Bloomberg Supersonic jetliner travel, which ended more than a decade ago with the Concorde, will make a comeback and transform the aviation industry in coming years, according to billionaire Richard Branson. “The next big thing, hopefully in my lifetime, will be supersonic travel coming back and people travelling around the world in next to no time,” Branson told Bloomberg Television …

Bloomberg Two days before Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA discloses its results for 2017, Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Kjos has called the year “a mess” for the carrier after it was hit by plane and pilot shortages at the height of summer. Norwegian was forced to ground more than 10 Boeing Co. 737 Max jets due to engine snags, delaying operations …

DUBAI / Agencies Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) will spend AED81billion ($22 billion) on energy projects over the next five years, with renewables accounting for a growing share of electricity output, Chief Executive Officer Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said. DEWA last week awarded a contract for a 815-megawatt gas turbine project in the Dubai suburb of Al Aweer to …

DUBAI / Emirates Business Emaar Development PJSC, the UAE build-to-sell property development business majority-owned by Emaar Properties PJSC recorded a growth in net profit during full-year (January to December) 2017 by 30 percent to AED2.74 billion ($747 million), compared to the net profit of AED2.11 billion ($575 million) in year 2016. Total revenue for FY 2017 was AED 8.86 billion …

LONDON / Reuters The rise in global oil production, led by the United States, is likely to outpace growth in demand this year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The Paris-based IEA raised its forecast for oil demand growth in 2018 to 1.4 million barrels per day, from a previous projection of 1.3 million bpd, after the International Monetary …

Bloomberg Oil demand in India rose 10.3 percent in the first month of 2018, the fourth straight monthly gain. Total oil consumption expanded at the fastest pace in 14 months to 16.9 million tons from 15.3 million a year ago, according to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Improvement in road freight transport following the stabilization of the …

CAIRO / Reuters BP is looking to invest over $1 billion in Egypt this year, making the country once again a top destination for investment, its CEO said. Speaking at an industry event in Egypt, Bob Dudley said the company was no longer owed any money by the Egyptian government. “The government owes us no money,” he said on the …

Bloomberg Natural gas is getting edged out of power markets across the US by two energy sources that, together, are proving to be an unbeatable mix: solar and batteries. In just the latest example, First Solar Inc. won a power contract to supply Arizona’s biggest utility when electricity demand on its system typically peaks, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. …

Bloomberg UK utilities may have to delay or give up on building power stations as new generators won only a fraction of the capacity offered in a tender to provide backup electricity. The auction process, set up to encourage new installations, only saw 1.5 percent of the total going to proposed plants. The lack of new projects could put pressure …

Bloomberg Singapore housing prices may rise as much as 10 percent this year, following a pickup in home sales, the chief executive officer of Southeast Asia’s biggest developer said. “Transaction volume has gone up and usually that’s a precursor to some price increase,” Lim Ming Yan, the president and CEO of CapitaLand Ltd., said in an interview in Singapore. “A …