Page 24 - aruba-today-20170909

Saturday 9 September 2017 BUSINESS
A24

Miami shoppers outpace Houston in some pre-hurricane buying

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and credit cards, say it’s weekend. gas, restaurants and leisure fourth-largest U.S. city.
AP Retail Writer possible people learned a Harvey initially came activities like movies — Chhabra say it remains to
NEW YORK (AP) — As Hur- lesson from Harvey. ashore in South Texas on dropped nearly 30 percent be seen how much of their
ricane Irma heads toward Rishi Chhabra, vice presi- Aug. 25 as a Category 4 for the week of Aug. 25 to losses retailers will recoup
Florida, shoppers in the Mi- dent of information and hurricane, then went back Aug. 31 compared to a from both hurricanes. Plan-
ami area increased their analytics at First Data, said out to sea and lingered year ago. alytics, a weather research
spending on gas, food and that around Miami, gas off the coast as a tropi- Retail spending, which ex- firm that works with retail-
plywood to board up their spending spiked almost 80 cal storm for days. In the cludes gas spending but ers, estimates that retail-
homes at a higher rate percent this past Monday week before Harvey hit includes categories like ers and restaurants will not
than Houston residents did and Tuesday compared to the Houston area, Aug. 18- clothing and home fur- be able to recoup about
before Harvey, according the same days a year ago. 24, spending on gas was nishings, was down even $1 billion in sales losses re-
to payment technology He says building supplies up 13.4 percent from the more, at 43.7 percent, ac- lated to Harvey. For Irma, it
company First Data Corp. like plywood are seeing year-ago period, Chhabra cording to First Data, which raised its estimate for that
The company’s experts, similar increases. noted. tracked data from more loss to $2.75 billion from its
who track online and in- Hurricane Irma is expected In the Houston area, overall than 78,000 merchants in original projection of $.145
store payments on debit to reach Florida over the spending — which includes and around Houston, the billion earlier this week. q
French carmaker PSA sees shares drop on fraud reporta

PARIS (AP) — Shares in them to rise when cars are
French carmaker PSA on the road.
Group fell sharply Friday The report said 1.9 million
after a report said as many Peugeot and Citroen cars
as 1.9 million Peugeot and made between 2009 and
Citroen cars may have en- 2015 were affected — and
gines designed to trick die- that the company sought
sel emissions tests. to continue the strategy
In a report, the Le Monde in newer-generation cars
newspaper said the com- made after 2015 but with
pany could face fines of the defeat devices less no-
up to 5 billion euros ($6 ticeable.
billion) for allegedly using PSA said it had not been
special devices that pro- contacted by judicial au-
grammed engines to vary thorities and that it was
their emissions levels when “outraged” to see infor-
being tested. mation about the investi-
The report prompted a gation leaked to outsiders
reverse in the company’s while the company hasn’t
share price, which was seen the document in
trading down 4 percent at question. It is now up to in-
17.86 euros in Paris. vestigating judges with the
PSA denied wrongdoing public health arm of the
and threatened to file a A Peugeot, left, and Citroen cars are parked in Paris. Shares in French carmaker PSA Group have Paris prosecutor’s office
tumbled because of a report that investigators found a company-wide strategy to trick diesel
complaint over the report, emissions tests on Peugeot and Citroen cars. PSA vigorously denied wrongdoing and threatened to determine whether to
citing extensively from a to file a complaint over the report Friday in Le Monde newspaper, citing extensively from what it send the company to trial,
document from French said was a report by fraud investigators. along with other carmak-
consumer fraud agency (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon) ers being scrutinized.
DGCCRF, which has been U.S. emissions tests. equipped with software or to equip its engines with so- The prosecutor’s office and
investigating several car PSA said in a statement systems” allowing it to de- called defeat devices that DGCCRF refused to com-
brands sold in France since that it complies with all ceive tests. would reduce the level of ment on Friday’s report, cit-
Volkswagen was found in regulations and “its ve- According to Le Monde, nitrogen oxide emissions ing the rules on secrecy of
2015 to have cheated on hicles have never been PSA developed a strategy during testing, and allow ongoing investigations.q
Chinese company takes stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft

GENEVA (AP) — A Chinese cent stake in Rosneft to — have grown closer to- ly nine months after QIA the part of Rosneft they
company will take a 14 CEFC China Energy Com- gether on oil and gas is- and Glencore took a 19.5 bought in December 2016
percent stake in Russia’s pany Ltd. sues in recent years. percent stake in Rosneft, a with their own cash, while
powerful state oil com- The deal, which remains In 2014, amid fraying re- deal billed by the Kremlin selling the amount funded
pany for 7.5 billion euros subject to final negotia- lations with Russia’s tra- as the privatization of the by credit.
($9 billion), illustrating the tions and regulatory ap- ditional energy markets Russian oil giant. Following the deal, Glen-
growing cooperation be- provals, values the shares in Europe, Russian state Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, a core said it would contin-
tween the two countries in at a premium of about 16 gas company Gazprom close ally of Russian Presi- ue to own around 0.5 per-
the energy sector. percent to the average agreed a deal with China dent Vladimir Putin, told cent of Rosneft, with 4.7
Swiss commodities trader price of Rosneft’s share to supply gas via a new Russian state TV that the percent held by QIA.
Glencore said Friday that price over the last 30 days. pipeline across the Russia- deal was prompted by the Glencore and QIA de-
it and Qatar Investment Rosneft remains majority- China border. The pipe- desire of both Glencore cided “to find an extra
Authority, the rich Persian owned and controlled by line, named Power of Si- and QIA to reduce oner- partner to provide for the
Gulf emirate’s sovereign the Russian state. Russia beria, remains under con- ous debt repayments. direct ownership of these
wealth fund, have agreed and China — the world’s struction. Sechin said Glencore and shares without a debt bur-
to jointly sell a 14.16 per- largest energy consumer Friday’s deal comes bare- QIA were holding onto den,” he said. q