Sydney / AFP Australia’s economy contracted for just the fourth quarter in 25 years, official data showed on Wednesday, slowing the annual growth rate to 1.8 percent amid weaker government and consumer spending on top of softer trade figures. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.5 percent contraction for the September quarter. It was the weakest figure in ...

  Bloomberg India’s money-losing state power retailers may be scaring off power plant investors, according to Sembcorp Industries Ltd., compounding the industry’s woes that have left about 20 percent of the country without electricity. Delayed payments by the distributors and their reluctance to sign long-term purchase contracts are risks for investors, said Vipul Tuli, chief executive officer at the Singapore-based ...

  Bloomberg India will risk jeopardizing billions of dollars of investment by Japanese companies if it does not implement an arbitration award favoring NTT Docomo Inc. in its spat with the Tata Group, a senior Japanese government official said. A decision to double investment to 3.5 trillion yen ($31 billion) in India hinges on a quick settlement of the award, ...