Hedging its bets, Pioneer shines in struggling U.S. oil patch

During the U.S. shale boom, fortune favored the bold drillers that discovered and pumped oil fastest. Today the winners are producers like Pioneer Natural Resources who best shielded themselves from tumbling prices. Using derivative transactions known as swaps and collars, the Texas-based firm locked in a minimum price for 85 percent of this year’s production. …

Chinese stocks enter bear market – Jan. 15, 2016

Chinese stocks have fallen into bear market territory. The Shanghai Composite ended the week the way it started, dropping as worries persisted about China’s cooling economy and sinking currency. It closed down 3.6% Friday, more than 20% below its recent high in December, the threshold for a bear market. Other Asian indexes also slipped, despite …