Bloomberg Rio Tinto Group agreed to sell its thermal coal assets in Australia’s Hunter Valley for as much as $2.45 billion as the world’s second-biggest mining company accelerates its move away from the fuel. Rio will sell its Coal & Allied Industries Ltd. subsidiary to Yancoal Australia Ltd., controlled by China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., it said in a …

  Bloomberg A revival in India’s steel consumption from the weakest estimated growth in at least four years hinges on the government boosting spending on infrastructure, housing and road projects to absorb record output. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will announce February 1 higher outlays for national highways, rural roads, railways and low-cost housing, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted in a …

  Bloomberg China’s central government plans steps that will reduce the influence local governments have on economic statistics, according to a person familiar with the matter. The National Bureau of Statistics will move its teams out of joint offices they share with regional counterparts around the country and shift into separate facilities, said the person, who asked not to be …