Bloomberg Hermes International’s profitability rose to record levels in the first half as the maker of the $10,000-plus Birkin bag became the luxury industry’s standout performer. The French company’s shares soared as much as 8.5% after it said its recurring operating margin reached a historical high of 42%, up from 41% a year earlier. “This set of results confirms that ...

  Bloomberg An Airbus SE A320 aircraft operated by IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, slid off the runway onto grass while taxiing for takeoff in Jorhat, the carrier said in a statement. The flight to Kolkata was cancelled and the aircraft is being inspected in Jorhat, a city in the northeastern state of Assam. IndiGo, which is operated by InterGlobe Aviation ...

  Bloomberg L’Oreal SA sales climbed as demand for makeup bounced back and the strength of its luxury products offset the negative impact of Covid-19 restrictions in China. Overall sales rose 13% on a comparable basis in the second quarter, the French company said. Analysts expected a gain of 9.7%. The company’s stock rose more than 2% in early trading. ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping ended their call Thursday with plans to hold their first face-to-face summit, but the US and China are unlikely to halt their bickering in the months before the two leaders finally meet. The world’s two largest economies risk a fresh showdown as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicks off an Asian tour Friday ...

Bloomberg A US delegation met with senior Taliban officials in Uzbekistan to discuss efforts to unfreeze some $3.5 billion in central bank reserves as the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan deteriorates. The US delegation told the militant group and technocrats there was a need to accelerate efforts to unlock the reserves and reiterated the funds should be used to benefit the ...

Bloomberg Ukraine said it’s close to restarting grain shipments, although the timing will depend on go-ahead from the United Nations, which helped broker last week’s deal, and there were still few details available about how the process will unfold. “Our side is fully ready,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in the Odesa region, where he was watching grain being loaded ...

Bloomberg Rishi Sunak conceded he was the underdog in the race to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister, but vowed to fight for every vote. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer admitted his pledge not to cut personal taxes until inflation is under control was not universally popular, telling Conservative members at the first official hustings ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil plans for a referendum on changing the Australian constitution to set up a representative Indigenous body in parliament, moving a step closer to fulfilling a major part of his policy agenda. In a speech to the Garma Festival of Traditional Culture in Australia’s Northern Territory on Saturday, Albanese was to propose to ...

  Bloomberg Financial firms may be fined and stripped of their regulatory authorisation unless they put their customers’ needs first under far-reaching reforms from the UK City regulator. Banks, insurers and other companies will have to ensure their services are actually good for their clients and that this approach is taken at all levels of the business, Ian Searle, head ...

  Bloomberg A strong quarter from Standard Chartered Plc’s traders provided a boost to the emerging market-focused bank despite fears that a slowing global economy could squeeze its lending business. The London-based bank reported underlying pretax profit rises 7% to $1.32 billion in the second quarter, as its traders benefitted from volatility in global markets along with many of its ...