MEXICO CITY / AP Mexico’s mounting unease and resentment over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown are looming over a gathering of US and Mexican leaders that the U.S. had hoped would project a strong future for relations between neighbors. There is no shortage of tension points as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly ...
Read More »China ‘shoal’ would strain ties: Philippines
MANILA / AP The Philippines’ top diplomat says any move by China to transform a Manila-claimed shoal into an island would be a “game-changer” in blossoming relations although he says Beijing has pledged not to undertake any construction in the strategically located area of the South China Sea. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said in response to a reporter’s ...
Read More »N Korean state media say China dancing to US tune
TOKYO / AP North Korea’s state-run news agency issued a tough critique of China on Thursday, suggesting Beijing’s criticism of the North’s recent missile test and suspension of imports of North Korean coal are tantamount to the actions of an enemy state “dancing to the tune of the US.” The article took a tone normally reserved for North Korea’s ...
Read More »Europe oil majors eye Brazilian expansion as more blocks open
Bloomberg European oil majors given a taste of Brazil may soon be ready for more. Norway’s Statoil ASA, Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell Plc and France’s Total SA have paid billions since 2013 to gain access to Brazil’s fertile offshore oil riches. They’re now seen as having the best chance to expand when Brazil later this year auctions four ...
Read More »Aramco IPO could push other Gulf states to list oil assets
Reuters Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) could encourage other Gulf countries to list their oil assets, a leading regional economist said, but the oil giant must clear uncertainties over taxation, OPEC policy and ownership of crude. Nasser Saidi, a former economy minister of Lebanon, told Dubai Eye Radio in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that Aramco has to ...
Read More »Leviathan partners approve $3.75bn gas-development plan
Bloomberg The companies that own the rights to Leviathan, Israel’s largest natural gas reservoir, approved a plan to allocate $3.75 billion to develop the offshore site. Israel’s main gas equity index rose the most in almost five months. The partners, led by Delek Group Ltd. and Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., have agreed on a final investment decision, which lays ...
Read More »Aramco competes against Socar for OMV’s Turkish unit
Bloomberg Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Azerbaijan’s State Oil Co. are competing to buy OMV AG’s fuel-retailing business in Turkey in a deal that may value the asset between $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. Aramco, as the Saudi state company is known, and Socar have submitted binding bids for Istanbul-based OMV Petrol ...
Read More »OPEC still waiting for evidence of ‘oil cut’s success’
Bloomberg OPEC officials this week hailed the “excellent†and “unprecedented†implementation of their agreement to cut oil production, but were still waiting for solid evidence that the deal was fulfilling their key measure of success and shrinking the global glut. A reduction in the amount of oil held in storage around the world is the most important factor for ...
Read More »Trump’s China trade threat looms large over Taiwan
Bloomberg Call it collateral damage. If Donald Trump delivers on threats to put punishing tariffs on Chinese goods, plenty of pain would be felt in Taiwan, a de facto US ally that Beijing considers a breakaway province. The island would be among the most vulnerable to economic spillover from any US-China trade war. More than 40 percent of the ...
Read More »Australia sells $8.5bn of bonds in biggest-ever sale
Bloomberg Australia’s government sold A$11 billion ($8.5 billion) of 11-year debt notes in its biggest-ever bond transaction, as investors hungry for higher yields set aside concerns stubborn budget deficits will cost the nation its AAA credit rating. It’s the third time in less than six months the South Pacific country has set a new borrowing record. It exceeds the ...
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