Bloomberg The South Korean government cut its growth projection for next year to 2.6% from 3%, reflecting tepid domestic consumption and weak exports. The government will maintain loose fiscal policy and pressure state-run companies to spend more in an effort to shore up sagging consumer and business sentiment, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Thursday in its report …

  Bloomberg China’s diesel demand is likely to pick up pace ahead of the Lunar New Year as traders stock up barrels ahead of the festivities and as construction activity picks up in some areas, four trade sources said on Thursday. Implied diesel demand in October in China, the world’s second-largest oil user, rose to 3.4 million barrels per day, …

  Bloomberg Toshiba Corp.’s impending multibillion-dollar writedown has triggered one of the worst-ever share declines for a major Japanese company, with ratings downgrades and investor pessimism erasing almost all of its 87 percent rally this year. Shares in the electronics and industrial conglomerate fell 17 percent to 259 at the close on Thursday. Toshiba said it may write down billions …