DALLAS / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. pilots are seeking pay raises that would give them the highest compensation in the industry plus a bigger company contribution to retirement savings, according to a contract proposal presented to the carrier. The pay increases would average 4.1 percent annually for a compound gain of almost 33 percent over seven years under the plan …

Bloomberg Kingfisher, Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, beat forecasts with a 0.3 percent rise in annual profit, though it said it remained cautious on the outlook for France, its most profitable market. The firm, which trades as B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said on Wednesday it made an underlying pretax …

Bloomberg The corn that is a food staple for much of southern Africa is now so expensive it has become something many can’t afford, after the worst drought in three decades damaged crops from Ethiopia to South Africa. In Malawi, one of a dozen nations affected by the dry spell, Meleniya Mateyu says she has to forage for wild water-lily …