November, 2019

• 18 November

  ‘Banks turned blind eye to graft in South Africa’

  Bloomberg UK lawmaker Peter Hain accused international banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc of aiding and abetting graft in South Africa during former President Jacob Zuma’s rule and earning considerable fees in the process. The lenders enabled members of the Gupta family, who were Zuma’s allies and in business with his son, to launder stolen funds and ...

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• 18 November

  India’s central bank chief faces tough balancing act

  

  Bloomberg Soon after taking over as India’s central bank governor almost a year ago, Shaktikanta Das decorated his 18th floor office overlooking the Arabian Sea with two statues of Lord Jagannath, a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Revered in Das’s native Odisha state, Jagannath is depicted with round, lidless eyes that are always watching over the welfare of devotees. ...

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• 18 November

  NextEra Energy owes its rise to wind power

  

  Bloomberg Two decades ago, when coal ruled US power generation, a Florida utility plowed some of its extra cash into a wind farm atop a desolate Oregon plateau. It was the start of an unimaginably successful bet. This year, that company — now named NextEra Energy Inc — became the world’s first utility with a market capitalisation of more than ...

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• 18 November

  De Ruyter is surprise choice for CEO of South African power firm

  

  Bloomberg South Africa appointed Andre de Ruyter as chief executive officer of Eskom Holdings SOC, the debt-strapped utility that provides about 95% of the nation’s electricity and poses the biggest threat to its economy. De Ruyter, who is currently the CEO of Nampak Ltd, will take up the post on January 15, the Department of Public Enterprises said in a ...

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• 18 November

  Poland moves ahead with $60 billion power project

  Bloomberg After at least a decade of preparations, coal-reliant Poland may be one step away from embarking on its biggest power project ever, with talks on securing the $60 billion in financing entering the final stretch. The country is seeking a foreign investor for a 49% stake in the company that will be responsible for building and operating six reactors, ...

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• 18 November

  Hong Kong court finds Lam’s mask ban unconstitutional

  

  Bloomberg A Hong Kong court has found that the local government’s controversial mask ban unconstitutional, delivering a fresh legal blow to an administration struggling to contain increasingly violent protests. The High Court ruling came on Monday in response to a challenge filed by the city’s opposition lawmakers. Chief Executive Carrie Lam imposed the ban last month by invoking colonial-era emergency ...

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• 18 November

  Trump, Kim at odds over N-talks deadline

  

  Bloomberg The bonhomie between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is nearing a key deadline showing new signs of strain. Trump urged Kim to “act quickly” to get a nuclear deal done, suggesting the two leaders could meet again “soon.” His comments came hours after North Korea ruled out nuclear talks without a policy change by the ...

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• 18 November

  ‘Probe’ turns to Trump ally at heart of Ukraine storm

  

  Bloomberg After weeks of Republican complaints that the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry relied on secondhand information, the centerpiece of the public hearings is testimony from a man with a direct line to President Donald Trump. The political peril for Trump, who was dealt a series of setbacks, will be heightened as the House investigation accelerates with three days of public hearings ...

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• 18 November

  Rajapaksa promises ‘tolerance’ for minorities

  

  Bloomberg Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who won Sri Lanka’s bitterly contested presidential poll, promised tolerance for all religions and cultures in a nation where racial tensions have divided communities for decades. “All minorities’ right to practice religion and culture will be assured,” Rajapaksa said at his swearing in ceremony at a highly venerated Buddhist site in the north central district of Anuradhapura. ...

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• 18 November

  Macron seeks to slow EU member expansion

  

  Bloomberg Emmanuel Macron wants to make it tougher for the European Union to accept new members, adding to signs of French unease at the prospect of Balkan countries joining the bloc and raising the risk of further strains with Germany. In a document circulated to EU governments, France said the process of EU enlargement should be more “gradual,” terms of ...

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