Bloomberg The head of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats suggested a levy on flights could be introduced to encourage travellers to use less polluting means of transport and help tackle climate change. Rail travel must be made cheaper, possibly by cutting sales tax on train tickets, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, said in an interview with ARD …

Bloomberg Boeing Co suspended testing of its 777X aircraft after a cargo door failed in a ground stress test, Reuters reported, citing a statement from a company spokesman. “During final load testing on the 777X static test airplane, the team encountered an issue that required suspension of the test,” Reuters quoted the spokesman as saying. The setback occurred last week, …

z Bloomberg Discount clothing chain Primark is betting that opening more and bigger stores will drive sales gains, bucking a trend in which competitors are scaling back their bricks-and-mortar presence. The apparel brand, owned by Associated British Foods Plc (AB Foods), expects new stores in the US and Europe to propel sales for the full year. The strategy runs counter …

Abu Dhabi / WAM The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have welcomed the response by the Legitimate Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council, on the Kingdom’s call for dialogue, saying it is “a major and positive step” towards ending the recent crisis in the governorates of Aden, Abyan and Shabwa. The …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s King Salman dismissed Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and replaced him with one of his sons, putting a royal family member in charge of oil policy in the world’s largest crude exporter for the first time. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a longtime top Energy Ministry official, is an older half-brother to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Analysts …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia has awarded to two Saudi firms contracts to build worker housing for its futuristic mega-city called Neom, as plans for the $500 billion project move forward. Tamimi Group and Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Co. won contracts to finance, build and operate three residential areas with capacity to house 30,000 people, Neom said in a statement on …

Bloomberg China is exploring ambitious new plans for the future of its car industry, weighing a target for 60% of all automobiles sold in the country to run on electric motors by 2035, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is spearheading the government’s latest auto industry plans for 2021 through 2035, said …

Bloomberg The United Nations International Court of Justice granted Kenya’s request to postpone a hearing of a territorial dispute with Somalia, less than a week before it was scheduled to begin. The hearing will now start on November 4. Kenya had requested that it be delayed for a year as it recruits a new defense team. The neighbours claim ownership …

Bloomberg Home prices in Australia’s mining towns are leading the recovery in the property market, accounting for nine out of the 10 suburbs with the strongest growth in median prices. The gains were led by a suburb close to the home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters, as well as a once-struggling steel city, as record-low interest rates …

Bloomberg Nobody knew it then, but this time last year, the rallying US stock market was about to begin a plunge that would erase $5 trillion from share values and convince a lot of people a recession was at hand. Then, as now, a trade war was raging, earnings in doubt and manufacturing losing steam. In the stock market, swings …