The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

DUBAI / WAM A new report from Middle East Electricity (MEE) states the GCC requires a combined $131 billion worth of investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution over the next five years to cope with increasing demand from growing populations, expanding economies and climatic changes. The report, ‘GCC Power Market’, reveals that despite the GCC’s current power-generating capacity of …

Bloomberg US stocks rose as earnings season continued with another major bank reporting healthy results. The dollar rose, while Treasuries declined with gold, as Congress appeared closer to a deal to avert a government shutdown after January 19. All major equity gauges were higher, with semiconductor companies leading gainers. The S&P 500 Index climbed after Bank of America Corp. beat …

Bloomberg Bitcoin tumbled below $10,000, bringing its loss to almost 50 percent from a record set only a month ago, as increased scrutiny from regulators around the world weighs on the digital- coin craze. The largest cryptocurrency dropped 10 percent to $9,610.05 as of 9:33 am in New York, its first foray below $10,000 since December 1, according to consolidated …

Reuters Gulf stock markets were mixed on Wednesday with Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s second-largest bank by market value, pulling the Qatari stock index 0.2 percent lower. Shares in Masraf Al Rayan sank 2.7 percent after the bank reported a 9.6 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit to 466 million riyals, below an average 562.5 million riyal forecast by Reuters analysts. …

Bloomberg China’s insatiable appetite for solar power led to a surprise increase in global clean-energy investment last year even as US President Donald Trump pushed to undermine pollution rules and curbs on coal. About $333.5 billion poured into renewable energy and cutting-edge power technologies, up 3 percent from 2016 and 7 percent short of the record set in 2015, according …

Bloomberg The pace at which China exports the fuel it doesn’t want is set to jump by more than four times in 2018, according to the nation’s biggest energy producer. That’s a harbinger of bad news for processors in the rest of Asia — from South Korea to Japan and India — who now have to contend with higher crude …

Bloomberg The world’s hottest offshore prospect for oil companies is off the coast of Guyana, where a string of major discoveries has drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in a quest for crude. The Trump administration is hoping to lure some of that investment to the US with a proposal to sell leases in almost every inch of the nation’s …

TIGUENTOURIN / Reuters Algeria’s state oil firm Sonatrach will exchange crude for refined products with the world’s largest oil trader Vitol, a Sonatrach official said of the rare move that aims to reduce a record fuel import bill. Vitol would receive up to 2 million barrels a month of the OPEC member’s light, sweet crude and would deliver gasoline and …

Bloomberg Morocco attracted bids from France’s Engie SA and EDF Energies Nouvelles to build 800 megawatts of solar power as the North African country seeks to curb energy imports. The French utilities, as well as Riyadh-based ACWA Power International, led groups bidding last month for engineering, procurement and construction contracts, Obaid Amrane, a member of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable …

Bloomberg A minor tweak in the Bank of Japan’s bond purchases has emboldened investors to bet the central bank is about to wind back monetary stimulus. Going long on the yen is the biggest currency wager for AMP Capital Investors Ltd.’s Nader Naeimi. Singapore-based hedge fund Kit Trading Fund Ltd. started a bet on the yen last week, predicting the …