VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The significant jump in shares of Facebook and Amazon took them into $300-billion club on 4 October. The market capitalization of Facebook soared to $303.6 billion surpassing General Electric's (GE) $299.1 billion.

One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world's top industrialized nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after the Fukushima disaster, it's solar energy that is becoming the alternative.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group (BG.L) for 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in the first major energy industry merger in more than a decade, closing the gap on market leader U.S. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) after a plunge in prices.

Lifting a 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude exports would create a wide range of jobs in the oil drilling supply chain and broader economy even in states that produce little or no oil, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Last year was an ugly one for the U.S. energy sector, and while the first trading day of 2015 pointed to continued weakness in oil, investors are starting to look to when the sector might start to recover.

The S&P 500 scored its best day since October 2013 on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat assessment of the economy and said it would take a patient approach toward lifting interest rates.

A surge in refining profits boosted quarterly results at Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), helping to offset declining oil and gas production and falling crude oil prices.

Tanzania has held talks with France's Total (TOTF.PA) and Britain's BP (BP.L) over oil and gas exploration, its energy ministry said on Saturday, aiming to add to major companies active in its thriving energy sector.

Exxon Mobil said on Friday it will wind down drilling in Russia's Arctic in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting Western cooperation with Moscow's oil sector, after the Obama administration granted a brief extension to safely mothball its operations.

Total, Europe's third-biggest oil company, will purchase a 61.3% stake in InterOil Corp.'s liquified natural gas project in Papua New Guinea. The acquisition deal is worth USD3.6 billion.

US oil major Exxon Mobil will sign over its 25% stake in Iraq's West Qurna1 oilfield project to China's largest energy company PetroChina. Exxon previously offered to sell its entire stake in the oilfield following a disagreement with Iraq's central government.

CLP Holdings said it will be purchasing stakes in Castle Peak Power Co and Hong Kong Pumped Storage Development Co for a price tag of USD 1.8 billion.

Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc has purchased 40.1 million shares in the world's largest publicly traded oil company Exxon Mobil Corp in a deal worth USD 3.45 billion.

Apple became the world’s most valuable company once more Thursday.