Berlin / AFP German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday that its net profits had almost doubled in the third quarter, boosted by a pensions deal with cabin staff. Net profits soared to 1.42 billion euros ($1.5 billion) between July and September. Last month, Lufthansa raised its profit forecast for the year, after recording better than expected demand from business ...

  Bloomberg Avianca Holdings SA is studying options including the sale of a controlling stake and is set to receive bids next week from suitors including Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc., people familiar with the matter said. The offers, due by November 9, may include about $500 million in new capital for Bogota-based Avianca, plus a ...

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc plans to start flights from Frankfurt Airport, marking its first foray into one of Europe’s top aviation hubs and laying down a challenge to Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which has its main base there. Discount giant Ryanair will unveil the strategy at a joint press conference with airport operator Fraport AG on Wednesday, according to invitations ...

  Bloomberg Aerion Corp., backed by Texas billionaire Robert Bass, has hit a snag in one of the most crucial milestones toward building the first business jet able to fly faster than the speed of sound. The selection of an engine supplier for the plane, which Bass once said would occur in the first half of this year, is now ...

  Zhuhai / AFP Aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus took potshots at one another at the Zhuhai air show, as the US and European rivals seek to capture more of China’s booming aircraft market. China is one of the Western manufacturers’ key battlegrounds, with its travellers taking to the skies in ever-growing numbers. The country’s airlines will need nearly 6,000 ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Standard Chartered’s Islamic division is seeking banking licences in three African countries in order to offer its services to the continent’s large Muslim population. Standard Chartered Saadiq could enter at least one of these markets – Nigeria, Botswana and Zambia – as early as 2017, Mohammad Ali Allawalla, who is head of Islamic banking for retail ...

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG’s investment banking business is set to have its best year advising on Middle Eastern deals in at least a decade as the firm’s new strategy in the region pays off. The bank is ranked first as an adviser on deals for Middle Eastern and African targets so far this year, according to data compiled by ...

  Frankfurt / AFP The European Central Bank’s easy-money policy has let eurozone governments delay key reforms, a German expert panel said on Wednesday, urging the Frankfurt institution to ease off the massive stimulus spending. “The extent of monetary easing in the euro area is no longer appropriate given the region’s economic recovery,” the German Council of Economic Experts said ...

  London / AFP Almost three quarters of British bankers believe London will still be the financial centre of Europe in five years’ time, despite risks surrounding Brexit, according to a study published Wednesday. US financial services firm Synechron, which carried out the research with the TABB Group, said it questioned 80 capital markets executives in banks based in Britain. ...

  Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Samuel Tsien said surging compliance costs are one factor spurring him to expand his Asian wealth-management business, at a time when some overseas competitors are retreating. That’s because the rapidly expanding costs of complying with anti-money laundering, tax-compliance and other regulatory requirements — rising by 35 percent annually across the whole bank ...