Bloomberg Total SA has deployed a rig to South Africa to look for more oil near a massive discovery, in a rare example of exploration in a frontier area. The Odfjell Deepsea Stavanger has left Bergen in Norway for the southern tip of Africa, Africa Energy Corp, Total’s partner in the project, said. While drilling work has dropped off dramatically ...
Read More »Exxon’s losses rise on virus-driven oil slump
Bloomberg Exxon Mobil incurred an unprecedented second straight quarterly loss as almost every facet of the oil giant’s business slumped amid Covid-19 lockdowns that stunted economic activity. The explorer’s oil and natural gas unit took a hit of as much as $3.1 billion as prices for those commodities slumped, according to a regulatory filing. Margins in Exxon’s refining business contracted ...
Read More »The unhappy American
Given the circumstances, it would be astounding if Americans were not in a sour mood over the July 4 weekend. Public opinion polls show that on a long list of subjects Americans are angry, pessimistic, disillusioned and fed up. They fear for themselves, their children, the economy, the United States’ role in the world and for their happiness. We know ...
Read More »Nord Stream 2 could sever ties
US President Donald Trump is furious at Germany for many reasons, not all of them fathomable. In phone conversations with Angela Merkel, he’s allegedly called the German chancellor “stupid†and denigrated her in “near-sadistic†tones. Though this be madness, as the Bard might say, there is — on rare occasions — method in it. One such case is Nord Stream ...
Read More »How to nudge one Covid-19 nonbeliever
A lot of Americans aren’t taking Covid-19 seriously. They aren’t wearing masks. They aren’t social distancing. They aren’t staying home. That’s one reason that the number of cases is spiking in the South and West. The problem is especially serious in Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, Tennessee and Texas, which are reporting the highest numbers of hospitalisations since ...
Read More »Green-energy firms’ human-rights problem
Land seizures. Dangerous working conditions. Mistreatment of native populations. For decades, such practices were associated in the public mind with the oil and gas industries. That perception in turn undermined confidence in fossil fuels and, as climate change worsened, helped set the stage for a widespread boom in the renewable-energy business. Now that business is itself under scrutiny — and ...
Read More »US lighting firm joins shift from China on higher tariffs
Bloomberg Alpan Lighting Products, Inc, a US manufacturer of solar lamps, is shifting production from China to Indonesia, joining droves of companies looking to escape higher tariffs triggered by the trade war with the US. PT CDS Asia, a unit of Alpan, will invest $14 million to build a factory in an industrial zone in Central Java, Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating ...
Read More »Chinese firm Wahaha mulls IPO above $1b
Bloomberg Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co, one of China’s biggest drink makers, is weighing an initial public offering that could raise more than $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A listing could come as soon as next year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The beverage company is working with ...
Read More »Thailand plans opening its borders for high-spenders
Bloomberg Thailand’s plan to target high-spending foreigners to kick-start its travel sector has a green light after winning Cabinet approval and additional support from the nation’s aviation regulator. The Southeast Asian nation lifted on July 1 a near-total ban on foreign travellers. The majority of arrivals in the initial phase will be foreigners with direct ties to Thailand — such ...
Read More »â€˜Philippine records’ left false trail for Wirecard executive
Bloomberg Faked immigration records in the Philippines were used to throw off authorities seeking a former executive at Wirecard AG, who went missing after the German firm was implicated in an accounting scandal. Immigration records seemed to indicate that Wirecard’s former second-in-command Jan Marsalek passed through the Philippines late last month. But video footage, airlines manifests and other records confirm ...
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