AP The world’s first self-driving taxis began picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday. Select members of the public can hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy says is the …

  Bloomberg Aussies are buying Bentleys, BMWs and Mercedes in record numbers even as living standards fall in a sign that rising inequality seen in the developed world is spreading Down Under. Top-end car sales surged to a record 104,277 in the 12 months through July, a 15.7 percent increase on the same period a year earlier, according to an …

  Bloomberg Steel production in China, the world’s biggest supplier, will probably contract this year and shrink further in 2017 as local demand slows, hurting the outlook for iron ore, according to Li Xinchuang, a vice chairman at the China Iron & Steel Association. “There will be significant declines in the next three months,” said Li, who’s also dean of …