CAIRO / Reuters Egypt’s three established mobile phone operators have declined to buy fourth-generation (4G) service licences, two Egyptian telecoms officials said on Thursday. The companies, Vodafone, Orange and Etisalat, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The Egyptian officials declined to be named as no official announcement had yet been made. The Egyptian government is selling four …

  Bloomberg Oil extended gains after weekly government data showed US inventories dropped to the lowest since February, trimming stockpiles at the highest seasonal level in at least three decades. November futures rose as much as 1.2 percent in New York after advancing 2.9 percent on Wednesday. Inventories fell by 6.2 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information …

  Reuters The Saudi finance ministry has resumed payments to Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), the kingdom’s biggest construction firm, for its work on government projects, Saudi Okaz newspaper reported on Thursday, citing an adviser to the chairman. SBG was hard hit last year as low oil prices forced the government — its chief customer — to cancel or suspend projects …