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Bloomberg Oil headed towards its highest close in over a week as industry data was said to show a larger-than-expected drop in US crude stockpiles. February futures in New York added 0.4 percent after gaining 0.6 percent. Inventories fell 5.2 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report, suggesting further tightening in a market already facing ...

Bloomberg Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc and senior executives will face trial over a $1.1 billion bribery scandal in Nigeria, an Italian judge ruled on Wednesday. The trial will start on March 5 in Milan, judge Giusy Barbara told reporters. The long-awaited decision, initially expected several months ago, will not only affect the two companies but 11 individuals ...

Bloomberg After spending $50 billion on the world’s biggest bet on natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is at the forefront of Big Oil’s efforts to clean up its act. But what if the constant, insidious leaks of gas into the atmosphere actually make the fuel more polluting than coal? Methane, the main component in natural gas, can seep into ...

Bloomberg Surging steel prices and a new Indian insolvency law have set the stage for an industry-defining battle between tycoons and producers for more than $26 billion of the sector’s most-coveted assets. Creditors are seeking the approval of India’s new bankruptcy court to sell assets of as many as 40 firms, including steel producers. That’s spurred Lakshmi Mittal, head of ...

Bloomberg Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin vowed to quadruple the size of his shopping-mall empire, betting that retailers will thwart the advance of e-commerce competitors by adding entertaining experiences in stores and mini-theme parks. The Dalian Wanda Group Co. chairman plans to have 1,000 shopping malls covering more than 90 percent of China’s cities within a decade, according to remarks he ...

Bloomberg Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is set to become the third stock in an equity index of the nation’s top 50 companies to cross the 10,000-rupee mark, thanks to this year’s record-setting rally. Shares of the carmaker, which accounts for about half of all cars sold in India, rose as high as 10,000 rupees for the first time on Wednesday. ...

Bloomberg Bondholders of Reliance Communications Ltd., the embattled Indian mobile phone operator controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, have hired advisers after the company defaulted on its dollar-denominated notes in November. Certain investors holding a significant percentage of the securities have formed a committee, which has appointed PJT Partners Inc. as its financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as its ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Azizi Developments, one of the fastest growing developers in the UAE, has announced that it will invest AED9.1billion ($2.5 billion) across its operations in the UAE in 2018, significantly higher than its investments in 2017. The budget was approved by Mirwais Azizi, Azizi Group Chairman during Azizi Developments’ year-end gala dinner, in the presence of His ...

RIYADH / AGENCIES Saudi Arabia released a 2018 state budget on Tuesday that is the largest in the kingdom’s history, as it slowed an austerity drive to support flagging economic growth. The kingdom will boost spending in an attempt to boost economic growth as the government enters a critical 12 mo- nths for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business The Ministry of Economy and the Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi have officially launched TIP platform, a platform that will host a community of pioneers in technology and innovation locally, regionally and globally. TIP will also have specialised sub-platforms and will soon launch an award managed by TIP. Through this agreement, The Takamul ...