup, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), raised an additional $84 million from major investors in Europe and Asia, underscoring that the appetite remains to back new technologies which could mitigate climate change. As the world looks to ramp up the use of intermittent renewable energy, it needs to add forms of flexible clean power that can be turned ...

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• 26 May

  Philippine oil refiners shut on weak demand

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines has been left temporarily without any operating oil refineries as one of the world’s longest lockdowns eviscerates demand. Petron Corp, the nation’s largest oil company, said on Tuesday its 180,000 barrel-a-day refinery has been shut since May 5 for maintenance while fuel demand is low. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said the nation’s only other refinery remains temporarily ...

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• 26 May

  PG&E fire victims vote to approve its bankruptcy

  

  Bloomberg Victims of wildfires blamed on PG&E Corp voted to approve a reorganisation plan crafted by the California power giant, clearing one of the last hurdles in the company’s effort to exit the largest utility bankruptcy in US history. More than 85% of fire victims who cast ballots voted in favour of PG&E’s plan that includes a $13.5 billion settlement ...

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• 26 May

  China to boost renewable installations by 52%

  Bloomberg China this year will be able to absorb 52% more new wind and solar power capacity than in it added 2019. The world’s biggest energy consumer has space on its grids to add 36.65 gigawatts of wind and 48.45 gigawatts of solar, according to a transmission analysis report by the National New Energy Absorption Monitoring and Warning Center. Grid ...

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• 26 May

  Mexico power utility seeks price hike

  Bloomberg Unfazed by criticism it is unfairly blocking renewable energy projects, Mexico’s state-owned utility is doubling down on demands for regulators to protect its market share. The Comision Federal de Electricidad, which says it produces 54% of the nation’s power, wants regulators to raise transmission costs for private companies immediately, company head Manuel Bartlett said in an interview. A raft ...

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• 26 May

  Covid-19: Why Italy’s debt matters for all

  

  The US and global economies are in a perilous state, and yet we may be underestimating the dangers. Just out of sight lies a second large threat: a global debt crisis that, centred in Europe, would further destabilise a world already struggling to combat the dreadful consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. In the United States and elsewhere, tens of millions ...

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• 26 May

  Meituan shows what really matters

  

  Meituan Dianping suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic in all the ways that investors would have expected: In-person activities got stung, food deliveries stayed relatively resilient and groceries thrived. As a result, revenue dropped and losses widened. What’s surprising is the area where China’s leading delivery and bookings provider benefited most: advertising. Even with business activity decimated, suppliers who rely on ...

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• 26 May

  Will colleges be able to prove their worth now?

  Colleges and students in the US are engaged in a game of chicken as the fall semester approaches with no end in sight for the coronavirus crisis. The outcome could radically change the way Americans think about and value a higher education. On one side, institutions want students to sign up and pay tuition deposits, which are coming due. Most ...

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• 26 May

  Johnson leaves dirty work to everyone else

  An awkward question hangs over the Covid-shuttered world of Downing Street. At his daily morning meeting, Boris Johnson, back to full duties after suffering a serious bout of the virus, recently asked who was in charge of relaxing Britain’s lockdown plan, with all of the risks and uncertainties that entails for a government. “There was just silence,” an insider told ...

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• 26 May

  Latam files for bankruptcy, stymied by virus lockdowns

  

  Bloomberg Latam Airlines Group SA, Latin America’s largest air carrier, sought bankruptcy court protection in New York after the Covid-19 pandemic grounded flights across the region. The Chapter 11 petition allows Latam to keep operating while the Chilean carrier works out a plan to pay creditors and turn around the business. Latam, whose shareholders include Chile’s Cueto family and Delta ...

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