August, 2019

• 17 August

  China’s biggest energy firm shuns Venezuela oil

  

  Bloomberg China’s biggest energy company is backing away from direct purchases of Venezuelan crude as the Trump administration tightens sanctions against the South American nation. China National Petroleum Corp. has canceled plans to load about 5 million barrels worth of Venezuelan oil onto ships this month in the aftermath of the latest executive order by President Donald Trump, according to ...

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• 17 August

  ‘Anadarko’s Mozambique LNG Project a perfect fit’

  Bloomberg Total SA is committed to developing the Mozambique natural gas project that it will take over from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. as part of its expansion in Africa, the company said. The project, to cost as much as $23 billion to develop, will be Africa’s biggest single investment, and Mozambique is counting on it to transform the economy. The southeastern ...

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• 17 August

  Fear factor for US consumer is rising, fuelling recession risk

  

  Bloomberg If self-reinforcing recession fears are the greatest risk to the record-long US expansion, as posited by Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan, the latest consumer sentiment report hinted that those concerns may be starting to emerge. “We have nothing to fear about a recession right now except for the fear of recession,” Moynihan said in a ...

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• 17 August

  Germany ready to raise debt if recession hits, reports Spiegel

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s government is ready to run a budget deficit if Europe’s largest economy collapses, magazine Der Spiegel reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz would be willing to increase debt in order to offset a tax revenue shortfall due to an economic slump, the magazine said, citing sources in the chancellery and the finance ministry that it ...

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• 17 August

  US weighs selling 50, 100-year bonds

  Bloomberg With interest rates on 30-year US debt hitting all-time lows this week, the government is once again considering whether to start borrowing for even longer. The US Treasury Department said that it wants to know what investors think about the government potentially issuing 50-year or 100-year bonds, going way beyond the current three-decade maximum. The government stressed that no ...

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• 17 August

  Pound might offer some relief to Brits

  

  Bloomberg For Brits looking to escape the UK in an increasingly wet August, the pound might offer some relief with a recovery against the euro. Sterling ended a record run of losses against the common currency this week and analysts are cautiously optimistic on its near-term prospects. Growing resistance among opposition lawmakers to a no-deal Brexit has led traders to ...

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• 17 August

  As Europe struggles, Ukraine’s economy heads for an upswing

  

  Bloomberg As economic growth falls across Europe, Ukraine may be embarking on an upswing. Data showed expansion in the former Soviet republic surged last quarter, even as US-China trade tensions and a wider global slowdown weighed on most of the continent. The pace — 4.6% — was unexpectedly quick. The World Bank had warned that if growth didn’t top the ...

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• 17 August

  Steinhoff former CEO rebuffs demand for return of $56m in pay

  

  Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV former Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste sees the retailer’s claim for more than $56 million against him as “vague and embarrassing.” The owner of Poundland in the UK and Pep stores throughout Africa said in June it will look to claw back base salaries, bonuses and other incentives paid to Jooste since 2009 because of ...

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• 17 August

  Global warming is slowing growth of plant life on earth

  

  Bloomberg The Earth is losing its plants and humanity is to blame, according to a new study. Global vegetation growth has been in decline since the late 1990’s, due to changes in the water content of the atmosphere. An atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD), or the difference between saturation water vapor and actual water vapor, was found to stall or ...

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• 17 August

  India eases restrictions on Kashmir as UN action blocked

  

  Bloomberg India is starting to ease restrictions on Kashmir after an almost two-week lockdown, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, as some telecommunication services were restored and people could move more freely. Landline and low speed mobile phone services resumed in some areas in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday, even as stringent security arrangements remained in place, PTI reported, ...

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