Bloomberg Growth in Britain’s services sector unexpectedly strengthened in April, giving the economy a solid start to the second quarter after a weaker-than-forecast performance at the start of the year. IHS Markit’s index rose to 55.8 in April from 55 in March, defying expectations for a decline to 54.5. Its measures for manufacturing and construction published earlier this week ...

    DUBAI / Reuters Arabtec’s shares rose after the Dubai builder swung to its first quarterly net profit since September 2014, bucking the trend in most of the region’s markets which followed global bourses and oil prices lower on Thursday. “The return to profitability (at Arabtec) is a good indicator and we believe there will be no negative surprises ...

  Bloomberg US stock futures pointed to a higher opening and European equities advanced amid positive earnings reports. Brent crude slid below $50 a barrel for the first time since March, while the rout in metals prices worsened. The S&P 500 Index looked to snap a string of meager moves, and the Euro Stoxx 600 climbed as Met Life Inc. ...

  Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group showed signs of a turnaround, with ticket-price declines almost halted in the first quarter as bookings increased and business-class fares surged. The positive demand-trend continued into April, and Europe’s biggest carrier is also benefiting from an increase in cash flow, reduced costs and a declining fuel bill, it said in a statement Thursday. The advances ...

  Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. is about to give coach passengers even less legroom. The company will shrink the space between most rows to 30 inches (76 centimeters) on its newest Boeing Co. 737 jetliners, spokesman Joshua Freed said. That’s an inch less than on its existing 737-800 planes. At least three rows on the new 737 Max jets ...

  Bloomberg Adidas AG is racing ahead in the U.S. with sales growth that’s outstripping archrival Nike Inc. as its namesake brand and Reebok capitalize on the trend for retro and “athleisure” fashions that are worn off the sporting grounds. North America was the German company’s strongest-performing region in the first quarter, with a sales increase of 31 percent at ...

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s investors are seeing a glimpse of what they want after years of shrinking: a return to revenue growth. The shares rose the most in five months as the bank reported a surprise jump in adjusted revenue driven by loan growth in Asia as well as the investment bank’s performance. Trading revenue jumped 29 percent, exceeding ...

  Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI) sees a ‘positive turnaround’ in the nation’s bad loans after the government implements a new ordinance aimed at resolving the problem, according to the Chairman of India’s biggest bank. “The non-performing asset cycle is different this time,” Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI’s top executive, said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Yokohama, Japan. “Many ...

  Bloomberg Australia’s central bank chief had a reminder on Thursday for borrowers that have helped send household debt to record levels: interest rates will one day rise. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe used a speech in Brisbane to reiterate his concerns about growth in private debt outpacing incomes. The risk is that heavily indebted households could ...

  Bloomberg Norway’s central bank kept rates unchanged at a record low and said it was “sticking to plans” even as inflation and the krone have come in weaker than forecast. The benchmark deposit rate was held at 0.50 percent, Norges Bank said in Oslo on Thursday. None of the 25 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected any change. Since ...