August, 2016

• 13 August

  ‘Egypt needs $5-6bn in bilateral financing’

  

    CAIRO / Reuters Egypt’s preliminary deal for a $12 billion IMF loan programme can go to the board for approval only if the government secures $5-6 billion in bilateral financing for the first year, Chris Jarvis, the head of the IMF mission in Cairo, said. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said earlier it had agreed in principle to grant ...

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• 13 August

  US refiners reap rewards from Latin American fuel shortage

  

    Bloomberg The Latin American refinery bust has proved to be a boon for US fuel makers. From Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA to Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos, state oil companies have failed to complete nine projects worth at least $36.4 billion that would have supplied 1.2 million barrels of gasoline and diesel daily. U.S. refiners have stepped up to help fill ...

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• 13 August

  Oil drillers bring back rigs in longest streak since 2014

    Bloomberg The US oil producers added rigs for the seventh week in a row, the longest period of expansion since the final days of the drilling boom in early 2014. Rigs targeting crude in the US rose by 15 to 396, after seven were added last week, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Explorers have now added ...

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• 13 August

  Brazil revives auction as 67% of new power plants face delays

  

    Bloomberg First, Brazil cancelled plans for one of its two planned energy auctions this year because the weak economy is dragging down demand for power. Now that event is back on the schedule and the government may organize a third, because the same economic factors are delaying power projects already under development. The size of the auctions hasn’t been ...

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• 13 August

  Bahrain’s Investcorp sets sights on up to 6 new investments

    Reuters Bahrain-based Investcorp is aiming to make one to two new investments in the next year in each of its regions of the United States, Europe and the Gulf, Co-Chief Executive Rishi Kapoor said on Thursday. The investments will help contribute to Investcorp’s goal of more than doubling its assets under management in the next five to seven years ...

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• 13 August

  Clintons made $10.6mn in 2015, paid $3.6mn tax

  

    Bloomberg Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, earned adjusted gross income of $10.6 million in 2015 and paid $3.6 million in federal income taxes, according to a tax return her campaign released as it sought to draw a contrast with her Republican rival, Donald Trump. Their income would place the Clintons well within ...

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• 13 August

  Venezuela hikes minimum wage by 50% as inflation soars

    Bloomberg President Nicolas Maduro raised Venezuela’s minimum wage 50 percent and announced that his oil and foreign ministers will visit producer countries to lobby for price increases ahead of an informal OPEC meeting next month. The wage increase becomes effective Sept. 1, Maduro said, and applies to all workers earning minimum wages and all public employees, members of the ...

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• 13 August

  Excessive heat warnings hit millions of Americans

  

    New York / AFP Millions of Americans will spend the weekend hot under the collar as soaring East Coast temperatures and stifling humidity slapped excessive weather warnings on New York and Philadelphia. The combination of heat and humidity would make it feel as hot as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in the two cities. Temperatures would stay in ...

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• 13 August

  UK vows to match EU funds, farm subsidies after Brexit

  

    London / AFP The British government pledged on Saturday to match European Union funding for farmers, universities and infrastructure projects following Brexit, as it sought to allay fears over key sectors. The commitment, intended to address uncertainty arising from the June 23 vote to quit the bloc, could cost £4.5 billion a year, finance minister Philip Hammond said. The ...

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• 13 August

  SBI shares rally on soured debt ‘surprise’

  

    New Delhi / Bloomberg State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, climbed to an eight-month high in Mumbai stock trading as the firm reported a smaller increase in soured debt than expected in the first quarter. Bad loans as a percentage of total lending rose 44 basis points since March to 6.94 percent by June, the ...

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