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  Reuters A version of Shamoon, the destructive computer virus that four years ago crippled tens of thousands of computers at Middle Eastern energy companies, was used two weeks ago to attack computers in Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. security firms. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks Inc and Symantec Corp. warned of the new attacks on Wednesday. They did not name ...

  Bloomberg Indonesia is widening its tax net to target global technology giants like Google and Facebook Inc., a strategy that’s raising red flags for fear it may deter foreign investment. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is seeking to squeeze more revenue out of an economy that’s been hit by weak commodity prices and subdued demand from China, Indonesia’s biggest ...

  Bloomberg China’s biggest state-owned companies will see “dramatic changes” in the next few years as they may downsize and become more efficient, according to the former chairman of two of the country’s biggest producers. Chinese oil companies have “tremendous room” to improve efficiency and will be “suffering for the next few years” amid the oil crash that’s pushed prices ...

  Bloomberg Nokia smartphones will make a comeback next year, and the current owners of the Finnish brand are betting that the connection it built with billions of consumers during a decade of dominance hasn’t been broken. HMD Global has secured exclusive rights to use the brand for smartphones from Nokia Oyj for the coming 10 years, and will announce ...

  Beijing / AFP China’s factory activity grew at its fastest rate in more than two years in November, official data showed on Thursday, as cheap credit and improving demand helped revive industry in the world’s second-largest economy. The better-than-expected pick-up in the closely watched purchasing managers’ index (PMI) will provide fresh hope for stability after a long-running slowdown in ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration sought to refute concerns that the clampdown on cash would strip India of its status as the world’s fastest-growing big economy. Gross domestic product, which grew a slower-than-estimated 7.3 percent in July to September, will slump to 6.5 percent over the next quarter, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of ...

  Bloomberg The US shale industry, gutted by 2 1/2 years of bankruptcies, writedowns, credit downgrades and layoffs, is poised to step back from the brink, thanks to an old enemy: OPEC. Abandoning a policy that sought to starve shale explorers and other high-cost drillers into submission, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries relented on Wednesday and agreed to curb ...

  Bloomberg Canada’s economy just posted its best quarterly growth in two years. Third-quarter growth of 3.5 percent (at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate) topped the consensus estimate by one tick, and in doing so helped vindicate Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and his vision for the future of the Canadian economy, which continues to grapple with the impact ...

  Bloomberg Deep dealmaking wrapped in a holiday bow brought US carbuyers back into showrooms in late November, saving a month whose first half was dominated by a nasty political campaign. “Fifty percent of the people were convinced the world was going to end no matter what happened” with the presidential election, said Sean Sellers, general manager of Charles Gabus ...

  Bloomberg Nestle SA says it found a way to reduce the amount of sugar in chocolate by as much as 40 percent, a discovery that may give the KitKat maker an edge as food producers face increasing pressure from governments, health advocates and shoppers to make products healthier. The world’s largest food company has developed a process to alter ...