Bloomberg Iraq began using a new offshore crude-exporting facility to boost shipments by sea and make up for a drop in pipeline exports from the country’s north due to a conflict with the self-governed Kurdish region. The supertanker Chloe, which can transport about 2 million barrels of oil, moored at the new loading point in the Persian Gulf off the …

Bloomberg Equatorial Guinea, OPEC’s newest member, is taking steps to stem the decline in its oil production following the acquisition by Kosmos Energy Ltd. and Trident Energy Management Ltd. of fields currently operated by Hess Corp.For two to three years there has been a trend of US companies operating in Africa, but not re-investing there, said the nation’s Minister of …

Bloomberg The biggest US grid operator is asking regulators to reject Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to prop up ailing coal and nuclear plants. “I don’t know how this proposal could be implemented without a detrimental impact on the market,” Andrew Ott, who heads up PJM Interconnection LLC, told reporters by phone. Perry’s proposal is “discriminatory” and inconsistent with federal …

BEIJING / Reuters Russia held on to its position as China’s top crude oil supplier ahead of Angola and Saudi Arabia for the seventh straight month in September, with shipments hitting a record as refiners rushed to buy lower-sulphur oil to meet cleaner fuels standards. Imports from Russia last month were almost 6.35 million tonnes, or 1.545 million barrels per …

Bloomberg Infosys Ltd. slashed its annual revenue forecast, as the Indian software outsourcing giant deals with the aftermath of a boardroom coup that forced out its top executive. The software exporter is now forecasting 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent growth in revenue in the year ending March in US dollar terms, versus the 7.6 percent rise analysts were anticipating. That …

Bloomberg The distributor of Nike Inc.’s Converse brand in Thailand is hopeful of a revival in consumer spending once a yearlong mourning period for King Bhumibol Adulyadej ends on October 29. Whether Rich Sport Pcl Chief Executive Officer Papitch Wongpaitoonpiya is proved right will help to determine the strength of a rebound in the Thai economy, since household consumption is …

Bloomberg Singapore is experiencing a surge in venture capital fundraising, reflecting growing interest in Southeast Asia’s startups. This month, Vertex Ventures and two other venture-capital firms completed fundraising efforts in the city, each with their largest fund yet. In September, East Ventures, which made early bets on successful startups like Tokopedia and Traveloka, raised $30 million that will go toward …

­­­­­­­­­­­Bloomberg Facebook Inc. could be in the firing line of data privacy regulators across the European Union if the bloc’s top court follows the opinion of an adviser who said the social media giant may be policed by authorities in the country where users are based. Yves Bot, an advocate general of the EU Court of Justice, said that national …

Bloomberg General Motors Co. mitigated the effects of significant production cuts it warned were coming by boosting sales of SUVs now and selling Wall Street on the technological transformation it’s making for the future. The automaker led by Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra reported adjusted profit of $1.32 a share for the quarter ended last month, beating the $1.11 average …

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG were inspected by European Union antitrust investigators as the EU stepped up a probe into allegations the German car industry colluded on technology for decades. Just days after raiding BMW AG, EU antitrust officials visited Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters and its Audi unit’s offices in Ingoldstadt “as part of an announced review,” VW said in …