January, 2018

• 29 January

  Starbucks falls out of step with the restaurant industry

  

  It would be an overstatement to say 2017 was a bad year for Starbucks Corp. But the coffee giant did start to look a bit less invincible. It posted its slowest same-store sales growth since the Great Recession. It disappointed investors in November when it offered a lower long-term earnings outlook. If that had you worried about Starbucks, then the ...

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• 29 January

  A great world city may soon run out of water

  

  On April 22, Earth Day, might have a bit of extra significance this year. It might be the day that, for the first time, a great world city runs out of water. On that day, according to the local government of Cape Town, water in the reservoirs that feed this most beautiful of coastal cities will drop below critical levels, ...

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• 29 January

  Oil is looking unstoppable as hedge funds bet bigger

  

  Bloomberg The enthusiasm in the oil markets is breaking records. Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both US and global oil benchmarks, along with gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006. “There is a lot of interest in the direction of crude oil,” Rob ...

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• 29 January

  ‘Brexit could cause power blackouts’

  

  Bloomberg Britain probably will risk more energy supply shortages after leaving the European Union, a panel of lawmakers from the House of Lords said, adding to pressure on the government to bring forward measures that protect consumers from higher costs. “It’s likely that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will lead to less-efficient energy trade, which could in turn increase ...

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• 29 January

  Iraq to build oil refinery in Fao with Chinese firms

  

  BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq plans to build an oil refinery at the port of Fao on the Gulf with two Chinese companies, and is seeking investors to build three more, the oil ministry said on its website on Monday. The refinery in Fao will have a 300,000 barrel-per-day capacity and include a petrochemical plant, it said. Two other refineries, each ...

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• 29 January

  Iran ready to seek arbitration in Turkmenistan gas dispute

  LONDON / Reuters Tehran is ready to file a case with the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) over the quality and price of gas it receives from Turkmenistan, the Iranian oil minister said on Monday, as a dispute between the two nations over payments escalates. The Central Asian nation stopped gas exports to Iran in January 2017, saying it was ...

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• 29 January

  Coal bites back in China on supply worry; gas switching halt

  

  Bloomberg In the latest reminder that coal still dominates the world’s biggest energy consumer, Chinese power producers are warning of supply tightness while one northern province plans to pause switching homes and industries to natural gas to avoid further heating shortages. Four of China’s biggest generators sent an “emergency report” dated Jan. 22 to the National Development & Reform Commission, ...

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• 29 January

  Google in race to deflect more fines as shopping foes cry foul

  

  Bloomberg Google faced a Monday deadline to defend changes to its shopping service that left old foes clamoring for a new wave of European Union antitrust fines. Still smarting from 2017’s record 2.4 billion euro ($3 billion) penalty, Google must submit the first report to the EU on how it has met a strict demand from regulators to give smaller ...

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• 29 January

  Sanofi leapfrogs Novo with $4.8bn cash bid for Ablynx

  

  Bloomberg Sanofi agreed to buy Belgium’s Ablynx NV for $4.8 billion, outbidding rival Novo Nordisk A/S to gain a potential blockbuster for a rare blood clotting disease. Paris-based Sanofi will pay 45 euros a share in cash for all outstanding shares of Ablynx, it said. The price is 48 percent above Novo’s unsolicited offer of as much as 30.50 euros ...

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• 29 January

  Euro area economy looks strong but inflation is weak

  

  Bloomberg The euro area is set to start the new year the way it ended the old: the economy is strong but inflation is weak. The region’s fastest growth in a decade will be confirmed this week in a burst of data that should also show economic confidence at the highest since the currency bloc’s early days, unemployment at a ...

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