Bloomberg Retail traders who drove record gains in South Korean stocks during the darkest days of the pandemic are bracing for a new threat — the return of institutional players betting on share-price declines. The world’s longest ban on short-selling stocks came to an end on Monday. Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses. Nevertheless, the end of the ban has …

Bloomberg India’s government eased some rules relating to indirect-tax compliance to ease the burden of citizens during the pandemic period. Reduced penalty and waiver of late fees on delayed goods and services tax payments were among the measures announced by the Finance Ministry on Sunday. Taxpayers were also allowed more time to file GST returns. For persons with turnover above …

Bloomberg Russia increased its oil production in April thanks to a more generous Opec+ quota. The nation pumped 42.81 million tons of crude and condensate last month, according to preliminary data from the energy ministry’s CDU-TEK unit. That equates to 10.46 million barrels a day, or 1.9% more than in March. The data don’t provide a breakdown between crude and …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp added momentum to a nascent recovery in the US oil industry as they reported bumper cash flow, a dramatic improvement after a torrid 2020. The energy giants generated enough cash to cover dividends, debt payments and project spending in the first quarter, the first time they’ve managed to do that in more than …

Bloomberg China will make cutting emissions a focus of its ecological strategy in the next five years, President Xi Jinping said, vowing to call off projects which consume a lot of energy and can’t meet environmental standards. “The carbon neutral and emission-peaking goals are solemn promises China has made to the world,” Xi said at a study session of the …

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG reined in capacity plans and London’s Heathrow airport lowered passenger forecasts as new waves of coronavirus infections dent prospects for a travel rebound by the start of summer. Lufthansa now expects to offer only 40% of its pre-pandemic capacity for 2021 as a whole, according to a statement, a figure that’s below the level it has …

Bloomberg Passengers on airplanes, buses and railroads in the US will have to keep wearing masks to guard against the spread of Covid-19 as federal officials extended a mandate that was set to expire within days through the busy summer travel season. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it was extending the mandate through September 13. The move is in …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc will supplant Walmart Inc as the biggest US retailer by 2025, according to a new report, suggesting the e-commerce giant has too much momentum for Walmart to stop despite big investments in its own e-commerce offerings. By 2025, US shoppers will buy $632 billion worth of products at Amazon and retail afflilites including Whole Foods Market, surpassing …

Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd said places tipped to be on a UK list of destinations set to reopen from mid-May could bring back a significant portion of its pre-coronavirus business, shrinking losses this year. The US, Israel and the Caribbean accounted for 80% of Virgin Atlantic’s 2019 network and could all feature on the list set to be revealed …

Bloomberg Overflowing cargo ships, snarled production lines, copper above $10,000 and a start to earnings season that’s smashing records. As developed economies reopen and the newly vaccinated embrace their pre-Covid ways, the global rebound is proving vigorous but messy. For equity investors, the most pressing question is whether the return of inflation spoils returns and eats into corporate profits. Accelerating …