Bloomberg Reopening more international travel routes from the UK will be “challenging” because the country must do everything it can to protect itself from new coronavirus variants, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. Britain last week tightened restrictions on overseas travel, removing Portugal from its so-called green list in a major blow to the airline industry. Restoring travel in the medium-term …

Bloomberg Airbus SE inched closer to a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic after increasing the number of jetliner deliveries to 50 last month. The European planemaker accelerated production with five more planes handed over than in April, according to a statement that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg report. Airbus is plotting a way out of the Covid-19 crisis even as a …

Bloomberg Buyout firm KKR & Co is close to reaching an agreement to buy Atlantic Aviation from Macquarie Infrastructure Corp, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal could value the airport services company at about $4.5 billion, including debt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter was private. A sale was expected to …

Bloomberg E-commerce fashion retailer About You AG and its shareholders are seeking as much as 941 million euros ($1.1 billion) in a Frankfurt initial public offering, betting that demand for its party outfits will ramp up as night life unlocks. Shares are being marketed at 21 euros to 26 euros apiece through June 14, with the new stock set to …

Bloomberg Lufthansa Consulting GmbH is in talks with Sudan’s government over a role in restructuring one of Africa’s oldest airlines. “If not through a joint venture, they can help to restructure Sudan Airways so that it can be competitive,” Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said in an interview. He didn’t give more details or say at what stage the discussions were. …

Bloomberg Reckitt Benckiser Group has agreed to sell its Chinese baby formula business to Primavera Capital Group in a deal with $2.2 billion enterprise value. Reckitt will retain an 8% stake and sees net cash proceeds of about $1.3 billion, which the company plans to use to reduce debt. The household products maker expects to record a net loss of …

Bloomberg Japanese banks are in a bind — again. Sitting on record levels of excess cash, lenders are turning to riskier investments that need complex foreign exchange hedges, such as US Treasuries, to make a return on deposits that ballooned during the pandemic. Many will be seeking to avoid past mistakes. The surplus, calculated by subtracting bank loans from deposits, …

Bloomberg Market watchers haven’t been this bullish on State Bank of India in almost two decades, as they bet on the lender’s improving asset quality to help it weather the pandemic. Among 48 analysts who cover the stock, 47 recommend buy and only one has a hold rating — a ratio of 98% that’s the highest since June 2004, according …

Bloomberg Hong Kong has started a project to explore issuing a digital currency that is anticipated to last over the next 12 months. “This is essentially a research study similar to what is being undertaken by many other jurisdictions,” the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Tuesday. It remains open minded and hopes to offer “initial thoughts” in 12 months, …

Bloomberg Some investors are cheering the Bank of Japan’s withdrawal from the stock market, even as they brace for more volatility. Japan’s central bank (BOJ) didn’t buy any exchange-traded funds for an entire month of May, the first time since Governor Haruhiko Kuroda kicked off his easing campaign in 2013. That’s prompting some in the market to believe the BOJ …