January, 2018

• 16 January

  Reliance declares 30% rise in export plant capacity

  Reuters India’s Reliance Industries has declared a 30 percent increase in the installed capacity of its export-focussed oil refinery, a government report showed, increasing the size of the world’s largest refinery complex. India’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) in its October report showed 35.2 million tonnes a year as the installed capacity of Reliance’s refinery in the special economic ...

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• 16 January

  Airbus slams Brexit, Trump’s protectionist trade policies

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders slammed Brexit and US President Donald Trump’s pro-America trade policies as presenting twin threats to its business, while singling out the UK’s vote to leave the EU as posing the bigger issue. The developments amount to a “double whammy” of protectionist hazards, Enders said in London at the annual dinner of the ADS ...

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• 16 January

  Amsterdam leads Europe airport charge

  

  BLoomberg Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport added 4.8 million passengers in 2017 with the help of a six-runway setup that’s unique in Europe, putting it almost level with Paris Charles de Gaulle as the region’s second-busiest hub. Schiphol, home base to KLM, attracted 68.4 million travellers, consolidating its lead over Frankfurt and putting it within 1 million of the total at Charles ...

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• 16 January

  South Africa’s Woolworths plunges most in two years

  

  Bloomberg Woolworths Holdings Ltd. plunged the most in almost two years after South Africa’s largest food and clothing retailer said sales growth slowed in the fiscal first half, while earnings also declined. Revenue increased by 2.5 percent in the 26-week period ending on December 24, compared with 6.7 percent the previous year, the Cape Town-based company said in a statement. ...

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• 16 January

  America’s fastest spy plane hypersonic SR-72 may fly by 2030

  

  Bloomberg For years, Lockheed Martin Corp. has been developing a successor to one of the fastest aircraft the world has ever seen, the SR-71 Blackbird, the Cold War reconnaissance craft that the US Air Force retired almost three decades ago. Lockheed officials have said the hypersonic SR-72—dubbed the “Son of Blackbird” by one trade journal—could fly by 2030. But a ...

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• 16 January

  EU toughens demands on UK for Brexit transition in draft

  

  Bloomberg The European Union has stepped up the demands for concessions that the UK must make during the transition period that follows Brexit, pushing back the cut-off date for the acquisition of rights for EU citizens, according to revised draft negotiating directives obtained by Bloomberg. The UK won’t be able to apply new immigration rules to EU citizens arriving during ...

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• 16 January

  US regulators to seek more input for autonomous rules

  

  Bloomberg US transportation regulators plan to take another step towards rewriting federal rules hampering the development and adoption of autonomous technologies— from cars and trucks to buses and trains. Department agencies will issue additional requests for comment to gather input from companies and the public on what rules affecting transport should change or be eliminated, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said. ...

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• 16 January

  BMW sees 5 Series, new X2 fuelling sales increase

  

  Bloomberg BMW AG is betting an overhauled 5Series sedan and new X2 crossover will boost sales this year as the world’s second-biggest luxury carmaker works on its pledge to retake the global lead from Mercedes-Benz. Those models, plus an updated X3 utility vehicle, should carry BMW to gains in all markets, including the US and China, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas ...

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• 16 January

  Carillion’s demise shines a light on UK pensions shortfall

  

  Bloomberg The collapse of Carillion Plc with more than half a billion pounds of unfunded pension commitments may increase pressure on some of the nation’s biggest companies to plug their own funding gaps. The construction and services giant employs almost 20,000 people in Britain and has a pensions shortfall of 587 million pounds ($811 million). The government-backed Pension Protection Fund ...

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• 16 January

  Russia plans biggest spending spree since Putin re-election

  

  Bloomberg Russia’s government is discussing a proposal to turn on the fiscal taps in what would be the biggest domestic spending spree since President Vladimir Putin last ran for re-election in 2012. Kremlin economic aide Andrey Belousov said expenditures on health, education and infrastructure could be raised by 1.5-2 percent of gross domestic product, the official Tass news agency reported ...

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