Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. reported first-half profit that missed analysts’ estimates as losses from jet-fuel hedges mounted and competition with Chinese carriers cut passenger yields. The shares dropped the most in a year. Net income in the six months through June fell 82 percent to HK$353 million ($45.5 million), Asia’s biggest international airline said on Wednesday. That fell ...

  Bloomberg European grocery sales rose the least on record in the second quarter amid a U.K. price war and sluggish consumption in Germany and France, a study showed. The amount spent on household goods increased by 0.8 percent from a year earlier, researcher Nielsen said in a report on Wednesday. That’s about half the growth achieved in the first ...

  Bloomberg Target Corp. cut its annual forecast after sales slumped last quarter, hit by what Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell described as a “difficult retail environment.” The company now expects earnings of $4.80 to $5.20 a share, excluding some items, compared with an earlier forecast of as much as $5.40. In the face of a skittish retail economy and ...

  Bloomberg Finnair Oyj shares fell the most in almost three years after the carrier scaled back plans to add flights this year as terrorism in Europe hurt demand for travel. Finnair dropped as much as 10 percent, the steepest intraday drop since October 2013, and was down 7 percent at 4.89 euros as of 11:33 a.m. in Helsinki. The ...

  Bloomberg The world’s main airline trade groups and European and US lithium battery makers are seeking tighter product-quality and sourcing enforcement, saying a ban on shipments in passenger airliners risks being extended to cargo carriers. Governments need to enforce regulations more strictly against “rogue producers and exporters,” and impose stiffer penalties on companies that put shipments of improperly tested ...

  Bloomberg Norway’s $890 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, took the step of independently cutting the value of its massive UK real estate portfolio by 5 percent after Britain voted to leave the European Union. “It’s an extraordinary measure,” Deputy Chief Executive Officer Trond Grande said at a press conference in Oslo as he presented second-quarter results. Given ...

  Bloomberg US home construction unexpectedly accelerated in July to the fastest pace in five months, indicating the housing industry remains an area of support for the economy. Residential starts increased 2.1 percent to a 1.211 million annualized rate, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey, from 1.186 million in June, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday in Washington. Permits, a ...

  Bloomberg Luxury builder Extell Development Co., trying to cobble together funds for a condo tower in Lower Manhattan, is finding out just how much time costs these days. Extell is hoping to complete a $463.2 million financing agreement with office landlord RXR Realty LLC to build One Manhattan Square on South Street, but that partnership was postponed for a ...

  Bloomberg Moving to Manhattan? Here’s a listing for a three-bedroom apartment in a doorman building in the East Village, offering 900 square feet for the low price of $3,384. It would be a steal, if only the houndstooth rug and surfboard art shown in the photos didn’t so closely resemble the décor seen in this listing for a one-bedroom ...

  Bloomberg Ford Motor Co., which put the world on wheels a century ago, is now taking the driver out of the driver’s seat. The company said it plans to have a fully autonomous vehicle — no steering wheel, no gas or brake pedals — available by 2021 for ride-hailing services. “We see the autonomous car changing the way the ...