Bloomberg Y Combinator, the startup accelerator and investment firm that helped produce Airbnb, Dropbox, and Instacart, is embarking on a creation project arguably more ambitious than any company. “We want to build cities,” wrote Y Combinator partner Adora Cheung and President Sam Altman in an announcement slated for release Monday. YC Research, Y Combinator’s nonprofit arm, plans to solicit ...

  Singapore / Bloomberg Within weeks of India easing aviation rules, Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s local venture is charting a course to take on carriers from the Middle East. It’s counting on a surge in international traffic from the world’s fastest growing major air-travel market. Vistara, in which the city-state’s flag carrier owns 49 percent, is considering buying or leasing wide ...

  Tokyo / Bloomberg Line Corp., Japan’s most popular mobile-messaging service, and its owners are aiming to raise as much as $1.1 billion in what could become the biggest technology initial public offering globally this year. Backed by South Korean search portal Naver Corp., Line and its existing investors are offering 35 million shares at 2,700 yen to 3,200 yen ...

  New York / Bloomberg Allegiant Airlines is taking advantage of a regulatory decision lifting some flight restrictions at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, starting service to four destinations in November. It will be Allegiant’s first flights in the New York City market, said Lukas Johnson, a vice president for parent Allegiant Travel Co. The carrier will fly ...

  Ankara / Bloomberg Short sellers are targeting Turkish Airlines as it presses on with expanding capacity while the country’s tourism industry withers. As much as 13.8 percent of the company’s shares that are available for trading are out on loan to short sellers betting they will fall in value, according to Markit Ltd. That’s the highest on record for ...

  Few analysts following developments at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary in South Korea expected India’s membership bid to sail through. As the dust settles, what is clear is that Xi Jinping’s China differs considerably from Hu Jintao’s China. The latter did not want to stand alone; the former is on the path to establishing China as the challenger ...

  At the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed the threats posed by “destructive change” and the countless opportunities offered by “creative change” in the Eurasian landscape and its emerging continental economy. He told his counterparts that “our greatest common project is the revival of the Silk Roads,” whose main gateway is ...

  DUBAI / WAM Emirates Airlin announced that its service between Dubai and Dakar, currently operated by an Airbus A340-300, will be replaced with a Boeing 777-300ER from September 2. The change to the larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will offer an enhanced onboard experience for Emirates’ Senegalese customers and those travelling to Dakar from across the airline’s network. The aircraft ...

  DUBAI / WAM Mashreq, one of the UAE’s leading banks, announced on Monday that it will begin construction of its new corporate headquarters later this year. The Bank, which has been headquartered out of Deira since it began operations almost 50 years ago, will now be headquartered in Downtown Dubai. Arabian Construction Company (ACC) will construct the new tower, ...

  DUBAI / WAM The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) will launch the 2nd TRA Innovation Camp next month aimed at spreading innovation and creativity culture among young students, through a set of activities and targeted events throughout the UAE. The camp, which will receive children from age 6 years to 17, aims to spread the culture of innovation and creativity ...