Bloomberg South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal, the continent’s biggest export facility for the fuel, increased shipments to Europe last year to meet increasing demand even as the project struggled with infrastructure disruptions. Security issues, a wage strike and equipment shortages for state-owned rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. cut coal deliveries from mines to the port, contributing to overall ...
Read More »South Africa’s blackouts threaten platinum mine supplies
Bloomberg South Africa’s worst ever power blackouts are threatening platinum and palladium supplies in the top miner, both now and in the years ahead. Outages last year curbed output of the metals, and the power crisis that’s crimping the economy has worsened in recent months. The nation’s platinum-group metals production will likely fall this year, according to Impala Platinum Holdings ...
Read More »Intel tumbles after forecast suggests comeback is far off
Bloomberg Intel Corp. gave one of the gloomiest quarterly forecasts in its history after a personal-computer slump ravaged the chipmaker’s business, sending shares tumbling and further setting back turnaround efforts. The company predicted a surprise loss in the current period and a sales range that missed analysts’ estimates by billions of dollars. At the low end of Intel’s projections, ...
Read More »Spain economy grows more than expected in boost for Sanchez
Bloomberg Spain grew more than anticipated in the final quarter of last year, indicating the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy is on track to avoid a recession even as high inflation squeezes household spending. Output rose 0.2%, according to data from the INE statistics agency published on Friday. That matches the pace in the previous quarter and exceeds the 0.1% median ...
Read More »Hunt dismisses UK tax cuts and pushes against green subsidies
Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt dismissed calls for tax cuts and pushed back against green energy subsidies, warning that “sound money must come first†as he argued that Brexit will drive UK economic growth. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Hunt said: “At the moment, we don’t have the headroom for major cuts. Businesses want that, who wouldn’t? ...
Read More »Londoners are selling homes on WhatsApp
Bloomberg A record share of Londoners are shunning property portals and opting to sell their homes on their own terms — which are increasingly negotiated over WhatsApp. Almost a quarter of London homes were sold off-market in the final three months of last year, according to broker Hamptons International. That’s more than double compared to the same period of ...
Read More »Britishvolt’s founder says UK battery sector is ‘doomed’
Bloomberg The UK’s battery manufacturing industry is doomed unless the government ramps up support for the sector, according to the founder of failed battery startup Britshvolt Ltd. Formerly the UK’s main hope for a homegrown supplier to the electric-vehicle industry, Britishvolt went into bankruptcy this month. The company could have been saved had the government given it only a ...
Read More »Russia’s Putin planning new Ukraine push despite losses
Bloomberg Nearly a year into an invasion that was supposed to take weeks, Vladimir Putin is preparing a new offensive in Ukraine, at the same time steeling his country for a conflict with the US and its allies that he expects to last for years. The Kremlin aims to demonstrate that its forces can regain the initiative after months ...
Read More »Palestinians abandon security ties with Israel after deadly Jenin raid
Bloomberg The Palestinian Authority said it’s ending security ties with Israel after nine civilians were killed in a West Bank gunfight, in an escalation in violence that was later followed by a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian government body, on Thursday announced three days of mourning following the clashes in the city of ...
Read More »Ex-Nato general vies with billionaire for Czech presidency
Bloomberg A retired Nato general will seek to fend off an attempted political comeback by the Czech Republic’s billionaire former premier as the nation votes in a presidential runoff election. Petr Pavel, who once served as Nato’s highest-ranking military officer, is favored to win the contest to become head of state after narrowly defeating former Prime Minister Andrej Babis a ...
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