Dubai / Reuters The naming of a new boss at Etihad Airways presents the Gulf carrier with an opportunity to rethink its expansion strategy after the failure of minority-owned Alitalia underlined the big barriers to global growth. Ray Gammell was appointed interim CEO this week, days after Alitalia sought bankruptcy protection with $3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) of debt. He replaces …

Bloomberg Aimia Inc., operator of loyalty programme Aeroplan, plunged as much as 65 percent after Air Canada said it will cut ties with the company in 2020 and launch its own rewards plan. The shares dropped 57 percent to C$3.88 in Toronto after earlier falling to C$3.13 in the biggest intraday decline since they started trading in 2005. Air Canada …

Bloomberg Welcome to the club, J.C. Penney Co. The company joined department-store rivals such as Macy’s Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. in reporting disappointing sales for the first quarter, sending its shares down as much as 11 percent. The results confirm that weak sales were a universal phenomenon for US department stores last quarter, even among upscale players like Nordstrom Inc. …