Bloomberg Jack Ma’s net worth surged $2.8 billion overnight as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. forecast sales growth that topped every analyst’s estimate, despite China’s decelerating economy. Ma, 52, is now the richest person in Asia and 14th wealthiest in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth has climbed $8.5 billion this year to $41.8 billion. The …

Bloomberg As European Union officials count the days before their annual vacation, Google’s lawyers and lobbyists are hunkering down in Brussels, preparing for what may be a record EU antitrust fine. A penalty in the shopping-search probe could come within weeks and many expect it to exceed a $1.2 billion fine on Intel Corp. in 2009. That would be another …

Bloomberg Tight cobalt supplies will keep boosting the price of one of this year’s hottest commodities, according to Eurasian Resources Group S.a.r.l., which is developing an almost $1 billion project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt jumped 71 percent this year on surging demand for the metal used in batteries for electric cars made by firms such as Tesla …