When the first golden arches appeared in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in 1990, it didn’t matter that it was mid-winter. It was as if the snow in Narnia had begun to melt, and the natural state of things was being returned in glorious technicolor. Russians queued around the corner for a taste of once forbidden patties. “If you can’t go to ...

  The British public is in danger of being crushed under an avalanche of political gossip. The faces of big-name pundits — most prominently Andrew Marr and Piers Morgan — stare out from the sides of buses. A dozen national newspapers splash the latest revelations about “party-gate” or “curry-gate” on their front pages as if they are matters of war ...

  Rising US interest rates, sky-high oil prices, soaring inflation, a foreign war. Then, naturally, a recession. The trajectory may sound awfully familiar, but I’m not describing the present-day American economy. Instead, this is what the US looked like in early 1990. The commodity market now fears a repetition — with another cycle of rising interest rates, expensive oil and ...

  Bloomberg Boeing Co’s biggest airline customer in China has removed more than 100 of the US manufacturer’s 737 Max jets from its fleet plans, citing uncertainty over deliveries. China Southern Airlines Co Chairman Ma Xu Lun said at an investor briefing that Boeing’s updated best-selling aircraft would be excluded from fleet deliveries through 2024. The carrier expects to take ...

  Bloomberg The Weststar Group is considering an initial public offering of its helicopter services unit in Kuala Lumpur to raise at least $300 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The conglomerate, controlled by Malaysian businessman Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, has held initial talks with advisers on the listing of Weststar Aviation Services Sdn, which could happen ...

  Bloomberg Singapore has resumed work on Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 after the project was halted two years ago as the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out travel. The government will begin to re-mobilise design and engineering consultants to refine the construction of the terminal, Transport Minister S Iswaran said at the Changi Aviation Summit in the city-state. Actual building works are ...

  Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp made a hostile $3.3 billion cash bid for Spirit Airlines Inc, appealing directly to shareholders in an effort to prevail over a rival offer for the discount carrier by Frontier Group Holdings Inc. The JetBlue proposal is worth $30 a share, $3 less than its initial approach, which was spurned by Spirit’s board two weeks ...

  Bloomberg JD.com logged better-than-expected 18% revenue growth, after China’s second-largest e-commerce operator grew market share to cushion the blow from Covid lockdowns across the country’s biggest cities. Sales climbed to 239.7 billion yuan ($35.6 billion) in January-March, beating the 236.7 billion yuan average of analyst forecasts. It reported a net loss of 3 billion yuan. JD’s stock surged more ...

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings sees even stronger travel demand this summer, with second-quarter passenger revenue increasing as much as 25% over the 2019 level, the airline said. United told investors last month it would return to profitability in the second quarter with the aid of record sales, spurred by strong recovery for summer travel. Chicago-based United also affirmed a ...

  Bloomberg China’s most senior diplomat vowed to counter any perceived US efforts to disrupt a once-in-five-year Communist Party meeting at which President Xi Jinping is set to secure a precedent-breaking third term. Beijing should “resolutely respond to any words and deeds by Washington to suppress and contain China” before the 20th party congress later this year, Yang Jiechi wrote ...