January, 2019

• 20 January

  Trump tweaks border stance to shift shutdown blame

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump made his first substantive offer of the government shutdown aimed at peeling off moderate Democrats and shifting blame with an American public that so far overwhelmingly holds him responsible for the month-long impasse. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the proposal, hours before Trump outlined it in a White House speech to the nation. Trump said ...

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• 20 January

  Vote aims to end southern Philippines conflict

  

  Bloomberg Citizens in the southern Philippines will vote on Monday on a proposal to give the region greater autonomy, a move the central government says will help end decades of violent conflict. More than 2.8 million residents of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao are expected to vote on a law creating an expanded region called Bangsamoro, which provides more ...

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• 20 January

  Greeks take to streets over ‘Macedonia deal’

  

  Bloomberg Thousands of Greeks marched through the streets of Athens on Sunday to protest a name deal with the neighbouring Republic of Macedonia, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras steels himself for another showdown in parliament over the accord. People gathered in the main Syntagma square opposite parliament, a site familiar to global television viewers for scenes of violent clashes in ...

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• 20 January

  Global oil demand to remain stronger in 2019, says IEA

  

  Bloomberg Global oil demand remains on course to be stronger this year than in 2018 as a boost from lower fuel prices counters slowing economic activity, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). “We have seen prices fall very significantly since the peak at the beginning of October, and that is providing some relief to consumers,” Neil Atkinson, head of ...

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• 20 January

  Saudi in talks to build oil refinery in South Africa

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is in talks to build an oil refinery in South Africa as part of a pledge to invest as much as $10 billion in Africa’s most developed economy. Joint studies for a refinery and petrochemical complex will be conducted by state oil giant Saudi Aramco and South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, energy ministers from the two countries ...

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• 20 January

  Biggest rig slowdown in 3 years signals shale retreat

  

  Bloomberg Oil explorers still reeling from the late-2018 price collapse shut down drilling rigs in the biggest US field and elsewhere at the fastest pace in almost three years. The number of working oil rigs plunged by 21 this week to 852, the lowest since late May, according to data released by oilfield-services provider Baker Hughes. A 26 percent surge ...

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• 20 January

  Nigeria oil firm seeks $4.1bn to lift output

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s state-owned oil company said it’s in talks with financiers to raise as much as $4.1 billion and will seek to sign service deals to increase production from three leases. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, or NNPC, is in discussions with Lagos-based Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Co to raise $3.15 billion and CMES-OMS Joint Venture Ltd for ...

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• 20 January

  Vietnam makes pitch as an ‘investor haven’ in trade war

  

  Bloomberg A red-hot economy, business-friendly policies and a Communist party led by free-traders: that’s the elevator pitch Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is delivering to global investors amid the US-China trade war. “We are ready to grab the opportunity,” Phuc said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin, a few days before departing this week to the World ...

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• 20 January

  France proposes Renault-Nissan holding company

  

  Bloomberg The French government is proposing to integrate Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co in a structure that would probably put the two carmakers under a single holding company, Nikkei reported. A delegation including Martin Vial, a Renault director designated by the French government, visited Japanese officials in Tokyo to discuss the plans, Nikkei reported, without saying where it got ...

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• 20 January

  Telus backs ‘viable and reliable’ Huawei in memo

  

  Bloomberg One of Canada’s largest phone companies is standing by its partnership with Huawei Technologies Co, the Chinese firm at the center of rising diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Ottawa. Telus Corp sent a memo to employees last week, sticking by its work with Huawei, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported. The memo was signed by Eros Spadotto, executive vice ...

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