Bloomberg Mad Dog, BP Plc’s drilling project deep in the Gulf of Mexico, could be Exhibit A in the oil industry’s war on cost. When the British oil giant announced the project’s second phase in 2011, it put the price at $20 billion. Last month, after simplifying plans and benefiting from a sharp drop in everything from steel to ...

  Bloomberg Origin Energy Ltd. left the door open to splitting up once its $9 billion debt pile has been further trimmed as it reels from the collapse in energy prices. Australia’s largest electricity company made the “difficult decision” on Thursday to cancel its dividend for the first time since it was formed in 2000, preferring to concentrate on strengthening ...

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley are among 16 banks being sued by funds in the US for allegedly manipulating a key Australian interest rate benchmark to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit profits. The class action, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims the banks ...

  Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd. rose the most in five months after first-half profit from continuing operations at Africa’s largest lender by assets climbed, boosted by higher interest rates in its home market that lifted income, and as fees from the rest of the continent increased. The stock led advances on the six-member FTSE/JSE Africa Banks Index, rising 5.5 ...

  Bloomberg Azerbaijan’s banking regulator gave the country’s lenders a month to draw up plans to end what it described as chronic violations of prudential norms, promising to clamp down on those failing to meet requirements, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. After 10 of 43 banks were already culled this year, the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority said in ...

  Bloomberg A potential headache for the European Central Bank is turning out to be a boon for holders of Germany’s negative-yielding bonds. For ECB officials looking for ways to avert a potential shortage of securities to acquire for their asset-purchase program, the publication of Germany’s draft budget Wednesday showing an almost 11 percent drop in planned borrowing wouldn’t have ...

  Bloomberg VTB Group, Russia’s second-biggest bank, boosted profit more than sixfold in the second quarter as the financial industry began to recover from a crisis. Net income increased to 16 billion rubles ($250 million) from 2.5 billion rubles a year earlier, the lender said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.Banking industry profits in Russia are heading back ...

  AP A blimp-shaped, helium-filled airship considered the world’s largest aircraft flew for the first time with a short but historic jaunt over an airfield in central England. Engines roaring, the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 rose slowly into the air from Cardington airfield, 45 miles (73 kilometers) north of London. A hybrid of blimp, helicopter and airplane, it can stay ...

  Bloomberg Nestle, the world’s largest food company, on Thursday reported a 9.1 percent fall in profits through the first six months of 2016, but said its sluggish performance should be reversed in a strong second half. The firm posted 4.1 billion Swiss francs ($4.3 billion, 3.9 billion euros) in profits through the first half of the year, a step ...

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. increased its annual earnings forecast after second-quarter results topped analysts’ estimates, a sign the world’s largest retailer is pulling business away from rivals such as Target Corp. Sales at U.S. Wal-Mart stores open more than 12 months rose 1.6 percent last quarter, which ended July 31, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said in a statement Thursday. The ...