Retail

  New York / AFP Retail group Gap Inc. said it would shutter 75 stores this year amid sagging sales, including 53 of its kids-focused Old Navy brand outlets in Japan. Announcing a fall in first quarter earnings, the San Francisco-based retailer also warned that it might not achieve previous earnings forecasts for this year given the headwinds buffeting the apparel …

  London / AFP British retail sales jumped by 1.3 percent in April from a month earlier, official figures showed on Thursday, handing a boost to the economy following a string of weak data. Sales by volume shot higher last month compared with a drop of 0.5 percent in March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. March’s …

  Washington / Bloomberg General Electric Co.’s top executive sees power generation and renewable energy buoying profits as the industrial giant struggles with persistent challenges in the oil and gas market. The non-petroleum energy units could boost sales by at least 10 percent this year as the company sees “strong” order prospects for equipment and services, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey …

  London / Bloomberg Burberry Group Plc unveiled a multi-year turnaround plan based on a narrower product range, its biggest cost purge in years and a sharper focus on bags and online sales, after lowering profit expectations for the second time in a month. Earnings for the year ending in March are likely to be near the bottom of the …

  New York / Bloomberg Roger Dubuis, whose watches cost an average of $60,000, is shrugging off a slump in Swiss timepiece exports to the US by pushing ahead with a North American expansion. The 21-year-old brand, part of the Swiss Cie Financiere Richemont SA luxury-goods group, opened its first retail store in New York in November and is planning …

  London / AFP British telecoms giant Vodafone on Tuesday posted its first annual rise in operating profits in eight years, boosted by growth in Europe and emerging markets. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 2.7 percent to £11.6 billion ($16.7 billion, 14.7 billion euros) in the year to March, Vodafone said in a results statement. That was …

Ottawa / Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. has turned a corner and its deal with Delta Air Lines Inc. makes federal aid for the Canadian plane maker less urgent, Quebec’s finance minister said. Delta’s $5.6 billion agreement to purchase at least 75 C Series jets will help Montreal-based Bombardier promote the plane and win more orders, Carlos Leitao said in an interview …

  shanghai / bloomberg HNA Group Co., the Chinese conglomerate that controls the country’s fourth-largest airline, is in exclusive talks with the biggest shareholder of CWT Ltd. for a potential acquisition of shares in the Singapore-based logistics company. There is no certainty that the negotiations will result in an agreement, CWT said on Monday. The company’s shares rose after the …

  Taipei / Bloomberg Acer’s announcement that it will work with the Swedish games maker Starbreeze to produce a virtual-reality headset could be the ailing PC maker’s most brilliant move in years. Or it could be a colossal failure. According to their joint release, the companies plan to form a joint venture to design, make and sell the StarVR headset. …

  Unterhaching / AFP Out with the cardboard boxes, rough forklift crates and no-frills warehouse look — in with cozy wood panelling, natural light and chilled fruit smoothies at the breakfast bar. Aldi, Germany’s original discount supermarket chain, is getting a major facelift — spelling the end of an era, at least in design terms, for the traditional first-stop shop of …