Bloomberg Australia’s economy expanded faster than forecast in the fourth quarter of 2016 as household savings fell to the lowest level in more than eight years as consumers opened their wallets. Gross domestic product rose as much as 1.1% from prior quarter; economists estimated 0.8% gain. Economy grew 2.4% from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 2% increase. …

  Bloomberg Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said he’s still “very concerned” about the impact of record-low wage growth on the budget even after the economy rebounded strongly in the final three months of last year. The treasurer sought to play down the fiscal boost from 1.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter, telling Sky News only that “it’s consistent with …

  Bloomberg The head of decommissioning for the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant said that more creativity is needed in developing robots to locate and assess the condition of melted fuel rods. A robot sent inside the Unit 2 containment vessel last month could not reach as close to the core area as was hoped for because it was blocked by …