Bloomberg Land Securities Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest real estate investment trust, said full-year earnings increased 10 percent as offices filled up more quickly than expected and interest costs fell. Profit excluding changes in asset values and one-time items climbed to 362.1 million pounds ($525 million) from 329.1 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based company said in a ...

  Bloomberg A custom-built home in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley had its price cut by $500,000 last week after sitting on the market since the end of March — a move that would’ve been almost unfathomable a year ago and a signal that frenzied demand has peaked. The six-bedroom, five-bath house in Palo Alto — located blocks from ...

  New York / Bloomberg Roger Dubuis, whose watches cost an average of $60,000, is shrugging off a slump in Swiss timepiece exports to the US by pushing ahead with a North American expansion. The 21-year-old brand, part of the Swiss Cie Financiere Richemont SA luxury-goods group, opened its first retail store in New York in November and is planning ...

  Washington / Bloomberg Frustrated travellers are turning to the complaint box in growing numbers as long lines and delays getting through airport security result in missed flights. Complaints filed on such topics as courtesy and processing time surged in March to the highest levels in the past year, according to the Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report ...

  London / AFP British telecoms giant Vodafone on Tuesday posted its first annual rise in operating profits in eight years, boosted by growth in Europe and emerging markets. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 2.7 percent to £11.6 billion ($16.7 billion, 14.7 billion euros) in the year to March, Vodafone said in a results statement. That was ...

Ottawa / Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. has turned a corner and its deal with Delta Air Lines Inc. makes federal aid for the Canadian plane maker less urgent, Quebec’s finance minister said. Delta’s $5.6 billion agreement to purchase at least 75 C Series jets will help Montreal-based Bombardier promote the plane and win more orders, Carlos Leitao said in an interview ...

  New York / Bloomberg You are now free to enjoy your in-flight entertainment, uninterrupted. The world’s largest airline, American Airlines Group Inc., plans to stop on-board announcements of connecting gate information as flights prepare to land. The change, effective May 17, is a concession that technology has rendered the announcements moot, as passengers now travel equipped with an array ...

Tokyo / Bloomberg Aircastle Ltd. and its Japanese partner are planning to purchase as many as 10 new narrow-body jets in deals with airlines as the lessor bets on growing demand for travel in Asia. The jets may cost as much as $400 million, Chief Executive Officer Ron Wainshal said in an interview in Tokyo Tuesday. Stamford, Connecticut-based Aircastle formed ...

  Alkesh Sharma / Emirates Business Fuelled by a booming construction sector, the GCC region’s interior and fit-out contracting industry is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent and the market expected to cross the whopping mark of $12.5 billion by the end of 2017. UAE is clearly spearheading this market in the region and is expected to add more ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has launched a report on the ‘State of SME Equity Investment in Dubai,’ the first initiative of its kind in the Gulf region, to encourage investment in the sector and attract direct ...