Sometimes blowout earnings aren’t enough. For the third quarter in a row, Facebook Inc and Apple Inc generated billions upon billions in profits and flexed the power of their dominant businesses. Despite the impressive showings, the market reacted with a shrug — and perhaps for good reason. Both technology companies reported strong quarterly earnings that handily beat Wall Street expectations. ...

What happens to a global financial centre when hundreds of thousands of residents head for the door? The jury is still out on London after its Brexit- and pandemic-inspired exodus. Now it’s Hong Kong’s turn to pose the question. The UK started taking applications from January 31 under a new immigration program for Hong Kong residents, introduced in response to ...

At best, President Joe Biden’s new commitment to “Buy American” is largely symbolic and won’t change much in practice. At worst, it marks a real intention to raise new import barriers, and poses a threat to international cooperation on trade. In either case, it represents a failure to explain to the country where its interests really lie. On the face ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc sought to shoot down Germany’s multibillion euro bailout for Deutsche Lufthansa AG, asking a European Union court to cancel EU approval. Germany’s 6 billion-euro ($7.3 billion) recapitalisation and a state guarantee for a 3 billion-euro loan “discriminates unlawfully between EU airlines,” Ryanair said in an emailed statement. The carrier filed its challenge at the EU’s General ...

Bloomberg Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is introducing sweeping new restrictions on international travel in a bid to stem the spread of new variants of Covid-19 into the country. The country’s largest airlines have agreed to suspend flights to the Caribbean and Mexico for three months, Trudeau said at a press conference in Ottawa. Travellers coming into Canada will now ...

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings notified 14,000 employees that their jobs will be at risk in April after the second round of federal payroll support expires, saying the coronavirus pandemic still weighs heavily on the travel outlook. The new notices cover every work group except pilots, United said. Last month, US airlines recalled furloughed workers after Congress renewed federal aid for ...

Bloomberg Cuba will make travellers quarantine under a new set of restrictions announced after coronavirus cases surged this month in the Caribbean’s largest island. Tourists, businesspeople and foreign diplomats are among those who will be forced to isolate at their own expense in government-approved hotels upon arriving, according to a statement on the health ministry’s website. Starting from February 6, ...

Bloomberg British bootmaker Dr Martens Plc soared in London trading after owner Permira Holdings and other shareholders raised 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in an initial public offering, cashing in on the lasting popularity of its cult footwear. The stock surged 22% to close at 450 pence after pricing its IPO at 370 pence, the top end of an initial ...

Bloomberg Toys “R” Us has once again disappeared from America’s retail landscape. The former industry titan recently closed its only two US stores, including a location in New Jersey, according to a spokeswoman. The outlets were opened in late 2019 by Tru Kids Inc, an entity that acquired the brand’s intellectual property during the retail giant’s 2018 liquidation. The new ...

Bloomberg Supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny are staging the second wave of national protests in a week as a Russian court prepares to hand President Vladimir Putin’s chief critic a possible 3 1/2 year prison term. Navalny, who defied threats of arrest to return in mid-January from Germany after a nerve-agent attack he said was an attempt by ...