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Bloomberg Volkswagen AG struck deals with two Chinese companies and deepened cooperation with Ford Motor Co., broadening its strategic footprint as the coronavirus sparks the worst economic contraction in decades and internal tensions rise. The German manufacturer will become the biggest shareholder of battery company Guoxuan High-Tech Co. and closed in on a 50% stake in a Chinese electric-vehicle partner. …

Bloomberg South Africa is seeking investments from multilateral lenders, commercial banks and pension funds in what a senior ruling party official said will be a $20.5 billion infrastructure program. The program will focus on “network industries such as rail and ports, energy, broadband connectivity, water, sanitation and human settlements,” Paul Mashatile, the treasurer-general of the African National Congress, said in …

Bloomberg Oil extended declines after an industry report showed US crude inventories swelled for the first time in three weeks. Futures fell 1.4% in New York, following Wednesday’s 4.5% decrease. The American Petroleum Institute reported that stockpiles expanded by 8.73 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data, raising questions about the strength of the market’s return …

RIYADH / WAM An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched by terrorist Houthi militia against civilian targets in Saudi city of Najran was successfully intercepted, Col Turki Al-Maliki, the official spokesman of the Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s legitimate government, said in statement carried by Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Houthi militia continues to violate international humanitarian law by launching drones and …

Bloomberg Chevron Corp is planning a 10% to 15% reduction in its global workforce this year, the biggest cut to headcount yet among global oil majors following the Covid-19 pandemic. The cuts equate to about 6,000 of its 45,000 non-gas station employees and may be a precursor to staffing reductions at Big Oil rivals such as BP Plc and Royal …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders voted against separating the roles of chairman and chief executive officer as the oil giant navigates a historic collapse in crude prices. Just 33% of investors backed the proposal to create an independent chairman position, compared with 41% last year. Proxy advisers Glass Lewis & Co and Egan-Jones Proxy Services had recommended that shareholders vote …

Bloomberg Even if the economy continues to recover and a second wave of the pandemic is less damaging than the first, US shale drillers may still take at least a year before moving rigs back into the field, according to the leader of an oilfield-services company. Precision Drilling Corp CEO Kevin Neveu said activity in US shale basins is in …

Bloomberg The Trump administration lost another bid to kill a tariff loophole on imported solar equipment, enabling American developers to continue skirting its duties for the time being. A US trade court rejected the administration’s request to clear the way for removal of a tariff exemption on bifacial, or two-sided, panels. US Court of International Trade Judge Gary Katzmann said …

Bloomberg Who needs a loss-making, inflexible oil refinery in a world where demand for petroleum has been obliterated? We’re about to find out. When consumption of transport fuels collapsed this year because of coronavirus, much of the industry moved into survival mode, cutting processing rates and even temporarily stopping refining in some cases. While that helped prop up the industry’s …

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc will cut thousands of jobs representing as much as 30% of the workforce to cope with a long-term hit to demand from the coronavirus crisis. Europe’s second-biggest discount carrier will begin employee consultations in coming days, it said in a statement on Thursday. The Luton, England-based firm has about 15,000 workers, suggesting 4,500 posts are at risk. …