The state of Illinois regulates many common trades that maybe it shouldn’t, such as those specified by the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985. And it doesn’t regulate one industry that needs to be: gun dealerships. Despite a gruesome spike in gun violence in Chicago in recent years, regulation of gun retailers is left to …

Say at least this for the manifestoes that the Conservative and Labour parties have presented this month: Some honesty has returned to British politics as far as tax and spending decisions are concerned. This would be a cause for celebration were it not for an additional detail: When it comes to Brexit, the U.K.’s main parties are yet to wake …

Bloomberg Oil extended gains towards $51 a barrel as Saudi Arabia said all producers participating in output cuts agree on prolonging the deal through the first quarter of 2018. Futures climbed as much as 1.1 percent in New York after advancing 5.2 percent last week, the biggest weekly increase since March. An extension into next year will help producers reach …

Bloomberg BP Plc started a project in the UK North Sea that will restore production halted since 2013 and help double the company’s output in the area by the end of the decade. BP and its partners budgeted 4.4 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) for the Quad 204 project, which involved building a new floating production and supply vessel and redeveloping …

LONDON / Reuters Iraq has achieved its share of the production cuts agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers at the end of last year but remains ready to meet future oil demand growth, Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a speech on Monday. “Iraq as the second-largest producer in OPEC confirms its achievement to the commitment to implement the …

Riyadh / Reuters US agricultural trader Bunge is looking to bid for the Saudi state grain company’s milling operations, sources said, the second global commodities company to show interest in the privatisation of the kingdom’s sole wheat and barley buyer. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Bunge and Arabian Agricultural Services Company (ARASCO), a privately-owned Saudi firm, sources with …

Bloomberg China will carry out a nationwide poll next month to test the public’s acceptance of genetically-modified food, a technology the government says would boost yields and sustainable agriculture in a country that’s seen consumption soar. Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and two other Chinese colleges will carry out the survey, said Jin Jianbin, a professor at Tsinghua’s School of Journalism …

Bloomberg India’s stock market boom is fanning out to the country’s hinterland. Flows into mutual funds from towns outside India’s 15 biggest cities surged 41 percent to a record 3.1 trillion rupees ($48 billion) at the end of March, according to the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. And half of this money flowed into equity …

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is set to dramatically reshape Asia’s third-largest economy with the biggest tax reform since independence in 1947. After finding common ground among India’s 29 states, the finance ministry released detailed rates for the incoming goods and services tax, slotting more than 1,200 items — from sugar to steel pipes and motorcycles — into five …

Bloomberg Japanese exports expanded for a fifth consecutive month in April, with shipments to China surging as global demand continued to support the nation’s economic recovery. Exports rose 7.5 percent from a year earlier (median estimate +8.0 percent), according to data released by the Ministry of Finance. Imports jumped 15.1 percent (median estimate +14.8 percent). The trade surplus was 481.7 …