Shell misses expectations as earnings plunge on oil, BG costs

By Karolin Schaps and Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell missed quarterly profit expectations by more than $1 billion on Thursday after reporting a 72 percent plunge in earnings due to weak oil prices and high costs following its $54 billion takeover of BG Group. Shell's second-quarter current cost of supplies - its definition of net income - was $1 billion, much lower than the $2.1 billion expected by analysts. "Lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across