Bloomberg American Express Co., long synonymous with premium travel rewards, will now offer a meditation app and credits for streaming services as the coronavirus pandemic forces its customers to stay home. As the outbreak made its way to the US, the credit-card issuer realised that many of its rewards tied to spending on airlines and hotels were becoming less relevant, ...

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA posted a surprise first-quarter loss after income from its stock-trading unit was wiped out in the market volatility caused by the coronavirus and the bank set aside 820 million euros ($890 million) to cover bad loans. Revenue from equities trading and the business of servicing hedge funds slumped 99% to just 9 million euros in the ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. offered a glimpse into the March madness that propelled Wall Street trading desks to their best quarterly performance in almost a decade. The firm’s traders pulled in more than $100 million on 14 separate days during the first quarter, Goldman Sachs said in a regulatory filing. Volatile markets were a boon for the business, which ...

Bloomberg It’s increasingly becoming a question of when, not if, the European Central Bank (ECB) will pump up its emergency bond buying program to help the most vulnerable euro-area economies avoid a deeper recession. With countries relying on borrowing to finance their response to the coronavirus pandemic, the ECB will likely take on more of that bond supply, as private ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc will cut 3,000 jobs and said it will challenge some 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in state aid being doled out to keep its European competitors afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. The Irish discount carrier added to a mounting employment toll that includes 12,000 cuts at British Airways and 5,000 at SAS AB. The reductions represent ...

Bloomberg Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd attracted at least 20 potential buyers as administrators race to sell the airline within two months. Administrators at Deloitte want binding offers in June and are targeting a deal by the end of that month, according to a statement after the first meeting of creditors. Indicative bids are due mid-May. Virgin Australia collapsed owing A$6.84 ...

Bloomberg J Sainsbury Plc, Britain’s second-largest grocer, said the Covid-19 pandemic will disrupt business until September, and then the economic fallout will set in. Costs will rise by 500 million pounds ($623 million) this year because of safety measures and lower fuel sales. That will be offset by 450 million pounds of property tax relief from the UK government, leading ...

Bloomberg South Africa is seeking to create a new thriving national airline out of the ashes of its current state-owned carrier, which is technically insolvent and on the brink of being placed in liquidation by administrators. An ideal replacement for South African Airways (SAA) would have both public and private owners, maintain the country’s trade connections and make a profit, ...

Bloomberg Japan Airlines Co posted its first quarterly operating loss in at least eight years and suspended its annual dividend as the coronavirus outbreak hits the travel industry. Fourth-quarter operating loss was 19.5 billion yen ($183 million), the first deficit since the company re-listed on the stock exchange in 2012. Sales fell 21% to 280 billion yen, JAL said. The ...

Bloomberg British Airways owner IAG tapped $1.1 billion in state-backed loans for its Spanish units Iberia and Vueling to help weather collapsing travel demand. The banks involved in the syndicated agreement will ask state-owned Instituto de Crédito Oficial to provide guarantees, and the financing is conditional on those being received, London-based IAG said. The move comes as a surprise after ...