Reuters The International Monetary Fund backed Saudi Arabia’s sweeping economic reform plan on Thursday and said the kingdom was cutting spending at the right speed to cope with a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices. Late last month, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced steps to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil exports over the ...

  Bloomberg OPEC’s strategy to defend market share over prices is working as oil approaches $50 a barrel amid rising demand and declining output from producers including U.S. shale companies, Kuwait’s acting oil minister said. Oil will end the year at $50 a barrel and the market will rebalance in the third or fourth quarter of the year, Anas Al-Saleh, ...

  Tokyo / Bloomberg Environmental groups urged the Japanese government to use the Group of Seven summit meeting to be held from Friday in western Japan as a platform to announce a shift away from fossil-fuel financing. The groups, including 350.org Japan and Friends of the Earth Japan, staged rallies outside government offices in Tokyo on Thursday ahead of submitting ...