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Bloomberg The market for physical barrels of crude from places as far apart as Oman and Colombia is strengthening beyond the traditional seasonal peak in demand, a positive indicator for global benchmark futures prices that remain stuck near $50. Physical differentials — the price gap between individual grades of crude and widely traded markers like Brent or West Texas Intermediate ...

UNITED NATIONS / Reuters Saudi Arabia said it was installing four cranes at three ports in Yemen to help boost humanitarian aid deliveries and was ready to assist with installing cranes at the key port of Hodeidah once it was under control of a neutral party. The Saudi mission to the United Nations said in a statement that the cranes ...

CAIRO / Reuters GB Auto, the Egyptian automotive assembler and manufacturer, expects demand for cars to pick up by the end of 2017 as dealers run down inventories, the company’s CEO said. Consumer demand in Egypt took a hit in November last year, when the central bank floated the pound currency to secure a three-year $12 billion International Monetary Fund ...

Bloomberg Infosys Ltd. approved a 130 billion rupees ($2 billion) share repurchase to improve returns for stakeholders of the Indian software exporter a day after Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka quit amid heightened tensions between the board and founders led by ex-Chairman N R Narayana Murthy. Asia’s No.2 software services developer voted to buy back as many as 113 million ...

Bloomberg HNA Group Co. has set a date for a long-awaited shareholder vote on its proposed $1 billion takeover of Singapore logistics operator (CWT) Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said, in a sign that the beleaguered Chinese conglomerate is moving ahead with the deal. The Hong Kong-listed unit pursuing the purchase, HNA Holding Group Co., has scheduled an ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s reputation for slick infrastructure and efficient public transport received a knock morning as two of its five mass transit rail lines suffered signaling failures, leaving thousands of disgruntled passengers late for work and unleashing a tirade of criticism on the social media sites of the two rail operators. “Lovely….I’ll send ye the bill for the cab I’m having ...

Bloomberg Taiwan upgraded its economic growth forecast for this year, signaling confidence for 2018, as a strong exports outlook lifts momentum. The statistics bureau revised its estimate for 2017 gross domestic product to 2.11 percent, up from the previous projection of 2.05 percent in May and closer to the central bank forecast of 2.13 percent. The bureau also said it ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump has yet to decide the future US role in Afghanistan, even after spending hours in a retreat at Camp David where his defense and foreign policy team made the case to continue fighting a war Trump has long questioned. “This afternoon the president was briefed extensively by his national security team on a new strategy to ...

ISTANBUL / Reuters Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats were enemies of Turkey and called on Turks in Germany to vote against major parties in next month’s elections. The comments, some of Erdogan’s harshest yet against Merkel, drew a furious response from Merkel, her government and some Turkish organisations in Germany, illustrating the widening divide ...

WASHINGTON / Reuters US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will travel to Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine later this month, the Pentagon said. Mattis will begin his trip in Jordan where he will meet with King Abdullah. Jordan is a member of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. The visit will be Mattis’ first to Jordan as defense ...