Most of us remember the time before smartphones were in the pockets and purses of billions of people. Before those gadgets became the primary computer for millions of people. Before the smartphone boom made fortunes for some companies — Apple and Facebook, for example — and doomed others. That all happened in less than a decade. That is stunningly quick. ...

Per-capita electricity use peaked in the US in 2007. With the exception of a post-recession rebound in 2010, it has declined every year since. I already wrote a column about this epochal shift last month, but the chart that went with it is so remarkable that I’m going to recycle it here. What caused the decline? I offered several possible ...

Bloomberg European airlines are preparing for the anticipated widening of a US ban on bringing laptops and other large electronic devices on board planes bound for American airports. Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG are among carriers to say they’re making preparations for the moratorium on devices, including tablets and games consoles, to be expanded to their hubs after ...

Bloomberg Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd plans to sell a minority stake in its Istanbul unit, which operates Turkey’s second-biggest airport, people familiar with the matter said. The Malaysian company is seeking an investor for Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, also known as ISG, and plans to maintain control of the company, the people said, asking not to be identified because ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co. is temporarily suspending flights of its new 737 Max jetliner because of a potential manufacturing flaw in the engines, marring the commercial debut for the fastest-selling plane in company history. The jetmaker and its engine supplier, a venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA, are rushing to understand the problem ahead of the aircraft’s first delivery, ...

Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA profited from low rates in the first quarter as large clients tapped the bond market and mortgage refinancing led to a surge in fees. Capital-markets revenue rose 17 percent, with ‘buoyant activity’ in fixed-income, foreign-exchange and credit trading, the Paris-based bank said in a statement on Thursday. Net income jumped to 845 million euros ($918 million) ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) Dubai Branch holds a grand ceremony in celebration of its opening and designation as the RMB clearing bank in the UAE. The Dubai Branch is ABC’s first RMB clearing bank designated by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and its second branch in the Middle East after the DIFC Branch. The ...

Bloomberg UniCredit SpA bounced back from a balance-sheet cleanup and a record share sale to deliver first-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates. The shares climbed as much as 5.4 percent. Net income more than doubled to 907 million euros ($986 million) from 406 million euros a year earlier, lifted by higher revenue and lower costs and provisions, the Milan-based bank ...

Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. agreed to buy National Australia Bank (NAB) Ltd.’s wealth management business in Singapore and Hong Kong, in the latest move by a Singapore lender to bolster operations serving Asia’s rich. OCBC said the business it’s buying is made up of a mortgage portfolio of about $1.7 billion and deposits of some $3.05 billion, according to a ...

Bloomberg CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. hired seven people recently at its private bank in Singapore, according to a person familiar with the matter, as it seeks to become one of the top 20 Asian players in the sector. Five of the hires have already started and the remaining two will join by September, said the person, who asked not to ...