Plunging oil prices sparked a drop of almost 40 percent in new well permits issued across the United States in November, in a sudden pause in the growth of the U.S. shale oil and gas boom that started around 2007.
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Sony investigators find links to North Korea in hack probe
Hackers used tools in a devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment that were based on ones used in similar attacks conducted against South Korea by North Korea, a person familiar with the company's investigation said on Wednesday.
Cyclicals lead Wall St. higher; Dow, S&P end at records
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 ending at records, as data pointed to improving conditions in the U.S. services sector, boosting cyclical stocks.
RBA expects annual growth to ease further in Q4
Australian GDP sank to 0.3 percent in the third quarter, significantly below analysts’ expectation of 0.7 percent, Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. In the second quarter, GDP grew by 0.5 percent. In the fourth quarter, the RBA is expecting the annual growth to ease to 2.5 percent and will probably be around 2.5% to 2.75%.
Germany targets coal plants to reach 2020 climate goals
Germany's cabinet on Wednesday agreed plans to cut CO2 emissions by up to 78 million tonnes by 2020, pushing operators to shut some coal-fired plants, to help Europe's biggest economy meet bold targets to fight climate change, government sources said.
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Heavy discounting failed to stop euro zone business activity growing less than thought last month, a survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting the bloc's economy may contract again early next year.
Brent rose to $71 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering some of its losses from the previous session as a turbulent market searched for a price floor after a nearly 40 percent fall since June.
Japan's auto recall enforcement division, whose 16 members work from a cramped office on the eighth floor of the transport ministry building in Tokyo, only found out about safety issues with Takata Corp air bags in late-2008 - more than three years after the company says it first learned of problems.
Canadian buyout firm Onex Corp (OCX.TO) is in talks to buy a UK safety and survival equipment maker from Warburg Pincus LLC [WP.UL] for about 450 million pounds ($704 million), Bloomberg reported, citing three people with knowledge of the discussions.
China's Shanghai Electric Power (600021.SS) said on Wednesday it was in preliminary contact with top German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) over the possible purchase of its Italian assets.
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold a 1.6-billion-pound ($2.50 billion) portfolio of Irish mortgages to Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and CarVal, a private equity group, the Financial Times newspaper reported.
IBM is enjoying a wave of major technology outsourcing deals from European customers in the fourth quarter and the new contract signings are not over yet, an executive for the computer services giant said in an interview.
A key House panel has delayed a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to write new Internet traffic rules aimed at assuring "net neutrality."
Eight days after a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Hollywood studio was still struggling to restore some systems on Tuesday evening as investigators combed for evidence to identify the culprit.
