Bloomberg North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Saturday that immediately exploded after launch. The missile was thought to be a mid-range weapon capable of hitting U.S. military bases in Japan or Guam in a move that comes as the international community considers further sanctions on the isolated nation. The projectile, believed to be a Musudan missile, was fired …

  Bloomberg China is preparing to launch a manned spacecraft on Monday, marking a crucial step toward the country’s ambition to build and operate its first space station by 2020. The spacecraft is scheduled to blast off on a Long March-2F carrier rocket at 7.30 a.m. Beijing time from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in western Gansu province, Wu Ping, deputy …

  NEW DELHI / AP AJB Bumiputera 1912, the century-old Indonesian life insurer, is exploring a sale of its business to an overseas investor as it seeks to meet obligations of its more than 5 million policyholders, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Jakarta-based firm is working with a financial adviser to identify potential buyers, including international insurers, …

  Bloomberg A split between the world’s two largest gold producers over the value of their jointly owned Australian mine is more about future economic expectations than what’s in the ground. That’s the view of Newmont Mining Corp.’s Gary Goldberg, who has been saying for over a year he’d be interested in buying Barrick Gold Corp.’s half of the Kalgoorlie …

  Bloomberg The US budget deficit as a share of the economy widened for the first time in seven years, marking a turning point in the nation’s fiscal outlook as an aging population boosts government spending and debt. Spending exceeded revenue by $587.4 billion in the 12 months to Sept. 30, compared with a $439.1 billion deficit in fiscal 2015, …

  Paris / AFP Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday in France, Spain and Poland against a EU-Canada free trade deal and a far more ambitious agreement with the United States. Activists charge that the Canada deal will set a dangerous precedent and open the way for a similar but far more sweeping pact with Washington, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership …

  Bloomberg Nordea Bank’s Stable Return fund, Europe’s fastest growing asset manager, is betting the British pound is now on its way up. It’s a shift of strategy from earlier this year, when the 20 billion-euro ($22 billion) fund bet against sterling using the yen. It profited from that wager, with the pound losing 28 percent this year against the …

  Bloomberg Sonnen GmbH, a German solar-energy-storage maker that competes against Tesla Motors Inc.’s Powerwall battery, may pursue an initial share sale as early as 2017 to develop additional services. The company, formed in 2010 in Bavaria, sold its 10,000th battery this year and is taking on new stakeholders ahead of a potential IPO, according to its founder, Christoph Ostermann. …

  London / AP British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote an article urging that Britain stay in the EU just days before becoming the chief campaigner for Brexit, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. In the previously unseen column, Johnson asserted that remaining in the European Union would be “a boon for the world and for Europe”. He warned that Brexit …

  Lausanne / AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to build momentum behind a new drive to end the Syrian civil war on Sunday after high-level talks with Russia and the country’s neighbours. Kerry was due to fly to London to brief Washington’s European allies after “brainstorming” talks in Lausanne with the main players in Syria’s bloody five-year-old …