March, 2016

• 23 March

  Virgin $320mn loan facility may cut reliance on bonds

  

  SYDNEY / Reuters Richard Branson-backed airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said it tapped its top shareholders for a A$425 million ($320 million) loan facility, a step that is expected to help it cut its reliance on the bond market for funds. The loan facility goes some way to address investor concerns that its cash reserves have declined sharply in the ...

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• 23 March

  Trading dip: Sports Direct lowers full-year core earnings

  

  LONDON / Reuters Sports Direct lowered its full-year core earnings forecast on Wednesday after Mike Ashley, the owner of Britain’s biggest sportswear retailer, revealed a trading slowdown in a newspaper interview. Flouting the rules on how companies disclose financial information, Ashley told the newspaper on Tuesday that Sports Direct was “in trouble, we are not trading very well”, sending its ...

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• 23 March

  Southwest Airlines pilots seek top industry pay with 7-year gain

  

  DALLAS / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. pilots are seeking pay raises that would give them the highest compensation in the industry plus a bigger company contribution to retirement savings, according to a contract proposal presented to the carrier. The pay increases would average 4.1 percent annually for a compound gain of almost 33 percent over seven years under the plan ...

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• 23 March

  Kingfisher wary on France as profit edges higher

  

  Bloomberg Kingfisher, Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, beat forecasts with a 0.3 percent rise in annual profit, though it said it remained cautious on the outlook for France, its most profitable market. The firm, which trades as B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said on Wednesday it made an underlying pretax ...

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• 23 March

  Drought makes food a luxury for Africa’s poor

  

  Bloomberg The corn that is a food staple for much of southern Africa is now so expensive it has become something many can’t afford, after the worst drought in three decades damaged crops from Ethiopia to South Africa. In Malawi, one of a dozen nations affected by the dry spell, Meleniya Mateyu says she has to forage for wild water-lily ...

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• 23 March

  Bike rental services pick up pace in Tokyo

  

  DPA Bicycle rental services are expanding and becoming easier with the introduction of such conveniences as reservations by smartphone, delivery of a bike to a user’s desired location, and payment via prepaid IC cards. In the past, bike rental services mainly targeted tourists, and most were based in well-known sightseeing areas. In recent years, however, bicycle rentals have become more ...

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• 23 March

  Sweating it out!

  

  RITIKA SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS Once fitness is gone, everything is gone – this old saying holds immense value in the current age that is largely driven by machines and technology. Considering the mammoth potential of rapidly emerging fitness industry in the UAE, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of upto 15 percent till ...

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• 23 March

  TYREPLUS: Fast spreading wings across GCC

  

  ALKESH SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS Global retail brand TYREPLUS has become the largest car maintenance network worldwide. With its outlets spread all across the Emirates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), TYREPLUS has earned an image of a trustworthy car repair close to you. Established in 2002, and specialises primarily in Michelin and BF ...

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• 22 March

  Europe’s heart left bleeding

  

  Brussels / AFP A series of explosions ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train on Tuesday, killing around 35 people and injuring more than 200 in the latest attacks to rock Europe. Security was tightened across the jittery continent and transport links paralysed after the bombings that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel branded “blind, violent and cowardly”. “This is ...

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• 22 March

  Mohamed orders 2,048 houses, 4,495 plots for citizens in Abu Dhabi

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Tuesday ordered 2,048 houses and 4,495 for citizens in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, following directives from President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. These include 1,463 housing units in Abu ...

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