The daily business briefing: July 5, 2016
Chevron, Exxon approve Kazakhstan oil expansion, Standard Life halts real-estate fund trading over Brexit fallout, and more

- 1. Chevron and Exxon invest $36.8 billion in Kazakhstan expansion
- 2. Standard Life suspends trading in real estate after Brexit
- 3. U.K. central bank encourages lending to ease Brexit fallout
- 4. Ashley Madison gets new CEO as part of post-hacking recovery
- 5. Three ex-Barclays employees convicted in Libor rigging scandal

1. Chevron and Exxon invest $36.8 billion in Kazakhstan expansion
Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and other partners have approved a $36.8 billion oil-production expansion in Kazakhstan's Tengiz field, the companies said Tuesday in a joint statement with the Central Asian nations' Energy Ministry. The project will boost production in the field, which is one of the world's largest, from 800,000 barrels per day to one million. The first crude from the expansion is expected in 2022. The investment is the industry's biggest since oil prices began plunging two years ago.
The Wall Street Journal Reuters
2. Standard Life suspends trading in real estate after Brexit
Standard Life Investments halted trading in its $3.9 billion U.K. Real Estate fund on Monday, blaming "exceptional market circumstances" following British voters' decision to leave the European Union. Industry experts predicted that London office values could drop as much as 20 percent over the three years after the U.K. leaves the EU. Standard Life last week wrote down the value of the assets in the fund by 5 percent, explaining that the Brexit had already "negatively impacted commercial property valuations in the U.K."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. U.K. central bank encourages lending to ease Brexit fallout
The Bank of England on Tuesday announced it was cutting banks' capital requirements to encourage them to keep lending as feared Brexit fallout began to materialize. "Those U.K. households and businesses who want to seize viable opportunities ... can be confident that they will be supported by the financial system," Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. The move came as the British pound touched a 31-year low, and British government bonds hit record lows. U.S. Treasury note yields also touched record lows as expectations of more central bank easing spread around the world.
4. Ashley Madison gets new CEO as part of post-hacking recovery
Hook-up website Ashley Madison's parent company, Avid Life, announced Tuesday it had appointed a new CEO as it tries to recover from its 2015 data breach. The company said the new leader, Rob Segal, had been in charge for three months, but it was releasing the news as it unveils "transformative changes" planned as it rebuilds after hackers stole nearly 10 gigabytes of customer data. "The company is truly sorry for how people's lives and relationships may have been affected by the criminal theft of personal information," Segal said.
5. Three ex-Barclays employees convicted in Libor rigging scandal
A British court has convicted three former Barclays employees of rigging the Libor interest rate between 2005 and 2007. Banks use the Libor rate to set prices for financial products. Britons Jay Merchant, 45, and Jonathan Mathew, 35, along with American Alex Pabon, 38, were found guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court after an 11-week trial. The jury could not reach a verdict on two other co-defendants — Stylianos Contogoulas and Ryan Michael Reich, Britain's Serious Fraud Office said Monday in a press release.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK