PARIS / Reuters The oil market is moving towards a balance between supply and demand with the help of an agreement reached between OPEC and other producers to cut production, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco said on Thursday. OPEC, Russia and other producers agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first half ...

  Bloomberg The energy ministers of OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Venezuela plan to meet their Russian counterpart to discuss extending oil-output cuts amid a developing consensus that they should prolong their joint effort to curb supply. Saudi Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said that he will talk with Russia’s Alexander Novak by phone this week and meet ...

  Bloomberg Nokia Oyj reported first-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates as a slump in wireless-network demand began to ease and the company reaped more revenue for its patents. Revenue fell 4 percent to 5.39 billion euros ($5.9 billion), the Finnish network-equipment maker said on Thursday. Analysts predicted 5.28 billion euros, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings of ...

  Bloomberg South Korea’s economic growth accelerated in Q1 as a recovery in exports supported investment. Construction investment expanded, while consumption growth remained subdued. Gross domestic product expanded 0.9 percent in first quarter from previous 3 months, when it rose 0.5%, Bank of Korea said. The median estimate of economists surveyed by economists was for 0.8% growth. From a year ...

  Bloomberg Didi Chuxing may be going up against its own patron, Tencent Holdings Ltd., by picking a rival side in China’s cut-throat bike-rental industry. China’s largest ride-hailing service said on Thursday it has integrated Ofo’s service into its own mobile app, granting the startup access to some 400 million users across 400 Chinese cities that use Didi to summon ...

  Bloomberg China’s plan to build a new city about two hours drive from Beijing has raised hopes it may catalyze better urban design across the nation, enhancing economic efficiency and cutting air pollution. The potential for gains is huge in a country where tens of millions of rural residents will move into urban areas by the end of the ...

  Bloomberg Singapore is creating a S$1 billion ($718 million) fund to help innovative companies develop their businesses and expand overseas, part of the city state’s drive to boost economic growth. The Makara Innovation Fund — a collaboration between the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and local private equity firm Makara Capital — will invest S$30 to S$150 million each ...

  Bloomberg Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s decision two years ago to start a separate network of premium showrooms is starting to pay off, as India’s biggest automaker reaps higher sales of more expensive models. The unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. said an increase in share of “higher-segment models” and running factories at full capacity helped boost net income by ...

  Bloomberg PayPal Holdings Inc. CEO Dan Schulman is getting investors to embrace his strategy of converting the online payments platform into a digital wallet, even if it requires deal-making that may diminish profit margins. The company reported first-quarter results that showed Schulman’s strategy is working and raised its annual forecast. Sales and profit topped analysts’ projections as PayPal added ...

  Bloomberg Euro-area economic confidence jumped to the highest in almost a decade this month, a testament to a continued improvement that may soon prompt a policy shift at the European Central Bank. The index of executive and consumer sentiment surged to 109.6 in April from a revised 108 in March, the European Commission in Brussels said on Thursday. That’s ...