Bloomberg PetroChina Co. posted its best-ever first-half earnings as the nation’s top oil and gas driller benefited from soaring global energy prices, and said that government stimulus is starting to lift Chinese oil demand. The firm reported 82.39 billion yuan ($12 billion) in net income for the first half of the year, up 55% from the same period in ...

  Bloomberg Venezuela is in talks with the global energy giant Siemens Energy AG to repair power plants as part of a government plan to rebuild a crumbling electricity grid plagued by constant blackouts and a lack of maintenance. Siemens is working with the government on potential contracts aimed at repairing gas- and diesel-burning generation facilities that serve the capital, ...

China’s central bank protests too much. Beijing is wary of overdoing its efforts to shore up the troubled financial system and faltering economy, but continues to be pushed into rolling out new measures. Fresh steps are announced almost daily, though many are modest in scope. China faces at least another year of lackluster expansion, and global growth will endure significant ...