Bloomberg Jera Co., a venture between two of Japan’s biggest power utilities, agreed to acquire EDF Trading Ltd.’s coal-trading business as part of a push to lower fuel costs and expand its overseas business. The Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co. venture signed a non-binding agreement to buy all of EDF Trading Australia Pty, …

  BLOOMBERG Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean SUV maker, is exploring a joint venture in China with Shaanxi Automobile Group Co. to produce vehicles in the world’s largest auto market. Ssangyong signed a letter of intent with Xi’an-based Shaanxi Auto to study a possible joint venture and local production plant, the Pyeongtaek, South Korea-based automaker said in a statement. …

  Bloomberg Takata Corp. fell the most in three weeks in Tokyo trading after it was said to be considering bankruptcy protection in the U.S. The air-bag maker said no decision has been made. Takata dropped 7.5 percent to 347 yen, while the benchmark Topix Index advanced 0.4 percent. The Tokyo-based company, whose defective air-bag inflators triggered the biggest recall …