Bloomberg The beginning of a new year is always a good time to rethink your travel rewards strategy—but never more so than 2021. With the travel industry experiencing continued disruption from the coronavirus pandemic and hamstrung vaccine rollouts threatening to extend border closures even longer than expected, airlines and hotels are offering unprecedented deals to secure business (and loyalty) in ...

Bloomberg Birkenstock, the German company behind the iconic sandals worn by hippies and preppies alike, is in talks to be taken over by CVC Capital Partners, according to people familiar with the matter. The private equity firm is in advanced negotiations with the family owners of the nearly 250-year-old brand, according to the people, who asked not to be identified ...

Bloomberg President-elect Joe Biden was expected to arrive in Washington, the eve of his inauguration, with the usual backdrop of celebrations and political comity replaced by a military lockdown. Biden was expected to spend the night at Blair House, the guest residence across the street from the White House — one of just a few traditions being honoured during the ...

Bloomberg The Taliban has called on President-elect Joe Biden to honour a US agreement to withdraw all the American forces from Afghanistan by May in order to secure intra-Afghan peace talks and end two-decade-long war. “Steps must now be taken to end the war, not to prolong it, and the agreement was made for the purpose,” Mohammad Naeem, a senior ...

Bloomberg Russia vowed to ignore US and European calls to free jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny after he urged Western governments to sanction key allies of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny, 44, identified eight people as potential targets for punitive measures, including billionaire Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich and tycoon Alisher Usmanov as well as top officials, in a list ...

Bloomberg Sudanese forces quelled latest inter-communal clashes in Darfur, a state governor said, as authorities grapple with violence that’s killed more than 100 people in broader region after peacekeepers began withdrawing. A joint military force managed to control fighting that erupted between Arab and non-Arab communities in South Darfur and left dozens dead and wounded, state-run news agency reported, citing ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) needs to find new ways to recapitalise businesses so that the hole on corporate balance sheets doesn’t derail the recovery, according to a financial-industry group. Companies face an equity shortfall of as much as $724 billion, as existing government programs and private funding won’t suffice to fully cover the roughly 1 trillion euros ($1.21 trillion) ...

Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak can’t afford to wait for the budget on March 3 to provide extra support for hobbled UK firms, according to the UK’s biggest business lobby group. With Britain back in a severe lockdown, urgent action is needed to help companies survive, the Confederation of British Industry said in a letter to the Chancellor ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) risks squandering the potential of its recovery fund unless spending is properly policed, according to the biggest business lobby groups in eight Nordic and Baltic countries. The 27-member bloc agreed on a 750 billion-euro ($907 billion) pandemic relief package in December to help end the worst recession on record. The money is also supposed to ...

Bloomberg European car sales plunged the most on record last year as relatively resilient demand in the second half did only so much to make up for the collapse during the initial outbreak of Covid-19. New-vehicle registrations fall 24%, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Tuesday, the biggest annual drop since records began in 1990. A strong finish to ...