Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. is set to pull off an aviation high-wire act as it sends 30 of its oldest planes to a desert graveyard just 24 hours before launching the newest version of its staple 737 jetliner. The changeover will usher in the latest fresh start for Boeing Co.’s bread-and-butter passenger plane, extending Southwest’s almost 50-year dedication to the ...

Bloomberg Bombardier Inc., the Canadian planemaker facing US import duties on its C Series jet, is nearing a deal to sell at least 14 of the planes to Air Baltic Corp. in an order with a list value of about $1.25 billion. The carrier is set to buy CS300 models “definitely before the end of next year,” Air Baltic Chief ...

Bloomberg Airlines worldwide were forced to delay flights as a global flight-bookings system operated by Amadeus IT Group SA suffered what the company called a “network issue.” Carriers including British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways were among those impacted, with Dutch operator KLM delaying at least 24 departures. Singapore’s Changi airport said via Twitter that ...

Bloomberg The World Trade Organization approved Brazil’s request to investigate Canada’s alleged use of more than $3 billion in government subsidies to produce Bombardier Inc. aircraft. The South American nation began WTO consultations in February, saying Canada ran afoul of trade rules because its policies unfairly bolstered the domestic aerospace industry to the detriment of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA. Canada ...

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has just fired a broadside in the battle for your baby’s bottom. The world’s biggest retailer is going after the new parents who typically shop at rival Target Corp. with dozens of new products for infants—including bedding and a softer, more absorbent diaper that took more than a year to design. Wal-Mart said that it’s overhauling ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The total value of remittances by foreign workers in the UAE reached some AED78 billion during the first half of 2017, representing 48.5 percent of the total balance of payments in the country in 2016 of AED160.8 billion. The UAE Central Bank announced that the same figure reached AED40.8 billion during the second quarter of 2017, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced that the UAE was ranked first in the ‘Efficiency of Government Spending’ index, a sub-criteria of the World Competitiveness Report 2017- issued by the World Economic Forum (Davos) in Switzerland, having ranked second for three previous years. Since 2010, the UAE has achieved high rankings among the top 10 countries in ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Waha Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company, has acquired a significant minority stake in Dubai-based Channel VAS, a rapidly growing financial technology company. Waha Capital’s new investment is approximately $55 million. The acquisition adds to the diversification of Waha Capital’s principal investment portfolio, which holds stakes in several companies, including New York-listed aircraft leasing firm AerCap ...

Dubai / WAM The planned Excise Tax is set to go into effect at the beginning of October 2017, announced the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) at a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday. The new tax will be imposed on carbonated drinks by 50%, and tobacco products by 100% and energy drinks by 100%. The tax affects specific “Excise” goods ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi is to become home to the first-of-its-kind Government Academy in the UAE. The launch came during the UAE Government Annual Meetings under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive ...