August, 2017

• 21 August

  Estee Lauder’s new brands spark brighter sales outlook

  Bloomberg Estee Lauder Cos., the seven-decade-old cosmetics company, is getting a payoff from its push to acquire hipper brands and expand its e-commerce business. The shares jumped as much as 8.1 percent, the most since November 2015, after the beauty company forecast annual profit that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Beyond the boost from its new brands, Estee Lauder also cited ...

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• 21 August

  Total chases growth with $5bn purchase of Maersk Oil unit

  

  Bloomberg Total SA agreed to buy the oil and gas unit of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the French company’s biggest acquisition since 1999 and another sign of the accelerating pace of energy deals after a long downturn. Total will pay Maersk with $4.95 billion of its own shares and assume $2.5 billion of the Copenhagen-based company’s debt, according to a statement ...

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• 21 August

  Sempra Energy offers to buy Oncor for $9.45 billion

  

  Bloomberg US utility owner Sempra Energy has agreed to buy control of Texas power distributor Oncor Electric Delivery Co. for $9.45 billion, topping a bid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. just last month. Sempra’s deal for Energy Future Holdings Corp., which owns 80 percent of Oncor, is valued at about $18.8 billion including debt, the San Diego-based company said ...

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• 21 August

  Iraq plans major change into oil pricing for Asia

  

  SINGAPORE / DUBAI / Reuters Iraq has informed its customers that it plans to switch its price benchmark for Basra crude in Asia to DME Oman futures from January, dropping the average of Platts’ Oman-Dubai quotes, in a major shift in the way it prices its oil. The proposal by state-oil marketer SOMO would mark a significant change by OPEC’s ...

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• 21 August

  Saudi issues rules for ‘small-scale solar energy’

  

  KHOBAR / Reuters Saudi Arabia has issued a regulatory framework for electricity consumers to operate their own, small-scale solar power generating systems and export unused power to the national grid, the government said on Monday. The rules will come into force next July 1 and cover small photovoltaic facilities with generating capacity of no more than 2 megawatts, the Electricity ...

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• 21 August

  Iran seeks ‘funds’ for oil sector

  BEIRUT / Reuters Attracting foreign investment for Iran’s oil sector will continue to be a top priority during President Hassan Rouhani’s second term, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said. “Attracting foreign investment and technology is a priority for us in the oil industry, whether in shared fields or for increasing the production of oil at fields that are already operational,” ...

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• 21 August

  Shell mulls buying Israel, Cyprus gas for Egypt plant

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is seeking creative solutions to bring gas from Israel and Cyprus to market, a step that could help turn the Mediterranean region into a major gas- producing hub. Shell is in talks to buy natural gas from Israel’s Leviathan field, combine it with output from Cyprus’s Aphrodite field, in which it owns a 35 percent ...

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• 21 August

  Telecom startup plans $800mn ‘solar towers’ investment in Africa

  Bloomberg GreenWish Partners, a renewable energy company run by a former Morgan Stanley executive, is planning to invest $800 million on solar-powered telephone towers across Africa. The project could fuel economic growth by providing power for essential services. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rates of energy access in the world and is home to about half of the world’s 1.2 ...

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• 21 August

  Unicom rises in Shanghai, Hong Kong on $11.7bn sale

  

  Bloomberg Shares of Unicom Group’s key units in Shanghai and Hong Kong rose after China’s second-largest wireless carrier announced a $11.7 billion stock sale as part of a government push to draw private capital into its state-owned enterprises. China United Network Communications Ltd., which has been suspended from trading since April, climbed by the 10 percent daily limit to 8.22 ...

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• 21 August

  Thailand economy grows at fastest pace in over four years

  

  Bloomberg Thailand’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than four years, led by a surge in farming output and tourism. Gross domestic product rose 3.7 percent in the second quarter from a year ago after expanding 3.3 percent in the first quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Board said on Monday. The median estimate of 21 economists ...

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