Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. delayed orders for 23 of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max 7 aircraft, casting doubt on the future of the smallest Max variant as it adds 40 Max 8 deliveries valued at nearly $4.5 billion. Pushing most of its Max 7 orders out until 2023 and 2024 probably means that the carrier is trying to decide whether it …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc’s passenger growth advanced at the slowest rate since 2014 in 2017 after it canceled thousands of flights to cope with a staffing crunch, sparking outrage among consumers and regulators. The 2017 customer tally was 129 million, or 2 million less than initially forecast, according to a statement from Ryanair on Wednesday, with December’s performance the worst …

Bloomberg Two US airlines—American and Southwest—joined the tide of companies offering employees $1,000 bonuses to mark the tax overhaul Congress put in place for 2018. American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. announced the bonuses after the close of business. AAON, US Bancorp, Commerce Bancshares Inc. and Zions Bancorporation were among the companies touting similar moves. Banks, insurers and …

Bloomberg Next Plc brought some cheer to UK retailers struggling with Brexit-related costs and the rise of online shopping, reporting stronger-than-expected Christmas sales and lifting its profit guidance. Shares of the apparel and home-furnishings chain, the first major British retailer to report on the holiday season, rose as much as 9.9 percent after it said price pressure would ease over …

DUBAI / WAM Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) received a high-level delegation from Saudi Aramco company. The meeting heightened cooperation between the two organisations, with Saudi Aramco able to review practices and expertise at DEWA, including benchmarking and key performance indicators. The delegation included Khalid Al Salouli, Aramco Director and Head …

SINGAPORE/ Reuters Oil prices posted their strongest start to a year since 2014 on Tuesday, with crude rising to mid-2015 highs amid large anti-government rallies in Iran and ongoing supply cuts led by OPEC and Russia. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded broadly flat at around $60.40 a barrel by 1425 GMT after hitting $60.74 earlier in the …

Bloomberg Russia’s oil industry continued its long-term expansion last year, with production hitting a record even as President Vladimir Putin joined forces with OPEC to clear a global glut and lift prices. The nation’s oil output increased to an average 10.98 million barrels a day in 2017, up 0.1 percent from the previous year, according to data published on Tuesday …

DUBAI / Reuters Oman’s state budget for 2018, approved by ruler Sultan Qaboos, boosts spending at the expense of running a large deficit, despite increasing concern among credit rating agencies about the health of the country’s finances. The budget projects spending of 12.5 billion rials ($32.5 billion) this year, up from 11.7 billion in the original budget for 2017, local …

CHONGQING / Reuters China plans to launch a natural gas exchange in Chongqing in early 2018, aiming to create an Asian price benchmark as the nation’s use of the fuel surges amid its shift away from coal. China is the world’s third-biggest consumer of natural gas behind the United States and Russia. An exchange in its fast-growing market would be …

Bloomberg Norway is realising it will have to do without the deep pockets of the biggest oil companies as it seeks to extend an era that has made it one of the world’s richest countries. The most recent blow came when only 11 companies applied for new blocks in the Arctic Barents Sea, touted as the country’s most promising area …