London / AFP Britain on Thursday approved a shale gas fracking project in the north of England, overruling a local council’s decision to prevent the controversial scheme which is also opposed by environmentalists. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid gave the green light for the drilling of up to four wells by energy group Cuadrilla at the Preston New Road site. …

  Frankfurt / AFP German industrial firms recorded a sharp uptick in orders in August, official data showed on Thursday, outdoing analyst forecasts and reducing fears of an autumn slowdown in Europe’s biggest economy. Firms saw a 1.0-percent increase in their order books in August compared with July, correcting for price, seasonal and calendar effects, the federal statistics office Destatis …

  Bloomberg Norway is ratcheting up withdrawals from its $890 billion sovereign wealth fund to support a recovery as it foresees a continued slump for the nation’s petroleum industry. The government is boosting oil wealth spending by 10 percent to 225.6 billion kroner ($28 billion) next year, according to the 2017 budget released in Oslo Thursday. It will withdraw 121.2 …