Jan 18- Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV said on Friday it would spend less in 2019 and forecast single-digit growth in international markets this year, sending its shares as much as 5 percent higher. Schlumberger, a bellwether for the oilfield services sector, expects full-year 2019 capital expenditure of between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion,...
Another week closer to the date Britain leaves the European Union. Given how crushingly Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit divorce deal was defeated by lawmakers, there is little chance her Plan B-- to be presented in coming days-- will get away with just minor amendments. If May fails to forge consensus within her party and with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn...
*Sudan cut off from IMF funding. KHARTOUM, Jan 17- Sudan must implement radical reforms or seek a bailout from friendly nations to pull its economy out of the downward spiral that helped trigger the nationwide protests now rocking the country, economists and bankers say. Attempts to raise bread and fuel prices to reduce the cost of subsidies sparked protests that...
NAIROBI, Jan 17- Kenya's biggest telecoms operator, Safaricom, notched up one million users for its new overdraft feature on the M-Pesa platform in just eight days, surpassing its CEO's expectations, he said on Thursday. Safaricom, part-owned by South Africa's Vodacom and Britain's Vodafone, launched the new overdraft feature called Fuliza on Jan. 7 this year.
HARARE, Jan 16- Protests against fuel price hikes in Zimbabwe have entered their third day, posing a major challenge for President Emmerson Mnangagwa who replaced long-time leader Robert Mugabe and promised to repair the creaking economy. The crisis will not be easy to fix. On Saturday, Mnangagwa announced to reporters that the price of petrol had increased to...
LAGOS, Jan 16- The presidential candidate for Nigeria's main opposition party said on Wednesday he was committed to privatizing the state oil company, weeks ahead of the election that will determine who runs Africa's top crude-producing country. Abubakar, a businessman who served as vice president between 1999 and 2007, has portrayed himself as a champion of...
*Russia's rouble gains 0.5 percent, oil rises. Jan 16- Most emerging market currencies firmed against the dollar on Wednesday, with Turkey's lira strengthening ahead of a central bank rate decision, while stocks in the developing world notched a six-week peak. Turkey's central bank sets borrowing costs later in the day, with a Reuters poll predicting the key rate...
DETROIT, Jan 15- VW CEO says in copy of speech: Ford and VW have signed memorandum of understanding to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles VW CEO says will share platforms and parts with Ford on pickups and vans in the alliance VW CEO says building vans in Ford's turkey plant is an option VW CEO says in constructive talks to share its MEB EV platform...
FORD EXEC SAYS VW WILL SHARE MID-SIZED PICKUP TRUCK PLATFORM WITH VW ONLY IN S. AMERICA, AFRICA AND EUROPE TO START.
CAIRO, Jan 14- Israel will begin exporting natural gas to Egypt in a few months' time, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday, a key step in the country's plans to sell its expanding gas production abroad and bolster diplomatic ties. Israel has discovered vast amounts of gas since the early 2000 s, signing deals to export to Egypt and Jordan.
NEW YORK/ FRANKFURT, Jan 14- Liberty Latin America Ltd, a wireless and cable operator in South America and the Caribbean, has approached peer Millicom International Cellular SA with an acquisition bid, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Liberty Latin America, which is backed by U.S. media mogul John Malone, has been in talks with Millicom, a cable and...
Jan 14- Newmont Mining Corp said on Monday it would buy smaller rival Goldcorp Inc in a deal worth $10 billion, creating the world's biggest gold producer in the face of dwindling easy-to-find reserves of the precious metal. The new company, to be called Newmont Goldcorp, is set to overtake current leader Barrick Gold's annual production and will have mines in the...
CAIRO, Jan 14- Israel will begin exporting natural gas to Egypt "in a few months' time", Israeli energy minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday. Steinitz was speaking on the sidelines of a regional gas forum in Cairo, where he said Israel and Egypt had discussed how to extend cooperation on natural gas, including through exports.. Egypt is hoping to leverage its...
LONDON/ JOHANNESBURG, Jan 14- Shares in South African investment firm Brait plunged more than 20 percent on Monday after its British fashion chain New Look announced a deal with creditors to cut 1 billion pounds off its debts, in its latest turnaround attempt. However, the firm's debts hindered its attempts to cope with tough trading conditions in Britain, which...
JAKARTA, Jan 14- An undersea cable and pipe-laying ship, the Vanuatu- flagged MV Star Centurion, capsized in the Indonesian waters of the Singapore Straits after a collision with a tanker on Sunday, with no fatalities, authorities said on Monday. The Singapore Straits are one of the world's busiest shipping zones with hundreds of container ships, oil and fuel...
ABUJA, Jan 12- Nigeria's chief justice will face trial on Monday for allegedly breaching asset-declaration rules, the Code of Conduct Tribunal said on Saturday, a month before a presidential election in Africa's most populous country. Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is the head of Nigeria's judiciary, which plays a key role in election matters and has helped...
WASHINGTON, Jan 11- The United States plans to jointly host a global conference focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, next month in Poland, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News in an interview to air on Friday that the meeting would "focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this...
*USDA report scheduled for Friday postponed due to shutdown. Hopes for a thaw in frigid trade relations between the United States and China further underpinned grains as U.S. officials said Beijing's top trade negotiator could visit Washington this month for high-level talks. Grain markets have been reluctant to break out of recent trading ranges as traders...
The company has spent the last two years exiting unprofitable markets in Europe, parts of Africa and Asia. In November it put five North American factories, including four in the United States, on notice for closure, and cut almost 15,000 jobs. The battle for profits from sales of large pickup trucks is intensifying among the Detroit Three automakers as sales of...
NEW DELHI, Jan 11- India's Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, imported nearly 15 percent more oil in December compared with November, according to data from shipping and industry sources. Sources previously told Reuters that Reliance would halt imports of Iranian oil from November to protect its wider exposure to the U.S....
Data also provided by 
