National Oilwell Varco beat estimates for its fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as the oilfield services provider cut costs to counter an ongoing decline in North American drilling activity. Lower crude prices and investor demand for higher returns have forced U.S. oil and gas companies to hold off on drilling, hurting earnings of companies that provide drilling and fracking services. The company took charges of $537 million in impairment and restructuring in the quarter due to declines in...

BENGALURU/NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. shale gas producers are ripe for further spending cuts and write-downs, investors and analysts said, with prices at four-year lows and China's rejection of some gas imports weighing on earnings. Natural gas production in the United States is at record levels, outpacing domestic consumption and leading to global supply glut. At the same time, China, the world's largest importer of gas, has turned away shipments with its demand forecast to rise at the...

Macy's Inc said on Tuesday it plans to close 125 of its least productive stores over the next three years and cut more than 2,000 corporate jobs as a part of its cost savings effort. The company said it would close stores in lower tier malls, and explore new off-mall formats, as it looks to tackle plummeting mall traffic in the United States. The department store chain, which has been struggling to boost store traffic as consumers opt for online shopping, has closed more than 100 stores since...

A new IoT solution from SAP seeks to reduce the risk of sports injuries. Developed in Silicon Valley, the Injury Risk Monitor was introduced during the Cricket World Cup in Australia this year. Raj Valame, vice president of Customer Innovation and Strategic Projects, speaks about the solution and its potential impact on athletes’ performance and careers. What problem does the Injury Risk Monitor seek to address? An injury to a critical player can take away the competitive advantage of a team...

Zero harm and injury is a goal that mining companies have long strived for. By using sensors, analytics, and wearable devices, a new solution enables faster detection and reaction to safety threats, making zero harm achievable. Part of the IoT kickstarter program at the SAP Co-innovation Lab in Silicon Valley, this product is being developed jointly by SAP, wearable technology firm Vandrico, and SAP systems integration and management consultancy Illumiti. In this interview, we learn about the...