Singapore / AFP Crude prices dipped in Asia on Tuesday but held above $40 as traders awaited a summit of key oil producers next week to discuss freezing output and easing the supply glut. Analysts said prices were expected to see-saw before Sunday’s meeting in the Qatari capital Doha that will bring together both OPEC producers led by Saudi Arabia …

Beijing / Bloomberg CRRC Corp., China’s only maker of high-speed locomotives, said it’s interested in investing in more US cities after winning a $1.3 billion rail-car contract from Chicago’s transport authorities. The company is bidding for a subway project in Los Angeles and a double-deck train contract in Philadelphia, CRRC Vice-President Yu Weiping said in an interview in Manhattan, without …

Sydney / AFP It may be the smallest-denominated Australian dollar banknote, but a new design for the Aus$5 bill attracted an outsized amount of criticism when it was unveiled Tuesday, with detractors calling it “hideous” and “like vomit”. The note, which will replace its more bland predecessor from September 1, features a yellow Prickly Moses wattle flower and a colourful …

Taipei / DPA Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism announced ambitious plans to boost the number of inbound Taiwanese travellers in 2016. The goal, unveiled during an industry event in Taipei, is to attract 275,000 Taiwanese visitors by the end of the year. Taiwan is already a growing source of travellers for the Southeast Asian country, with the number of Taiwanese visitors …

Bloomberg U.K. inflation accelerated to a 15-month high in March as an early Easter boosted air fares and clothing prices increased. Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since December 2014, the Office for National Statistics in London said on Tuesday. That exceeded the 0.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Core …

Bloomberg Russia is planning to offer Saipem SpA a contract to lay a natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in an effort to settle a 760-million euro ($870 million) dispute and strengthen ties with Italy, according to two government officials in Moscow. State-run Gazprom PJSC may sign a deal with Saipem on a planned 10-billion euro offshore link known …

Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz boosted sales twice as fast as BMW in the first quarter, moving closer to clinching the lead in the world’s luxury-car market for the first time in a decade. The Daimler AG unit’s deliveries soared 13 percent to 483,487 vehicles in the three months through March, compared with a 6 percent increase to 478,743 cars for BMW AG’s …

Bloomberg De Beers increased diamond sales at its third offering this year in a sign of recovering demand for rough gems after a slump last year. Shares of listed parent Anglo American Plc surged as much as 9.4%. De Beers sold $660 million of diamonds in April, the diamond miner said on Tuesday. That’s up from the $617 million of …

Bloomberg Greece will take a one-week break in bailout review discussions with its creditors, after failing to reach an initial agreement, as officials from the Greek government, the euro area and the International Monetary Fund fly to Washington to attend IMF meetings. Officials decided to “pause,” so they can all go to Washington, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said in …

Bloomberg French bonds fell as investors awaited the government’s sale of ultra-long securities. The planned issue of 20- and 50- year debt, which will be conducted via banks and may price on Tuesday, was announced by the French Treasury. The nation is looking to raise longer-term funds to benefit from the euro zone’s low interest rates, while investors will likely …