Wednesday , 17 December 2025

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Rising interest rates expected to cool UK’s housing market

Bloomberg The UK’s booming property market is headed for a slowdown as a squeeze on living standards and rising interest rates sap demand, according to Nationwide Building Society. The average price of a home rises 0.7% in October, the mortgage lender said, even after the ending of a temporary tax cut imposed by the government last year. Economists had expected …

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Energy crisis drives carbon emissions as Europe burns coal

Bloomberg Europe is growing increasingly reliant on coal to keep the lights on as the weather turns cold, sending the cost of polluting to a record. Carbon prices exceeded 70 euros for the first time ever as utilities turn to the dirtiest of fossil fuels. Power plants in the UK are burning the most coal since the beginning of the …

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Carbon hits new records after watchdog finds no market abuse

Bloomberg The cost of pollution in the European Union (EU) rose to new highs after a report by the bloc’s market watchdog dismissed concerns by some governments over abuse and the role of speculative investors in emissions trading. Benchmark carbon permits rose as much as 1% percent to a record 69.77 euros a ton on ICE Endex, extending gains to …

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Investors bet $64 billion on US homes in record buying spree

Bloomberg Real estate investors acquired a record 18% of US homes sold in the third quarter of 2021, wagering $64 billion that home prices and rents will continue to surge. Investors bought more than 90,000 homes in three months through September, up 10% from the prior quarter and 80% from a year earlier, according to a report by Redfin Corp. …

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COP26 seals breakthrough climate deal after compromises

Bloomberg Negotiators from almost 200 countries clinched a deal that seeks to keep the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement alive, breaking new ground in the fight against climate change but punting the hardest decisions into the future. After two weeks of often fraught United Nations COP26 talks, delegates agreed to reduce the use of coal, end “inefficient” fossil-fuel …

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Bouygues in talks to buy Engie’s Equans for $8.2b

Bloomberg French energy giant Engie SA entered exclusive talks to sell its services unit Equans to conglomerate Bouygues SA for 7.1 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in what would be one of the country’s largest deals this year. “Bouygues’ offer was the most compelling taking into account all criteria including financial valuation,” Engie, based near Paris, said in a statement. Bouygues …

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Shell mulls making renewable jet fuel at new Swedish facility

Bloomberg The Royal Dutch Shell Plc is looking into developing a production site next to a Swedish nuclear power plant to make synthetic sustainable jet fuel for Scandinavian airline SAS AB. Together with plant operator Vattenfall AB and synthetic fuel maker LanzaTech Inc, the companies agreed to investigate starting a facility that could provide SAS with a quarter of its …

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India wants compensation for climate damages by rich nations

Bloomberg India is seeking payment for the losses caused by climate disasters, its environment ministry said while laying out the country’s positions on critical issues that will be negotiated at the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit in the coming weeks. “Our ask is this: there should be a compensation for expenses incurred, and it should be borne by developed nations,” …

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Singapore promises power customer safeguards as retailers fold

Bloomberg Singapore is offering assistance to power retailers and promising safeguards for customers as skyrocketing prices strain its nascent open electricity market. At least two power providers have announced they will cease retail operations after wholesale prices surged to a record last week. The government is offering help in hedging against volatility for those who want to continue operations, the …

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Britain turns to coal as low wind output increases power prices

Bloomberg UK power prices rose after a coal power plant switched on Monday to make up for a shortfall in wind generation and limited flows on two power cables to Ireland. Britain is set to end the use of coal within three years and to make power generation fossil fuel-free by 2035. For now the nation is still reliant on …

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