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Bloomberg For almost a decade, investors have waited patiently for any hint of inflation in the US economy, a sign the recovery can sustain itself without emergency stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Now they’re getting it, and many are shocked at the reaction. It landed with the worst stock market plunge since January 2016. A stronger-than-expected employment report with signs ...

Reuters Middle Eastern stock markets sank on Sunday in response to the tumble on Wall Street on February 2, after US data showed the strongest annual wage growth since 2009 and raised the risk of more interest rate hikes than expected this year. The Saudi index dropped 0.6 percent with falling shares outnumbering gainers by 105 to 74. Saudi Arabian ...

Bloomberg Crude production by OPEC and its main ally Russia held steady last month as increases in Saudi Arabia and Iran offset the ongoing deterioration of Venezuela’s oil industry. Output from the 14 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose just 20,000 barrels a day to 32.4 million a day in January, according to a Bloomberg News survey ...

Bloomberg Iran can swiftly increase production of crude if OPEC decides to scrap limits on global output when the group meets next in June, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. The Persian Gulf nation can raise daily production by at least 100,000 barrels within “five or six days” if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decides that crude prices are ...

BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon has signed its first deal to buy electricity from private companies, the energy minister said, in a model which took years to hammer out and opens the country up to more international investment. Lebanon has been short of electricity since its 1975-90 civil war. Households experience at least three-hour outages each day. Those who can afford ...

Bloomberg France’s nuclear giant has a plan to survive the wave of renewable energy that’s sweeping aside old-fashioned utilities across Europe. First it needs to disprove the conventional wisdom about how reactors work. Electricite de France SA says its fleet of nuclear reactors aren’t just able to provide a steady stream of power, they’re flexible enough to complement a large ...

Bloomberg The biggest independent refiners in the US are lining their pockets with billions of dollars in tax reform windfalls just in time to invest in equipment that meets ever-tightening domestic and global environmental rules, making the “liquid freedom” they export cleaner than ever. “The reduction in the corporate tax rate is a catalyst for incremental investment in the business,” ...

Bloomberg After sinking billions into driverless cars, internet balloons and life-extension research, Alphabet Inc. is being weighed down by more mundane expenses—the cost of running its behemoth online search business. Google’s parent company reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates, hobbled by rising payments for search and advertising distribution to companies like Apple Inc., as well as higher marketing spending ...

Bloomberg GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc are the only companies to have submitted non-binding bids for Pfizer Inc.’s consumer business after rival candidates walked away, according to people familiar with the matter. Pfizer plans to open a data room for Glaxo and Reckitt to start due diligence on the assets before submitting final offers in the next few ...

Bloomberg The European Union may be willing to discuss residency rights for EU citizens arriving in the UK after Brexit, a senior EU official said, in what could signal a less rigid approach from the bloc ahead the separation talks in Brussels. While the EU won’t accept an end to the freedom of movement during the transitional period after March ...