WASHINGTON / AP Even infants can have conversations with mom or dad. Their turn just tends to involve a smile or some gibberish instead of words. That’s a key lesson from programs that are coaching parents to talk more with their babies — and recording their attempts. At issue is how to bridge the infamous “word gap,” the fact ...

  Reuters Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers are upending the traditional practices of the market, using their leverage as the world’s biggest buyers of the fuel to wrestle concessions for more flexible terms. Japan’s electric utilities have won provisions that will allow them to divert contracted LNG cargoes if they restart their nuclear reactors, most of which have been ...

  Bloomberg Libya’s crude production exceeded 700,000 barrels a day and is due to keep rising as working conditions in the conflict-ridden country improve for international companies like Eni SpA and Total SA, an official from the state oil company said. The North African country’s crude production is due to reach 1.2 million barrels a day by August and 1.7 ...

  Reuters Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) has received substantial payments from the Saudi Arabian government to settle debts since the start of this year, a boost to the struggling construction conglomerate and to the kingdom’s economy, banking sources said. SBG has received 2.4 billion riyals ($640 million) so far this year for its work on state projects including the King ...

  Bloomberg Greenlight Capital is no longer betting on SunEdison Inc.’s two TerraForm yieldcos, marking the end of another chapter in its bruising wager on the renewable-energy company. The New York-based hedge fund run by David Einhorn unloaded its remaining shares in TerraForm Power Inc. and TerraForm Global Inc. in the fourth quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It ...

  Bloomberg China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal, is considering reinstating output restrictions to avoid the return of a glut after easing limits during winter. Shares in the coun- try’s coal miners jumped along with futures prices. The National Development and Reform Commission may resume mining curbs that cap output to an equivalent of 276 days of ...

  Bloomberg Mongolia reached an initial agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year program that includes a $440 million loan package as part of a $5.5 billion bailout to help the north Asian country with looming debt repayments. “The Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and bilateral partners including Japan and Korea are expected to provide up to ...

  Bloomberg China’s securities regulator announced new curbs on how much and often the country’s public companies can issue new shares, amid concerns that a faster pace of initial public offerings will drag down the stock market. The number of shares issued in private placements can’t be more than 20 percent of a company’s total shares, the China Securities Regulatory ...

  Bloomberg Billionaire Richard Li’s PCCW Ltd. plans to sell a HK$8.53 billion ($1.1 billion) stake in telecommunications unit HKT Trust & HKT Ltd., amassing cash as the Hong Kong tycoon shifts into greater media investments. The shares of both companies fell. PCCW will sell 840.7 million shares of Hong Kong’s largest phone company for HK$10.15 apiece, it said in ...

  Bloomberg Singapore’s government has a message for anyone expecting great things following Friday’s surprise growth bounce: don’t hold your breath. The city-state’s economy will still only expand between 1 percent and 3 percent this year, policy makers said after fourth-quarter growth burst in at an annualized 12.3 percent — the fastest pace in more than five years. They had ...