October, 2018

• 29 October

  Warning of ‘bloodshed’ as Sri Lanka’s crisis deepens

  

  Bloomberg The speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament has warned his country could descend into political violence if the legislature remains suspended throughout a leadership struggle that has plunged the island nation into a constitutional crisis. The capital Colombo was gripped by political intrigue after President Maithripala Sirisena said he had to fire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late on Friday because ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Merkel to step down as party leader with authority hit by losses

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic party after almost two decades, a person familiar with the matter said. She intends to stay on as chancellor and step down when her current term ends in 2021, the person said, despite a series of political setbacks that have eaten into her authority. The shock decision from ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  White House braces for GOP losses and staff exodus

  

  Bloomberg White House officials are largely resigned to losing Republican control of the US House and are bracing for an exodus of staff worried about a torrent of subpoenas from Democratic congressional investigators. President Donald Trump’s team still sees a possible path to victory. But talk of a “red wave” has ceased, advisers inside and outside the White House said. ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Georgia presidential race faces runoff

  

  Bloomberg The contest to be Georgia’s last directly elected president is heading to a runoff after the two main rivals were practically tied first round. Salome Zurabishvili, who’s backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, topped the list of 25 candidates with 38.6 percent support, ahead of Grigol Vashadze of the Strength in Unity coalition, who received 37.7 percent, with ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Swedish speaker takes over process to break deadlock

  Bloomberg The speaker of parliament took over the government formation process after more than a month of talks have led nowhere on forming a new Swedish ruling coalition after last month’s inconclusive election. The willingness to compromise has been “limited” so far, Speaker Andreas Norlen said at a press conference in parliament. He will now lead group talks, starting as ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Russia oil industry set to lose billions in ship-fuel overhaul

  

  Bloomberg Russia is set to suffer the biggest revenue losses from rules mandating cleaner marine fuels from 2020, because the world’s top exporter of the sulfurous residual oil that powers ships doesn’t look prepared for the change. Refineries across the world are bracing themselves for the once-in-a-generation shift intended to reduce pollution caused by ships. While plants in Europe and ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  New York’s C2 invests $21mn in new projects

  Bloomberg C2 Energy Capital LLC, a New York-based clean-energy developer, raised $21 million to invest in new projects. About half of the money raised for the C2 Taiyo Fund I LP fund is already committed to specific projects. The fund will target renewables and storage investments, including a 51-megawatt solar portfolio being built in South Carolina. C2 develops, owns and ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Shipping costs make Europe a LNG hot spot

  Bloomberg Forget Asian hunger for energy or where liquefied natural gas (LNG) costs the most, at the moment it’s all about tanker rates. Northwest Europe has seen a boom in LNG imports this month, with cargoes arriving from atypical sources including Peru and Egypt, while the US and Russia are also sending tankers into the most liquid gas market outside ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  Curb steel production, says ThyssenKrupp CEO

  Bloomberg Steelmakers in China and the rest of the world need to do more to reduce overcapacity, according to Guido Kerkhoff, CEO chief executive officer of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG. While China made good progress in curbing over-production, there’s room for even more cuts, Kerkhoff said. China has reshaped industry in past three years by closing plants, tightening environmental controls and ...

  Read More »
• 29 October

  China Inc. $287bn perpetual bonds flash warning signs

  

  Bloomberg Chinese firms combating tight funding conditions are bracing for the next shoe to drop: a record amount of perpetual bonds up for redemption. Some 48.9 billion yuan ($7 billion) of perpetual notes will have first call dates this quarter, which means they either have to repay the debt or be forced to increase interest rates by as much as ...

  Read More »