Bloomberg Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel signalled that the interest-rate hike was not aimed at defending the rupee. Analysts say that the move will still provide the much-needed support to the currency. For HSBC Holdings Plc and Nomura Holdings Inc., it bolsters the RBI’s credentials on the inflation-fighting front, which they say will have a rub-off effect on …

Bloomberg The new global head of macro research at Nordea Bank AB says it’s now clear that the extreme monetary policies that followed the global financial crisis are making the rich richer and everyone else more indebted. Kristin Magnusson Bernard, who used to work with financial stability at the European Central Bank, says the lessons learned from cutting interest rates …

Bloomberg Boeing Co. hasn’t decided whether to build a new midrange jet, but Washington state is already teaming with aerospace workers to try to keep any new work in the planemaker’s industrial heartland. The Puget Sound region around Seattle holds an advantage as a “dense supercluster of advanced aerospace manufacturing and skilled aerospace workers,” according to a Teal Group study …

Bloomberg After surpassing Hermes, Gucci has Louis Vuitton in its sights. The Italian fashion brand, owned by Kering SA of France, aims to lift revenue to 10 billion euros ($12 billion) from last year’s 6.2 billion euros, according to an investor presentation Thursday. That would rival LVMH’s Louis Vuitton, long the biggest and most profitable name in luxury. With a …

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc. dragged down US airlines after the carrier trimmed its profit outlook, citing the rising price of jet fuel. Second-quarter earnings will be no more than $1.75 a share, Delta said in a statement. That’s down from a previous forecast of as much as $2 a share. Fuel prices have risen about 12 percent since the …

Bloomberg Pity the airlines: fuel prices are soaring, pilots are in short supply and political spats threaten global trade. And worse may be to come. With global passenger numbers forecast to almost double to 7.8 billion by 2036, runways, airports and even airspace could rapidly become too crowded to cope. In Asia, which will contribute more than half of the …

JEDDAH / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and President of Saudi Council of Economic and Development Affairs chaired the first meeting …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, raised pricing on key crude grades for buyers in Asia to the highest since 2014 as demand builds in the country’s biggest market amid threats to rival suppliers. State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. raised its official selling price for Arab Light crude for July shipment to Asia by 20 cents to $2.10 …

DUBAI / Emirates Business Beijing Tai Cloud Technology, the first blockchain company in China’s new OTC market, has announced the launch of its UAE operations aimed to leverage opportunities of trading in blockchain technology. Tai Cloud is a pioneer in the research and application development of the blockchain technology system in the People’s Republic of China. The company established the …

Bloomberg Global growth is set to slow over the next two years as central banks raise borrowing rates and US fiscal stimulus starts to fade, the World Bank said. The world economy will grow 3.1 percent this year and 3 percent in 2019, the development lender said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. Both forecasts were unchanged from January, …