Bloomberg Consumer prices in Japan dropped for a 10th straight month, though the pace of decline eased as oil costs rose, supporting expectations for a return to inflation later this year. Consumer prices excluding fresh food, the Bank of Japan’s core inflation gauge, fell 0.2 percent in December from a year earlier (forecast -0.3 percent). Overall consumer prices rose …

  Bloomberg Keppel Corp., the world’s biggest oil rig builder that eliminated more than 10,000 jobs last year, said even a doubling of crude prices is failing to offer relief to an industry slammed by overcapacity as it braced for a prolonged slowdown. While OPEC’s recent decision to cut output renewed optimism, with spending by some oil majors expected to …

  Bloomberg Air Products & Chemicals Inc. has hit a bump as it attempts the largest US takeover of a Chinese firm in more than a decade, stymied by an extended boardroom battle at Yingde Gases Group Co. A divided board of the Hong Kong-listed firm failed to agree on a panel needed to review the offer, but has asked …