PetroChina, Sinopec Surge on Industry Merger Speculation

PetroChina Co. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation’s two largest oil explorers, jumped by their daily trading limit in Shanghai on Monday on speculation the government is considering mergers. “Big oil names are soaring because of speculation that the government is studying mergers in the industry,” said Clement Cheng, an equity trader at RBC Investment Management Asia in Hong Kong. “The oil sector has been undervalued...

Denmark, Goldman Decide on Possible Split of Dong After 2015

Denmark’s government, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and the other owners of Dong Energy A/S will base any decision to split up the state-backed utility on a review due to be published later this year, Danish Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon said. “A plan is being drafted for the future development of Dong Energy ahead of the stock-exchange listing,” Corydon said in an e-mailed reply to questions forwarded by his office. “Based on that, a decision...

Back Shares After Loeb Pushes Change

Fanuc Corp., a Japanese maker of industrial robots, said it would double its dividend payout ratio and buy back shares, following calls by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb to return more cash to shareholders. The dividend payout ratio will be 60 percent starting with the year ended March 31, compared with 30 percent for the previous year, the company said today in a statement. Loeb’s Third Point LLC said in February it had acquired a...

Norway’s Shift From Oil Starts With Two Left Feet

Norway's prime minister is fond of saying the nation is facing a ``new normal'' as a decade-long boom in its petroleum industry starts to fade. Erna Solberg has given little explanation of what that means, except to say that ``knowledge is the next oil'' and ``fish will be Norway's Ikea,''  ideas she echoed in a speech on Friday at her party's annual convention in Oslo. It's no wonder then that economists are scratching their heads as...