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Bloomberg Zimbabwe’s biggest bank plans to buy several smaller lenders in a consolidation drive to leave the troubled southern African nation with fewer, stronger institutions, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. CBZ Holdings Ltd., majority-owned by the government, is in talks with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe over the acquisitions, the people said, asking not to …

Bloomberg European stocks snapped a two-day losing streak as investors kept faith with economic support policies, helped by some reassuring earnings news. The dollar fluctuated alongside US equity futures. Shares in Europe’s largest technology company, SAP SE, rose 7% after it reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue on returning demand for software in Asia, boosting hopes for a deeper recovery. It …

Bloomberg As Malaysia’s benchmark stock index inches closer to erasing its loss for the year, one corner of the market has raced ahead: technology shares. The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index of 38 stocks has soared 95% from a March low to reach the highest level since 2004, led by manufacturers ViTrox Corp. and UWC Bhd. The main FTSE Bursa Malaysia …

Bloomberg Flows into Indian stock funds slumped in June as investors pocketed gains from a strong rebound in equities as the pandemic showed no signs of slowing in Asia’s third-largest economy. Equity plans got 2.4 billion rupees ($32 million), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. That’s down 95% from 52.6 billion rupees received in May, …

Bloomberg Oil was anchored below $41 a barrel with an industry report signalling a surprise gain in US crude stockpiles, while concerns linger about the threat to demand from rising coronavirus infections. The American Petroleum Institute reported inventories rose by 2.05 million barrels last week, before government data on Wednesday. The virus is setting records across the US, with Texas’s …

Bloomberg Poor diets in developing countries are costing businesses as much as $850 billion a year in lost productivity, underlining the need for companies to play a bigger role in tackling a problem that’s being compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Those are the findings of a study by Chatham House and Vivid Economics, the first to analyse the impact of …

Bloomberg Sunrun Inc, America’s biggest rooftop-solar company, is set to become a behemoth through its $1.46 billion takeover of a major rival, Vivint Solar Inc. The agreement, subject to approvals, is one of the industry’s biggest, following Tesla Inc’s 2016 purchase of debt-plagued SolarCity, as well as the failed 2015 acquisition of Vivint by SunEdison, the clean-energy giant that went …

Bloomberg Britain’s energy regulator is under pressure to ensure it helps network operators like National Grid Plc finance the transition to a low carbon economy without passing the costs on to consumers. Investment in the green transition is key to the country hitting its climate targets but it won’t come cheap. Ofgem will unveil on Thursday its draft price control …

Bloomberg At least 20% of shut-in Canadian production is being restored, just months after the price crash forced producers in Alberta’s oil sands to slash up to 1 million barrels a day of output. Cenovus Energy Inc, Husky Energy Inc and Baytex Energy Corp are among companies that have resumed shut-in production as prices rise above $40 a barrel. Imperial …

Bloomberg UK house prices have slipped for a fourth month in June as the country started to emerge from lockdown. Average house prices fell 0.1% to an average of $300,000, Halifax said, the longest run of declines in a decade. From a year earlier, prices gained 2.5%. New mortgage inquiries rose 100% on the month. Britain is slowly lifting the …