Bloomberg European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet confirmed that next week’s policy meeting will be pivotal for reaching a decision on when to end the institution’s bond-buying program. His comments reinforce the view that the ECB is close to settling the question of how long it will keep buying debt to support the euro-area economy. Bloomberg reported that policy ...

Bloomberg Polish rate setters kept borrowing costs unchanged, sticking to a wait-and-see policy that may last into the next decade as the central bank diverges from other countries in the region already tightening monetary policy. Below-forecast inflation and higher-than-estimated economic growth have given the Monetary Policy Council all it needs to stick with Governor Adam Glapinski’s stance that rates may ...

Bloomberg Emirates aircraft are synonymous with luxury, offering premium-class passengers shower on board while cruising at 30,000 feet. Now the carrier wants to give some legroom for those flying coach. The world’s biggest long-haul airline outlined details of a new premium economy seat that it plans to help stem “leakage” of passengers who can’t afford business, but want a more ...

Bloomberg South African Airways is offering surplus pilots and cabin crew to major global carriers as part of a bid to cut costs and secure alliances in its three-year turnaround plan. SAA, as the unprofitable state-owned company is known, needs fewer staff of its own as it scraps under-performing routes, and views the experienced personnel as a path to discussions ...

Bloomberg With more than 100 languages and the ambition to connect even its smallest villages by air, India has become a testing ground for a new software being developed by Honeywell International Inc. that aims to make it easier to understand pilots speaking English with strong local accents. The conglomerate is, at the behest of the government, developing software that ...

Bloomberg The cleanup continues at Hudson’s Bay Co., the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue. The struggling Canadian retailer agreed to sell Gilt, a flash-sale, e-commerce company it bought two years ago that has become one of its worst-performing businesses. The buyer, Rue La La, announced the purchase on Monday without disclosing a price, and said it plans to run the ...

Bloomberg In its rush to find a buyer earlier this year and avoid liquidation, bankrupt Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. landed on a familiar name: Sycamore Partners, according to people familiar with the matter. The private-equity firm, which had already scooped up several troubled retailers, held advanced talks with Toys ‘R’ Us about acquiring the chain and keeping open half its ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Arab Coalition in Support of Legitimacy in Yemen has said that the Iranian-backed Houthi militias are currently suffering from wide isolation and facing difficulty in enlisting recruits, a fact reflected in the great losses they sustained in the Yemeni districts of Al-Hodeidah and Saada. In a news conference in Saudi Arabia, the official spokesman of ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on organising a number of Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) learning programme courses in 2018. The MoU states that a minimum of nine IAEE CEM learning programme courses will be organised, in ...

DUBAI / WAM The health of the UAE’s non-oil private sector improved at the fastest rate in four months in May. Sharper growth in both output and new orders were the key drivers behind the latest expansion, according to the latest UAE PMI survey. Furthermore, new export business reached a 30-month high alongside reports of stronger demand from neighbouring GCC ...