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  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it had successfully cut into its huge state budget deficit this year and will increase government spending in 2017 to boost flagging economic growth. The deficit shrank to 297 billion riyals ($79 billion) in 2016. That was well below a record 367 billion gap in 2015, and below the government’s projection ...

  Bloomberg Those looking for a bright spot in the global warming picture might want to pay closer attention to India. For several years, demand for electricity in the world’s second-most populous country has trailed forecasts, data compiled by India’s Central Electricity Authority show. While the reasons for the mismatch are complex, the gap raises the prospect that India won’t ...

  Bloomberg Taiwan held its benchmark interest rate for a second straight quarter as economic indicators show fourth-quarter strength and improving growth prospects for 2017. Policy makers held the discount rate to banks at a six-year low of 1.375 percent, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday after a meeting in Taipei. All 28 economists in a Bloomberg ...

  Bloomberg Truck Alliance Inc., a Uber-type service for trucks known in China as Huochebang, raised about $115 million in a financing round that valued the startup at $1 billion. The two-year-old company backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Hillhouse Capital secured the capital in a round led by new investors International Finance Corp. and All-Stars Investment Ltd. Tencent, Genesis ...

  Bloomberg China’s liquefied natural gas imports surged to a record last month as the world’s third-biggest buyer boosted shipments to offset winter demand and avert shortages that struck cities including Beijing last year. Inbound LNG shipments jumped 46.6 percent to 2.66 million tons in November from a year earlier, according to General Administration of Customs data released. Natural gas ...

  Bloomberg Nokia Oyj sued Apple Inc. saying the iPhone maker infringed several mobile patents, turning simmering tension between the companies into a bitter public legal battle on multiple fronts. The Finland-based company said Apple agreed to license patented inventions in 2011 but has refused to extend those agreements that are now expiring. Nokia filed complaints with the German Regional ...

  Bloomberg One of the world’s most devoted gearhead clubs is about to get a little pricier in the UK as a result of the country’s vote to leave the European Union. Tesla Motors will increase prices in the UK by 5% in 2017, a move attributed to the falling pound and described as “due to curre- ncy fluctuations,” a ...

  Bloomberg European competition authorities may be formally notified of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s bid for the rest of Sky Plc in March at the earliest, setting off reviews of the $14.5 billion deal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The companies’ filing to the EU allows regulators to check whether the deal might harm competition. It would ...

  Bloomberg The price of power for delivery on Christmas Day in Germany turned negative as a surge in wind generation is forecast to boost supply. Prices may be below zero for hours or even whole days during the holiday season as German wind output is predicted to climb to near-record levels and temperatures are set to increase more than ...

  Bloomberg The US economy expanded more than previously reported last quarter on bigger contributions from a range of factors including services spending, intellectual property and construction by state and local governments. Gross domestic product rose at a 3.5 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in September, compared with a prior estimate of 3.2 percent, Commerce Department figures ...