Author: Chief Editor

Last month, EU energy ministers agreed in principle emergency regulations that aim to speed up wind and solar permitting while EU officials negotiate wider measures set out in the REPowerEU plan. REPowerEU comprises a package of measures to tackle the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will be incorporated in the Renewable Energy Directive pending agreement by EU officials. Delays in environmental permitting and grid connections have slowed wind and solar growth. Permitting can take several years due to complex administrative processes and a lack of resources at approval authorities. The EU’s emergency regulations define wind and…

Gold pulled back slightly from a five-month high on Monday as the U.S. dollar recouped some losses, although the metal still held near the key $1,800 level, buoyed by news of top bullion consumer China relaxing its stringent COVID-19 restrictions. Spot gold ticked 0.2% lower to $1,794.53 per ounce by 1206 GMT, after touching its highest since July 5 at $1,809.91 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures edged down 0.1% to $1,807.30. The dollar earlier hit a more than five-month low, but has since pared some of those losses. A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for overseas buyers. “China’s…

Sudan’s political parties and military signed a framework deal on Monday that they said would pave the way for two-year civilian-led transition towards elections and end a sometimes violent standoff triggered by a coup in October 2021. But the deal has been opposed by protest groups that are against negotiations with the military, and by Islamist factions loyal to the regime of former leader Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019. Demonstrations broke out in at least two areas of the capital Khartoum before the signing ceremony, a witness told Reuters. Under the framework agreement, the military – which has…

Nick Read will step down as Vodafone (VOD.L) chief executive by the end of the year, ending a four-year tenure during which the British telecom group’s share price has nearly halved. Once one of the biggest mobile operators in the world, Vodafone has been selling assets to focus on Europe and Africa, but the deals have not arrested its stock’s decline. Vodafone’s board was unhappy with Read’s lack of progress in delivering growth and has tasked his interim replacement, finance director Margherita Della Valle, with accelerating “the execution of the company’s strategy to improve operational performance and deliver shareholder value”. The company…

Lionel Messi’s passionate performances at the Qatar World Cup are earning him oodles of love from Argentines, but their old favouritism for Diego Maradona may resurface unless he brings home the trophy on his final attempt. The two diminutive and brilliant No. 10s have dazzled the world with their prolific goalscoring and strikingly similar styles, relying on low centre of gravity to swerve and slalom their way past defences, ball glued to flashing feet. Yet only Maradona, who died two years ago, has won the biggest trophy. He dragged a mediocre team behind him in 1986 when his “Hand of…

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State who spent much of his childhood in Paris, said he could support the French soccer team in the World Cup if the U.S. team got knocked out before the French. “I support the United States team but if they cannot make it to the very end and France manages to get there, well in that case – ‘Allez Les Bleus!’,” Blinken told France 2 TV, referring to the “Les Bleus” nickname for the French team. Blinken’s comments came as U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron aimed to show the strong…

Germany’s second successive group stage exit despite their 4-2 victory over Costa Rica on Thursday appears shocking for a country with such a history of World Cup success – but it shouldn’t have been. Germany came to Qatar with a leaky defence that had not kept a clean sheet in a competitive game since the 9-0 victory over Liechtenstein in a World Cup qualifier a year ago. Since then they have conceded 15 goals in 10 competitive games, while in three friendly matches they conceded one goal against the Netherlands and kept a clean sheet only against Israel and Oman.…

Germany has pledged 82 million euros ($86 million) to Ghana in grants to support renewable energy and financial sector development, Ghana’s finance ministry said in a statement late on Thursday. The grants are also intended to support technical skills training, good governance, digital infrastructure transitions, food security and female empowerment, the statement said. Part of the money will go towards the newly-created Ghana development bank, which the statement said would “ensure access to long term and affordable capital in challenging economic times.” The West African nation has been unable to access international capital markets since flurry of credit ratings downgrades…

Turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry has rattled major exchanges and sent the value of digital assets tumbling, but at least one group stands to gain: bankruptcy lawyers. High-profile bankruptcies involving crypto exchange FTX, hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto lenders BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital Ltd are generating new opportunities – and big fees – for law firms that counsel troubled companies. Large law firms can rake in more than $100 million in legal fees during a long-running bankruptcy, experts said. “You’ve got to pay the gravedigger,” said Adam Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University who specializes in…

U.S. Federal Reserve officials have signaled plans for a half-point interest rate hike at their meeting this month, and while that would be a step down from recent rate increases, new projections issued then could show a policy rate headed toward levels last seen on the eve of the 2007 financial crisis. Moreover, in an outlook that could lean against market expectations for rate cuts by the end of next year, the 19 U.S. central bankers’ new forecasts may well show the federal funds rate remaining at that elevated level at least through 2023. The updated outlooks will be a…