May, 2017

• 17 May

  Glencore, Carlyle to rescue bankrupt Moroccan refinery

  

  LONDON / Reuters Swiss trading giant Glencore and US private equity investor Carlyle Group have teamed up in an attempt to buy Morocco’s only oil refinery, hoping to recoup about $600 million in loans they issued to the plant before it went bankrupt, industry sources said. Two sources close to the process said the Moroccan government wanted at least $2 ...

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• 17 May

  Iraq pips Saudi as top oil supplier to India

  

  NEW DELHI / Reuters Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as top crude supplier to India in April as refiners moved to boost their processing margins by purchasing the cheaper Basra Heavy oil grade, ship tracking and Thomson Reuters trade flow data showed. India’s April imports from Iraq topped 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time, up by about ...

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• 17 May

  Egypt paid $750mn in oil company arrears

  CAIRO / Reuters Egypt has paid off $750 million of its debt to international oil companies and will make a second payment of the same amount at the start of next month, Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer said. Egypt has struggled to pay arrears to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country, with outstanding debt at $3.5 billion ...

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• 17 May

  Japan set for longest run of economic growth in a decade

  

  Bloomberg While Japan’s failure to spur inflation continues to generate angst about the nation’s future, gross domestic product data this week is likely to show that the economy has still managed to eke out five straight quarters of expansion. That would be the best run since 2006, during Japan’s last period of political stability under the leadership of then-Prime Minister ...

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• 17 May

  Australia needs housing slowdown for stability on AAA

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s prized AAA rating will only rest on a firm footing once there’s a “meaningful moderation” in housing and credit, S&P Global Ratings said as it maintained a negative outlook on the country’s sovereign score. The country’s rating was affirmed by the credit assessor after the latest federal government budget projected a return to surplus by 2021, although S&P ...

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• 17 May

  Taiwan seeks to make stronger Asia ties

  

  Bloomberg “Go west!” is the mantra Taiwanese companies lived by for the best part of three decades, turning China into their biggest trading partner. But with cross-strait relations at their worst in close to a decade, President Tsai Ing-wen is urging firms to turn south. Tsai wants to mitigate reliance on the mainland by bolstering trade with 18 countries in ...

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• 17 May

  Tata Steel surges as pension deal clears Europe JV hurdle

  

  Bloomberg Shares of Tata Steel Ltd. jumped after the Indian steelmaker said it has struck a deal to solve its long-running UK pension standoff, bringing the company a step closer to a possible joint venture with Thyssenkrupp AG for its European operations. The stock climbed as much as 5.1 percent to 479.95 rupees ($7.5) in Mumbai on Wednesday, the biggest ...

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• 17 May

  Hong Kong sells car park to developer for record $3bn

  Bloomberg Henderson Land Development Co. outbid eight other developers and will pay a record HK$23.3 billion ($3 billion) for the first commercial land to be sold by Hong Kong’s government in the Central district since 1996. The Hong Kong company’s shares fell the most in the Hang Seng Properties Index on Wednesday, sliding as much as 2.9 percent. Henderson Land ...

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• 17 May

  UK cyber cops face biggest test over ransomware

  

  Bloomberg The malware campaign affected more than 200,000 computers in at least 150 countries, locking users out of systems at Chinese government agencies, Deutsche Bahn, automakers Nissan Motor Co. and Renault, logistics giant FedEx Corp., and hospitals around the world. As security experts gain the upper hand in containing the infection, police have begun the hunt for its creators. “The ...

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• 17 May

  Britain trade strategy needs radical rethink for post-Brexit deals

  

  Bloomberg The UK must “radically” overhaul its approach to trade policy if it is to land post-Brexit deals with other countries, the Institute for Government said. After decades of access to the European Union’s single market, the UK is facing a renegotiation of its trading relationship with the bloc and the need to strike deals with the rest of the ...

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