Bloomberg Hong Kong has ceased to function as an international aviation hub as it curbs inbound flights and quarantines arriving passengers, according to a trade group representing hundreds of airlines worldwide. “It’s effectively off the map now, and I think it’s going to be difficult for Hong Kong to recover,” Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport …

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc, which for years has managed its sprawling operations from a famously drab home office, is following through on plans to boost the amenities at its new headquarters complex. A fitness centre will feature tennis courts, three indoor pools and a teaching kitchen, while a child-care centre will be able to accommodate as many as 500 kids, …

  Bloomberg Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ikea’s biggest retailing group, has bought nine solar park projects in Germany and Spain for about $373 million. The projects are being developed by Germany-based Enerparc AG and expected to be ready for construction at the end of this year, according to an emailed statement. The solar energy production “will be sufficient …

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc is developing a global private credit strategy, according to several people familiar with the situation, seeking to take part in the fast-growing $1.2 trillion asset class. The plans are at an early stage, and the details on exactly how Barclays will enter private credit are still under discussion, so the bank hasn’t reached out to external …

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc hired four more health-care investment bankers, doubling down on efforts to increase its market share in the sector. The hires were announced in a memo to staff from Chuck Adams, the global head of the health-care, consumer and wellness investment-banking group. Among the changes: Michael Brock, the former strategy officer at Acepodia, joined the bank last …

  Bloomberg It’s unanimous: All six of Canada’s major commercial lenders now expect the Bank of Canada to move ahead with a jumbo rate hike next week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank ramped up their calls for the central bank to raise its policy rate by half a percentage point to 1% at …

Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda won’t change his ultra-low interest rate policy in the coming quarters, even though he’ll come under political pressure to do so over the weak yen, according to one of the country’s former chief currency officials. “The political pressure from the people, parliament and media is going to be a bit higher,” said Hiroshi …

  Bloomberg China’s central bank vowed to boost confidence and provide more effective support to the economy, amid mounting growth pressure from the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since Wuhan. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reaffirmed it will step up the magnitude of monetary policy and make it more forward-looking, targeted and autonomous, according to a statement. The central bank …

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) is right to press forward with its plan to normalise monetary policy even as the war in Ukraine creates “elevated uncertainty,” executive board member Isabel Schnabel said. “Continuing the path of policy normalisation is therefore the appropriate course of action,” Schnabel said in a speech in Cernobbio, Italy. “The speed of normalisation, in …

  Bloomberg Selling is picking up again in the priciest corner of the US stock market — that of fast growth technology shares — as investors whipsaw between seeking higher returns and safety. The Nasdaq 100 Stock Index is wrapping up its worst two-day drop in nearly a month as traders that flocked to the tech sector in recent weeks …