Among that sad subset of people whose hobby over the last few months has been speculating about Joe Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California was always in the lead. There’s a reason for that: She checks all the boxes. Biden said he was going to choose a woman. The next logical question, once he made that declaration, was ...

The question of herd immunity — specifically, whether some cities and regions are acquiring it sooner than expected and thus have higher than expected protection against Covid-19 — has been attracting more attention lately. Even if this hypothesis is true, however, it still leaves the world with some truly significant challenges and mandates a continuing vigorous fight against the pandemic. ...

France’s experience of Covid-19 has been one of logistical public-service highs and infantilising, bureaucratic lows. Its springtime lockdown, one of the strictest in Europe, saved lives and protected overloaded hospitals but also punished people for leaving home without the right authorisation form or jogging at the wrong hour. The government fretted about panic-buying so much that even purchases of nicotine ...

The pandemic has asked many difficult questions of Europe’s governments, from whether to close down schools to which companies to bail out. As economies continue to open up, politicians face a new daunting choice: Should they leave their employment furlough schemes in place? These support programs have kept workers in their jobs (artificially) at a vast cost to the public ...

Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd shares extended their double-digit rally after a Chinese state-run newspaper tweeted that Hong Kong’s airport may restart transfer flights to mainland China, a move that could inject the beleaguered carrier with some much-needed travelers. Cathay climbed more than 13%, its biggest intraday gain in two months, as the Global Times said on Twitter that the ...

Bloomberg British Airways (BA) said it reached a preliminary agreement with labour groups representing some ground-based employees as it seeks to cut costs and ride out a deep slowdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. BA has signed outline deals with the Unite and GMB unions that cover engineers and customer-facing staff at its London Heathrow hub, Chief Executive Officer Alex ...

Bloomberg Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc warned of a new manufacturing defect after finding cracks in turbines that power Airbus SE’s A350 jet, an unwelcome development after years of engine problems racked up billions in costs. The glitch concerns compressor blades on XWB engines in service on the A350 for four or five years, Rolls-Royce said in a statement. It said the ...

Bloomberg Bankrupt Brooks Brothers Group Inc is on the verge of being sold to a partnership that includes the new owner of Barneys New York and one of the biggest US mall operators. Sparc Group which is backed by Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group Inc, is expected to be the winning bidder after rivals including WHP Global dropped ...

Bloomberg Canada Goose Holdings dropped as much as 9% after the company said activity was slow in its reopened stores, raising concerns about demand ahead of the key winter season. The company said it will focus new store openings this year on mainland China, “where the recovery of traffic remains ahead of other markets.” The height of the crisis hit ...

Bloomberg London’s Heathrow blamed the UK government for July traffic figures that show scant evidence of a recovery in demand at what’s normally Europe’s busiest travel hub. The imposition of a 14-day quarantine for people arriving from countries with high Covid-19 infection rates means Britain is effectively cut off from markets including the US, Canada and Singapore, Heathrow said in ...