India’s economy plunges by record 23.9% in Q1

Bloomberg India’s economy contracted by the most on record last quarter as the world’s biggest lockdown to stem the coronavirus pandemic brought key industries to a halt and rendered millions of people jobless. Gross domestic product shrinks 23.9% in the three months to June from a year earlier, the Statistics Ministry said in a report on Monday. That’s the sharpest ...

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Veolia offers $3.5b for Suez stake

Bloomberg Veolia Environnement SA offered 2.9 billion euros ($3.5 billion) for a 29.9% stake in French rival Suez SA, reviving an eight-year-old attempt to create a world leader in waste and water services. Veolia offered to acquire the stake from energy giant Engie SA for 15.50 euros a share in cash, 27% more than where the target closed, Veolia said ...

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Activists target Samsung C&T over coal project

Bloomberg Activist climate investors warned Samsung C&T over its potential involvement in a new coal power plant in Southeast Asia amid mounting global pressure to halt use of the dirtiest fossil fuel. Investment arms of Legal & General Group Plc, the UK’s biggest manager of corporate pension schemes, Norway’s KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS and Helsinki-based Nordea Bank Abp, have urged the ...

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Nigeria oil firm to start mini-refinery in Sept

Bloomberg Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd, a Nigerian independent producer, will open a 5,000-barrel a day capacity modular refinery in Africa’s top crude producer that imports all of its refined-product needs. The company, Nigeria’s first producer from marginal fields, plans to increase output to 30,000 barrels a day in two years, Chief Executive Officer Chikezie Nwosu said at a webinar. Nigeria ...

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Tycoon Adani to buy Mumbai airport in bold aviation bet

Bloomberg Adani Enterprises Ltd is seeking a controlling stake in Mumbai’s international airport as billionaire Gautam Adani continues his aggressive push into what was until recently the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. Adani Airport Holdings Ltd will acquire the debt of GVK Airport Developers Ltd, the holding company of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd, according to an exchange filing on Monday. ...

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Qantas Air joins record airline rush to issue debt

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd is marketing an Australian dollar bond, joining a record global wave of airline debt issuance to build up cash buffers as the Covid-19 pandemic pummels air travel. The Australian airline is looking to price a 10-year note at an indicative coupon of around 5.25%, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to ...

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Saks faces eviction in Miami over $1.9mn in unpaid rent

Bloomberg An upscale Miami-area shopping mall is moving to evict Saks Fifth Avenue, saying the retailer hasn’t paid rent since March 16 and owes about $1.9 million. Saks told its landlord, Bal Harbour Shops LLC, in August that it couldn’t make lease payments on its three-level retail store due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a lawsuit ...

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Ghana is reopening its main airport

Bloomberg Ghana is reopening its main airport to international flight passengers from September 1 after putting in place new measures to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Any passenger arriving in Ghana will have to present a negative Covid-19 result, taken no more than 72 hours before departure from the country of origin, President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a ...

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United drops fees, American whacks schedule in Covid era

Bloomberg The airline industry, yearning to bounce back from the prolonged global outbreak of Covid-19, is pulling out more tricks designed to get fliers back on board. United Airlines spiked its loathed $200 change fee for domestic flights and said that, beginning next year, customers can fly standby for free if there’s an available seat on the same day as ...

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Credit Suisse plans to double China headcount in five years

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG plans to double its headcount in China over five years as the firm accelerates its pursuit of the nation’s wealthy, seeking to move past a scandal that’s engulfed once-favoured client and Luckin Coffee Inc. founder Lu Zhengyao. The bank has largely normalised approvals for Chinese companies, ending the increased scrutiny on loans that followed allegations ...

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