May, 2017

• 13 May

  Timing of Comey’s firing raises questions

  US President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI director James Comey stunned the nation. It ignited a political firestorm as Comey was leading an investigation into whether Trump’s advisors colluded with Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in his favour. It has given rise to suspicions that the White House was trying to blunt the ...

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• 13 May

  Trump’s China deal boosts US LNG without rule change

  

  Bloomberg America’s shale gas could soon head to China under long-term contracts for the first time, bolstered by a new trade deal that may not even change existing rules. Cheniere Energy Inc., the first exporter of natural gas from the lower 48 states, sees the agreement as “amplifying and accelerating conversations about new long-term contracts” with China, said Eben Burnham-Snyder, ...

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• 13 May

  Rosneft’s Essar Oil deal held up over debt issues

  

  MOSCOW / Reuters Russian state oil firm Rosneft is struggling to close its $12.9 billion acquisition of India’s Essar Oil Ltd because six of Essar’s Indian creditors have yet to approve the deal, sources close to the talks said. The state-run banks and financial institutions that are delaying Rosneft’s biggest foreign acquisition hold about $500 million of Essar’s debt, five ...

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• 13 May

  Sonatrach CEO urges simplifying business, focus on output

  

  ALGIERS / Reuters The new chief of Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach has urged employees to simplify bureaucracy, and focus on the core business of production as the North African state deals with lower oil prices, an internal company letter shows. The message from new CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kadour was sent to Sonatrach employees just over a month after he ...

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• 13 May

  IMF reaches staff level deal on Egypt loan instalment

  CAIRO / Reuters The International Monetary Fund said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt on a second loan instalment that would make available about $1.25 billion. The IMF approved a $12-billion, three-year loan programme to Egypt in November and paid out $2.75 billion of the first $4 billion tranche of the loan. An IMF team was in Cairo ...

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• 13 May

  India’s 2030 all-electric car target ambitious: IEA

  

  Bloomberg India’s potential plan to sell only electric cars by the end of next decade would require nearly eight times the global stock of such vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency. The country would need to sell more than 10 million electric cars in 2030, compared with the almost 1.3 million on the road worldwide in 2015, the agency ...

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• 13 May

  Hong Kong curbs lending to developers as property risks soar

  

  Bloomberg The Hong Kong Monetary Authority tightened limits on bank loans to property developers, as it seeks to contain risks in the city’s booming real-estate market. From June 1, the caps for construction finance will be cut to 40 percent of site value and 80 percent of construction cost, with the overall limit reduced to 50 percent of the expected ...

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• 13 May

  India panel pushes commercial use of first GM food crop

  

  Bloomberg An Indian environment ministry panel recommended to the government that it allow cultivation of a genetically-modified mustard variety, taking it closer to becoming the country’s first GM food crop for commercial production. The federal government will make a final decision in this regard, said Amita Prasad, an additional secretary with the environment ministry and chairman of the Genetic Engineering ...

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• 13 May

  China’s bonds decline for seventh week

  Bloomberg China’s 10-year government bonds fell for a seventh week, building on the longest run of declines since 2013, amid concerns the nation’s deleveraging campaign will drive borrowing costs up further. The yield on 10-year sovereign debt climbed eight basis points this week to close Friday at 3.65 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the longest streak since ...

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• 13 May

  Fintech firm backed by China movie stars plans IPO

  Bloomberg QuantGroup, a financial technology company backed by Chinese movie stars, is planning a US initial public offering that could raise about $200 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Beijing-based firm has asked banks to pitch for a role on the potential offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. ...

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