Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. announced a pay increase for hourly workers in the US that it says will take average starting wage for most front-line employees in warehousing and transportation to more than $19 an hour. The company’s minimum level of $15 an hour for all hourly workers in the US remains unchanged. For jobs in Amazon’s customer fulfilment and …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc said it’s ready to redeploy aircraft from Britain to more vibrant markets if the pound’s collapse, soaring inflation and higher interest rates begin to undermine travel demand there. The economic situation in Ryanair’s biggest market has become challenging following the turmoil unleashed by Prime Minister Liz Truss’s new fiscal policy, with concerns about the impact of …

Bloomberg Next Plc issued its second profit warning this year due to soaring inflation and a devaluation of the pound which has undermined consumer confidence. The British clothing and housewares chain said that profit for the year will total £840 million ($905 million), compared with previous guidance of £860 million. Full-price sales in the second half are expected to drop …

  Bloomberg A Hermes handbag fetched a record price for a Sotheby’s auction, latest evidence that rare luxury items are increasingly seen as stores of value by investors and wealthy buyers. The Himalaya Retourne Kelly 25 bag sold for €352,800 ($346,802) in a Paris auction, Sotheby’s said. The crocodile-skin handbag in mother-of-pearl white, reminiscent of a snowy mountain landscape, sold …

  Bloomberg The crash in the value of sterling has put Rolex and other luxury watches at discounts of as much as 19% for US visitors lucky enough to get their hands on the coveted timepieces. Promised policy changes by the new UK government including a plan to reintroduce Value Added Tax rebates on goods bought by tourists could even …

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd has lost its title as China’s biggest company, the latest sign of how far regulatory risk and dimming growth prospects has set back the country’s technology industry. Shares of the online gaming company have tumbled 64% in Hong Kong since a January 2021 peak, wiping $623 billion off its market value. That’s more than any other …

  Bloomberg UK equity outflows are on track for their worst year ever, with investors pulling $18 billion from the country’s stock funds so far in 2022, according to Bank of America Corp. The figure eclipses prior years, and would mark a seventh straight year of UK equity outflows — every year since the 2016 Brexit referendum — according to …

Bloomberg The Pentagon’s latest estimated cost to develop and procure the F-35 fighter jet, the world’s most expensive weapons program, has edged up to $412 billion from $398 billion, according to the Defense Department’s latest program report. The $398 billion estimate held steady for several years before the latest 3.5% increase, outlined in the Defense Department’s new Selected Acquisition Report …

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialise, according to people familiar with the matter. The Cupertino, California-based electronics maker has told suppliers to pull back from efforts to increase assembly of the iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 …

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is in talks with Airbus SE and Boeing Co. about buying next-generation freighter aircraft as it seeks to renew and replace some of its cargo jets. Hong Kong’s main carrier, also one of the world’s biggest cargo airlines by capacity, is mulling purchasing either Airbus A350 freighters or Boeing 777-8F jets. Cathay could buy …