Bloomberg Bulgari is increasing its focus on sales to locals in the countries where it operates, particularly in China, as the pandemic wipes out the tourist market, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Christophe Babin said. The LVMH-owned jeweller is seeing single-digit domestic sales growth in the western world and high double-digit growth in Asian countries, Babin said in an interview in Rome, …

Bloomberg Lowe’s Cos isn’t known as much of a Christmas destination, but the retailer wants to change that by adding more playthings and gifts. The Mooresville, North Carolina-based chain will sell items like electric scooters, trampolines, backyard movie screens and Ninja air fryers. The majority of these new products will be available online and in select stores. Sales at Lowe’s …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co and American Airlines Group Inc have scrapped their annual staff Halloween parties because of the coronavirus pandemic, suspending revered traditions amid an unprecedented industry slump. “You all know Halloween celebrations will look differently this year,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in his weekly message to employees. “Please remember to wear your masks while having fun with one …

Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd will restart 19-hour non-stop flights to New York next month, betting that demand will recover as the coronavirus pandemic eases in its home country. The airline will use its Airbus SE A350 aircraft for the world’s longest flight, with three weekly services starting from November 9 from Changi Airport to John F Kennedy International, according to …

Bloomberg British Airways is planning to cut the number of flights it operates from London Gatwickas the coronavirus pandemic continues to slam the travel industry, the Mail reported. The carrier aims to shift business to Heathrow — Britain’s largest airport — where it will counter falling demand for business travel by boosting premium leisure flights to long-haul holiday destinations, the …

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to consider changing its inflation forecasts to reflect the short-term impact on prices of a government travel campaign at its policy meeting next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The central bank will probably discuss cutting its price projection for the year ending in March to account for the downward …

Bloomberg UBS Group AG posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit and set aside $1.5 billion for share buybacks next year as Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti prepares to hand over to Ralph Hamers. The Zurich-based wealth manager — the world’s largest — followed US banks in reporting earnings that benefited from increased market volatility and higher transaction-based income. It also unexpectedly saw …

Bloomberg Bank of Thailand’s new governor said he’s looking into new measures to boost the economy as it faces a long and uneven road to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The policy response to the economic crisis should be long term, factoring in challenges likely to arise over the next two years, Governor Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput told reporters at his first …

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank (RBA) said further policy easing is likely to “gain more traction” as restrictions are lifted across the economy and agreed the governor would flag the shift to targeting actual over forecast inflation. “As the economy opens up, members considered it reasonable to expect that further monetary easing would gain more traction than had been the case …

Bloomberg Environmental activists and economists claim there’s a way for the European Central Bank (ECB) to account for climate risks in its stimulus programs without the time-consuming preparatory work officials often say is needed. Just last week, ECB President Christine Lagarde said her institution must question whether “market neutrality” is appropriate in light of environmental risks. As far as researchers …