Schlumberger takes $12 billion charge as CEO charts new course

(Reuters) - Schlumberger NV's new chief executive wielded an axe to the company's asset-heavy businesses, taking a $12.7 billion (9.84 billion pounds) charge in the face of weaker shale drilling and sliding profits.The move by Olivier Le Peuch writes down his predecessors' big investments that took the world's largest oilfield services company deeper into shale and oilfield operations and shows that he intends to shift the company toward more asset-light software and services-driven..