It’s been a study in contrasting leadership. On the one hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin is shown on state television giving orders to stony-faced officials, distant at the far end of a long table. On the other, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in military fatigues on the streets of Kyiv, talks directly to his citizens (and to the world) impromptu via ...

Presenting the outlines of a proposed stock-market listing of Porsche, executives of parent company Volkswagen AG emphasized how the initial public offering, likely to be one of Europe’s largest ever, “benefits all stakeholders.” However, at Volkswagen, some stakeholders are more important than others. Though the complicated plan has some appeal for VW’s institutional investors, its most eye-catching feature is to ...

  Oil major BP Plc is to exit its shareholding in Russian oil company Rosneft PJSC. It should transfer its troublesome asset to a trust designed to put future dividends, or proceeds from a sale, to good use. The current narrative seems to see only two alternatives for BP to offload its 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft — either find a ...

All eyes are on the conventional war unfolding in Ukraine. But a very different kind of conflict looms over the conflict. Before invading, Putin staged nuclear weapons drills around Russia’s border with Ukraine. In case anyone missed the point, his speech justifying the invasion reminded listeners that his country remained “one of the most powerful nuclear powers.” Worse, this rant ...

  Bloomberg Leasing firms are facing the challenge of recalling jetliners worth billions of dollars from Russian airlines, as sanctions imposed over the Ukraine invasion threaten carriers’ ability to operate rented planes. EU sanctions ban the supply of “all goods and technology” linked to aircraft. Planes can’t be insured, either. That means leasing firms will be required to terminate all ...

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest aircraft, the Antonov-225 cargo plane, was destroyed by Russian forces while it was under repair at an airfield in Gostomel near Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s state-run Ukroboronprom. Restoration of the aircraft, known as Mriya, will take more than five years at a cost of over $3 billion following the attack, Ukroboronprom said in a statement, ...

Bloomberg Finnair Oyj faces a wipeout of its Asian traffic as a tit-for-tat of airspace closures in Europe and Russia jeopardises its main long-haul strategy. Finland’s national carrier has carved out a niche providing transit passengers from smaller European cities the shortest flight times to Asia. But the flights through its Helsinki hub to destinations like Hong Kong, Seoul and ...

Bloomberg Major airlines reported a surge in bookings from Hong Kong last week as the city saw a new pandemic-era record in net population outflow, underscoring how a deepening Covid-19 crisis is pushing more residents to leave. Emirates Airlines said it is seeing weekly double-digit growth for advanced bookings until July, particularly to the UK and other European countries, according ...

Bloomberg Associated British Foods Plc said sales at budget-clothing retailer Primark picked up during the first half but are still below pre-pandemic levels as omicron deterred some shoppers from leaving their homes. Primark’s sales are expected to rise more than 60% in the six months through March 5, AB Foods, which also owns grocery, agriculture and sugar businesses, said. The ...

  Bloomberg Distressed flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to cancel billions of dollars worth of aircraft orders from Airbus SE and Boeing Co as part of a court-supervised debt restructuring to slash its debt and weather a slump in air travel due to the pandemic. The state-owned carrier wants to cancel its order for nine A330-900 jets and four A330-800s, ...