Bloomberg South African banks are preparing for the worst when it comes to the threat of another downgrade of the country’s debt. “FirstRand anticipated the downgrades since 2015 and has been working on a number of proactive strategies to mitigate the impact,” said Andries du Toit, the treasurer at Johannesburg-based FirstRand Ltd., the country’s second-biggest bank by assets. The measures …

Bloomberg Airbus SE announced the biggest commercial-plane transaction in its history, securing an order for single-aisle aircraft valued at nearly $50 billion at the Dubai Airshow, outdoing Boeing Co.’s own $20 billion mega-deal. Wednesday’s pact for 430 A320neo planes with US investor Indigo Partners marked a turnaround for Airbus at the Gulf expo, where it had been trailing its rival. …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co.’s new 737 Max jets will offer the latest and greatest in flying efficiency from Boeing Co.—at least once all the kinks are worked out. In its first month of flying, the 10 Max planes in Southwest’s fleet ranked behind its more seasoned aircraft for on-time performance. While the hiccups weren’t serious, they served as a reminder …