April, 2016

• 26 April

  Sales of new USA homes fall for 3rd month on slump in West

  

    Bloomberg Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in March for a third month, reflecting the weakest pace of demand in the West since July 2014. Total sales decreased 1.5 percent to a 511,000 annualized pace, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a gain to 520,000. In ...

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• 26 April

  Qatar Air hints at 737s as A320Neo row drags

  

  Bloomberg Qatar Airways could switch its order for Airbus Group SE A320neo jetliners to Boeing Co.’s 737 model if issues with the European aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney engines aren’t resolved by the middle of the year. Moving from the Pratt-powered variant of the revamped A320 to a version that uses engines from CFM International isn’t an option as those planes ...

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• 26 April

  B&O gets new CEO after scuttling sales

  

    Bloomberg Bang &Olufsen (B&O) named Henrik Clausen as its new chief executive officer, less than two weeks after the Danish luxury hi-fi system maker walked away from takeover talks with a billionaire Chinese suitor. Clausen will take over from Tue Mantoni on July 1, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Clausen comes from the Nordic region’s largest ...

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• 26 April

  Flyadeal to set up A320-737 duel with 50-jet fleet plan

  

    Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s new state-owned discount carrier plans to build a fleet of as many as 50 aircraft by 2020 and will choose within weeks between narrow-body models made by Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. Flyadeal will select either Airbus A320s or Boeing 737s that it will lease or obtain through a transfer of orders from parent company ...

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• 26 April

  Whitbread earnings up as Costa Coffee shops boost sales

    Bloomberg Whitbread Plc, the owner of Premier Inn hotels, reported a 12 percent increase in full-year earnings, exceeding analysts’ estimates, fueled by its Costa Coffee chain. Full-year underlying pretax profit rose to 546 million pounds ($792 million), Whitbread said in a statement on Tuesday. The median analyst estimate was for 539 million pounds. “Premier Inn and Costa benefit from ...

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• 26 April

  Alibaba’s HK tiff underlines a one-way affair

  

    Bloomberg Alibaba has found favour again with US investors, rebounding from its February low. But the company still can’t buy love in Hong Kong, where it first planned to list before departing for a New York float. The latest battle: Hong Kong’s takeover panel, part of the Securities and Futures Commission, ruled on Tuesday that while it won’t punish ...

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• 26 April

  China auto show highlights luxury SUVs in slowing mkt

  

    Beijing / AP Automakers are showcasing a new generation of luxurious SUVs at China’s biggest auto show of the year as they battle for buyers in the country’s cooling, crowded market. Honda Motor Co. held world debuts Monday for two SUVs, reflecting China’s high profile in the global industry. Ford, Volkswagen, General Motors and China’s Chery also displayed new ...

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• 26 April

  Queen’s ‘love’ letter sold at auction

  

    London / AFP A rare handwritten letter from a young Queen Elizabeth II telling the story of her romance with Prince Philip before their 1947 wedding has been sold at auction. The note, penned when she was a 21-year-old princess, recounts the early stages of their relationship from their rare meetings in wartime to the London dances they attended together. ...

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• 26 April

  All for laughs: Charlie Chaplin’s Swiss home becomes a museum

  

    DPA Charlie Chaplin touched the hearts of millions of fans and now they can visit the English-born silent-film comedian’s former Swiss home, which has just been converted into a museum. Chaplin’s World is comprised of the entertainer’s former mansion, studio and park stretching out over nearly 10 acres alongside Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The museum promises “an extraordinary adventure ...

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• 26 April

  Architecture for app performance

  

    Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business Riverbed was founded in 2002, shipped its first product (SteelHead) in 2004, went public in 2006 with the most successful IPO that year, surpassed US$1 billion in revenue in 2013 for the first time, and again in 2014 and 2015. The company now works with over 27,000 customers which includes 98 percent of the ...

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