Dallas / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and said it would speed retirement of its oldest Boeing 737s to better manage pilot training for a new model of the plane. Earnings excluding some items climbed 88 cents a share, beating the 84-cent average of analyst estimates that were recently compiled. Sales rose 9.3 ...

  Bloomberg AutoNation Inc., the largest auto retailer in the US, reversed early-morning losses to reach a five-week high after convincing investors it can weather a plateau in new-vehicle sales and rebound from a quarter that missed analyst expectations. Shares in the dealership group rose 3 percent to $49.49 after touching $50.24, the highest intraday price since March 14. The ...

  Bloomberg Canada’s consumer is showing no signs of letting up. Retailers are off to the best start of the year since 2005, and consumer price pressures are stronger than anticipated, data show. That adds to evidence that households are leading a rebound in growth that’s on track to be among the fastest in the Group of Seven this year. ...

  LONDON / Reuters Lebara, the mobile phone group often seen selling SIM cards to new arrivals at major railway stations in Europe, says its knowledge of a group largely ignored by major brands will help it also sell digital services like online TV to them. The privately owned group targets the thousands of people who arrive in London, Amsterdam ...

  PARIS / Reuters Zodiac Aerospace has announced shortening of average delays in aircraft seat production to days rather than months, sending its shares higher in a respite from factory congestion which disrupted airplane deliveries. The French aircraft interiors and systems manufacturer said it was on track to get its seats business back to normal within 18 months and also ...

  Tokyo / Bloomberg As the average age of farmers globally creeps higher and retirement looms, Japan has a solution: Robots and driver-less tractors. The Group-of-Seven agriculture ministers met in Japan’s northern prefecture of Niigata for the first time in seven years to discuss how to meet increasing food demand as aging farmers retire without successors. With the average age ...

New Mexico / DPA While Spaceport America, which claims to be the world’s first commercial spaceport, hasn’t yet launched any tourists into space, ordinary mortals can already tour the site. The futuristic building designed by rockstar architect Norman Foster is located in the middle of the desert in the US state of New Mexico. Here, it is hoped, rich tourists ...

  Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business Kodak Alaris was created on September 3, 2013, by the UK Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) after it had taken over the Kodak Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses from Eastman Kodak Company. Alaris is licenced to use the Kodak brand. Kodak Alaris is driven by the simple belief that ‘we can always find a ...

  Our Correspondent / EMIRATES BUSINESS Officine Panerai, although established in Florence, Italy, has its strong base in UAE as well. The watch brand has created designs which are inspired from the skyline of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. With two new watches retailed exclusively at Panerai boutiques in The Galleria, Sowwah Square and the Dubai Mall, the brand is ...

  DUBAI / WAM Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Saturday inspected the workflow of the final stages of Dubai Parks and Resort project, the largest integrated theme park destination in the Middle East. The project, that cost more than AED10 billion, is spread across 25 million square ...