SYDNEY / Reuters Australia’s central bank left interest rates at record lows on Tuesday, the longest stretch without a change in almost three decades, and looked set to extend this period of “masterful inaction” for some time yet. As widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) ended its April policy meeting with the benchmark rate at 1.5 percent, where …

Bloomberg Indonesia’s incoming central bank governor vowed to ensure the stability of the currency as emerging markets brace for further volatility on the back of rising interest rates in the US and elsewhere. The Indonesian parliament on Tuesday confirmed Perry Warjiyo, 59, as the next governor of Bank Indonesia following last week’s endorsement of lawmakers from a committee responsible for …

Bloomberg United Parcel Service Inc. was already in trouble with Wall Street over a long-term investment plan to cope with soaring e-commerce. Now the company is clashing with its pilots union because of a short-term fix for the same challenge. Aviators are angry that UPS has turned to third-party cargo airlines to help make up for a shortage of aircraft …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. fell on April 2 after a fresh round of critical comments from President Donald Trump and a Republican senator. In his latest Twitter rant, Trump said “Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed. Also, our fully tax paying retailers …

Bloomberg Casino Guichard Perrachon SA and Auchan Retail are in exclusive talks to form a global purchasing alliance to help them negotiate better prices as competition in the French grocery market increases. The partnership would cover major national and international consumer-goods makers, the companies said in a statement. They expect it would help fuel the development of French suppliers abroad …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc. is in early talks about a deal for closely held PillPack, an online startup that could help grow the retail giant’s pharmacy offerings, according to people familiar with the situation. PillPack and Walmart declined to comment. CNBC first reported the talks, and said the price being discussed was less than $1 billion. It’s not clear if the …

Bloomberg From Ralph Lauren to Calvin Klein, America’s biggest fashion labels are pinning their hopes on a blue jean revival. Across the industry, fashion brands are renewing their focus on denim, betting the wardrobe staple can be a major sales driver as jeans battle stretchy pants for supremacy from the waist down. The jeanmaking industry has been just as distressed …

DAMMAM / WAM The MENA region has committed $345 billion to critical energy projects under execution while an additional $574 billion worth of development is pla- nned over the next five years, bringing total committed and planned investments up to $919 billion to meet growing demand and demographic and urban expansions, according to MENA Energy Investment Outlook, issued by Arab …

Bloomberg Damac Properties Dubai Co. hired banks including Barclays Plc and HSBC Bank Plc for a possible sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, according to people familiar with the matter. The second-largest listed real estate developer in Dubai is expected to hire more banks to arrange the debt sale, which may happen as soon as this month, said the people, …

Bloomberg US stocks dropped in light trading as the weakness in technology shares persisted amid renewed presidential criticism of Amazon.com and retaliatory tariffs from China. The dollar held steady and Treasury yields climbed. The S&P 500 Index slumped after its first quarterly retreat since 2015, with volumes 17 percent below average. The Nasdaq 100 Index lost more than 1.5 percent …