VENTURE CAPITAL POST

A global oil glut is building as OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia pumps near record highs in an attempt to win a market-share battle against stubbornly resistant U.S. shale production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

Wall Street closed lower on Monday as investors fretted about Greece's precarious financial condition and slowing growth in China, while energy stocks fell on weaker oil prices.

China overtook the United States as the world's top importer of crude oil for the first time in April, and its purchases are expected to remain strong despite a slowing economy, with far-reaching consequences for global oil and commodities markets.

China's interest rate cut kept shares worldwide near record highs on Monday, though euro zone bourses, bonds and the euro were pegged back by a lack of progress in resolving Greece’s financing woes.

Global investment banks are scrambling to get a piece of the action from India's booming technology start-ups, having missed out on the initial flurry of deal-making to their better-connected but much smaller domestic rivals.

China will increase its healthcare subsidies by 19 percent this year as part of efforts to deepen social reforms and strengthen safety nets, the government said on Saturday.

China's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate on Sunday for the third time since November, as economic growth cools to levels not seen since the global financial crisis.

China's Tiens Group Co. Ltd is treating more than half of its 12,000 employees to a four-day holiday in France and has booked up 140 hotels in the capital Paris as part of the package, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.

China's crude oil imports hit a record high in April as falling prices encouraged stockpiling, but coal imports plunged and shipments of other commodities generally eased on a year earlier amid a sluggish economy.

Energy, transport and finance deals are likely to be on the agenda as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a three-day visit to Russia, where he will attend World War Two commemorations.

Bombardier Inc outlined plans to list a minority stake in its rail unit on Thursday, as it reported a quarterly profit that topped market expectations. The initial public offering is expected to take place in the fourth quarter and the main listing is likely to be in Germany, where its rail business is headquartered.

China has put in place rules to protect private investors and expand opportunities in infrastructure and utility projects, the country's top planning agency said on Tuesday, as the government seeks help revitalizing a stuttering economy.

A surge in imports lifted the U.S. trade deficit in March to its highest level in nearly 6-1/2 years, suggesting the economy contracted in the first quarter.

China's factories suffered their fastest drop in activity in a year in April as new orders shrank, a private business survey showed on Monday, hardening the case for fresh stimulus measures to halt a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Central bankers and finance ministers from China, Japan and South Korea said on Sunday they remained committed to policies to support demand in the face of moderate and uneven global growth.