January, 2018

• 3 January

  Russia-China oil friendship makes fuel costlier for Europe

  

  Bloomberg Europe’s set to be stuck with a higher oil bill as Russia shifts more of its supply to the Chinese oil market. As the world’s second-biggest economy buys more, crude shipments from the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk will be cut, according to industry consultant FGE. The reduction will push up the price of varieties available for sale to ...

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• 3 January

  American power grid showing signs of strain amid brutal cold snap

  Bloomberg America’s power grid is starting to show signs of fatigue as the nation grapples with a record-breaking cold snap. Some power plants in New England that have been burning oil are running short on fuel, according to Marcia Blomberg, a spokeswoman for ISO New England Inc., the region’s grid operator. Restrictions governing air emissions are also a factor limiting ...

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• 3 January

  New Jersey solar firm taps blockchain craze

  Bloomberg A little-known New Jersey firm that, as recently as 2011, specialized in renewable energy projects just became the latest to join the blockchain and cryptocurrency craze. The penny stock TGI Solar Power Group Inc. said in a statement that it planned to get involved in the “Blockchain and Crypto hot commodity market.” The news sent TGI’s shares more than ...

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• 3 January

  Oil’s famous five: People who could define market in 2018

  

  Bloomberg Will Saudi Arabia and Russia maintain their grip on production, or could they succumb to another surge in US shale? Is it possible for the economic collapse of a major producer to send crude prices soaring, or perhaps Silicon Valley will usher in the end of the combustion engine? After ending 2017 at a two-year high, oil prices could ...

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• 3 January

  This is the year that makes or breaks Brexit

  

  Bloomberg This is the year when the biggest political and economic conundrum to face the UK in modern times will be solved, further complicated or even abandoned in all but name. Within 10 months, the British government and European Union aim to have an agreement on their divorce and at least the outline of their future trading relationship. They have ...

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• 3 January

  Germany’s unemployment rate drops to record low

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s unemployment rate fell to a record low as the number of people out of work slid for a sixth month, reflecting a boom in Europe’s largest economy that could push up wages and inflation. The jobless rate was 5.5 percent in December, and the previous month’s rate was revised down to the same level, the Federal Labor Agency ...

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• 3 January

  US earnings outlook jumps to six-year high

  Bloomberg Wall Street doesn’t think corporate America will have a hard time coming up with those employee bonuses that were promised after taxes were slashed. The December passage of the tax overhaul package and West Texas Intermediate crude’s breach of $60 a barrel have propelled the S&P 500 three-month earnings estimate revision ratio to its highest level since 2011, according ...

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• 3 January

  UK clears Glaxo’s $700,000 ‘bubble boy disease’ treatment

  

  Bloomberg The UK’s thrifty health authority has cleared its most expensive medicine ever—a $700,000 GlaxoSmithKline Plc treatment for an illness known as “bubble-boy disease.” But the overall cost to the country’s medical system won’t be as eye-popping as the price suggests. Glaxo, Britain’s biggest drugmaker, said it has treated four patients with Strimvelis since it was approved by the European ...

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• 3 January

  ‘Jerusalem not for sale’, Palestinians retort to Trump’s aid cuts threat

  

  RAMALLAH / Reuters Palestinians condemned as blackmail on Wednesday US President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold future aid payments over what he called the Palestinians’ unwillingness to talk peace with Israel. Trump drew praise from a cabinet minister in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government but a warning from a former Israeli peace negotiator of the dangers in cutting ...

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• 3 January

  As Trump taunts Kim, N Korea speaks with Seoul over hotline

  Bloomberg North Korea contacted authorities in Seoul over a hotline for the first time in about two years, paving the way for a thaw during the Winter Olympics despite US President Donald Trump’s fresh taunts at Kim Jong Un. Officials from both countries spoke several times on Wednesday to conduct technical checks before agreeing to stop for the day, according ...

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