Cuxhaven / DPA “Ten minutes of playtime for the captain!†announces Commander Markus Venker over the ship-wide loudspeaker system. Actually, it’s a warning for the crew to hold on very tight. Then Venker, captain of the newest and most modern ship in the German Navy, shows what his big baby can do in clear weather but rough seas off ...
Read More »OPEC convinces investors crude output cuts are real
Bloomberg OPEC appears to have persuaded investors that it’s making good on promised production cuts. Money managers are the most optimistic on West Texas Intermediate oil prices in at least a decade as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers reduce crude output. Saudi Arabia has said more than 80 percent of the targeted reduction of 1.8 ...
Read More »Japan energy producers look to partnerships to tap $21 billion gas market
Bloomberg In the increasingly competitive world of Japan’s energy market, there may be safety in numbers. Gas sellers from the nation’s smaller utilities to even its biggest oil refiner are considering clubbing together to get cheaper fuel from their suppliers and help them undercut competitors in the 2.4 trillion yen ($21 billion) retail gas market, which the country is ...
Read More »Aramco weighs $5bn of renewable deals
Bloomberg Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is considering as much as $5 billion of investments in renewable energy firms as part of plans to diversify from crude production, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse Group AG have been invited to pitch for ...
Read More »Lukoil seeks Middle East crude projects for growth as Iran opens
Bloomberg Lukoil PJSC is seeking opportunities for growth in the Middle East as Iran opens more of its oil fields to international partners, according to the Russian energy company’s regional head. The Moscow-based company plans to add output from the region to existing operations in Iraq and Egypt as long as it finds projects with production costs as low ...
Read More »Saudi money supply growth picks up as economy strengthens
Reuters Saudi Arabian money supply growth picked up in December in a sign that the economy is regaining strength after a slump last year caused by low oil prices and government austerity measures, central bank data showed on Sunday. Annual growth in M3 money supply, the broadest money supply measure, rose to 0.7 percent in December, its highest level ...
Read More »Toshiba looks to sell more assets after chips spinoff
Bloomberg Toshiba Corp. is looking to sell more assets to repair a balance sheet facing multibillion-dollar writedowns. The conglomerate happens to have more than 600 different businesses, but raising cash from the firesale will be far from simple. While Toshiba’s two biggest enterprises are nuclear reactors and semiconductors, the Tokyo-based company also has its hands in a wide range ...
Read More »Philippines to see 6% growth expansion
Bloomberg After years spent languishing behind its neighbors, the Philippines is finally catching up with its fellow Asian tiger economies as it posts some of the fastest growth rates in the world. With the World Bank forecasting expansion of more than 6 percent for eight years until 2019 — unparalleled in the nation’s history — the Philippines is mimicking ...
Read More »Alphabet’s Verily preps for China entry with Temasek funds
Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s medical arm Verily Life Sciences LLC is getting a major influx of cash from a Singapore-based investment company, boosting the odds of taking their futuristic approach to healthcare into Asian markets. Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, a state-owned firm, is investing $800 million in Verily, according to a statement from the company Thursday. In exchange, Temasek will ...
Read More »China cotton lust spurs fiber’s best rally in 6 months
Bloomberg China’s voracious demand for cotton is sparking the fiber’s best rally in six months. Chinese buyers have committed to purchasing almost five times more American cotton than at this time last year, the US government said in a report this month. The price of the commodity is heading for its biggest monthly advance since July. Hedge funds are ...
Read More »