February, 2016

• 25 February

  Air New Zealand first-half profit soars as expansion pays

  

  Wellington / Bloomberg Air New Zealand more than doubled first-half profit and said it expects full-year earnings to surge at least 70 percent as lower fuel prices and growing passenger numbers boost revenue. Net income jumped 154 percent to NZ$338 million ($225 million) in the six months to December 31, the Auckland-based airline said Thursday. Pretax earnings climbed to NZ$457 ...

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• 25 February

  HNA, teachers’ consortium to lead London airport bid

  

  London / Bloomberg China’s HNA Group and a consortium led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Borealis Infrastructure are in the lead to buy London City Airport from its US owners, people familiar with the matter said. The central London airport, owned by Global Infrastructure Partners, could fetch more than 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion), the people said, asking ...

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• 25 February

  Airbus delivery goal shows ambitious indicators after Boeing target slashed

  

  Bloomberg Airbus Group SE announced plans to lift output of the aging A330 jet and predicted higher annual deliveries, indicating its confidence weeks after US rival Boeing Co. shocked investors by flagging a drop in output. The European planemaker said it will restore A330 production to seven a month in 2017, suggesting it has come to terms with a demand ...

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• 25 February

  Target’s 4Q gains miss estimates on heavy discounting

  Bloomberg Target’s heavy discounting during the crucial holiday season squeezed fourth-quarter profits. But its trendy assortments and spiffed up presentations induced shoppers to spend more. The company, based in Minneapolis, also offered an upbeat outlook, sending shares more than 3 percent higher. The results show Target has made solid progress in reinvigorating its business and winning back shoppers. It initiated ...

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• 25 February

  China’s richest man eyeing France’s thriving retail space

  

  Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group Co. is planning to invest billions of euros in a retail and leisure development outside of Paris, according to two people familiar with the matter. An announcement may come as soon as on Friday, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the project is confidential. Wang ...

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• 25 February

  Dark side of lucrative mobile industry

  

  AFP As the world’s largest mobile phone fair hosts the “creme de la creme” in Barcelona, activists slam the dark side of a sector accused of ignoring rights abuses in Chinese factories and Congolese mines. “Behind this modern, progressive industry lurk dark themes like labour exploitation or minerals stained with blood that come from conflict zones,” says Alba Trepat, campaigns ...

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• 25 February

  Coffee pods aren’t brewing trouble for planet

  

  Bloomberg Drowsy German bureaucrats in Hamburg will soon have one less option for a mid-afternoon caffeine jolt, after the city banned single-serve coffee machines such as Nespresso from government buildings. The new regulations have a worthy purpose. They hope to defend the environment, under the assumption that the use and disposal of thousands of tiny coffee capsules or pods leads ...

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• 25 February

  Looking beyond dairy

  

  RITIKA SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS Michael Hussey, Bord Bia’s market manager for Middle East Region, opened the brand’s first office in early 2014 to support the Irish food industry in the region. Michael has been with the company since 2001, as senior sector manager with responsibility for the dairy and ingredients sector during which he developed the ‘Origin Green’ marketing ...

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• 25 February

  Organically beautiful !

  

  RITIKA SHARMA/ Emirates Business It started as a home grown grooming brand in 2001 and today it is recognized as one of the largest multi-award winning organically grown companies in the beauty sector. UAE’s largest, award-winning grooming brand, NStyle International is growing in leaps and bounds. With over 30 outlets dotted across the globe, NStyle is looking to open over 50 ...

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• 24 February

  UAE in new development phase

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who is also the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has stressed that upon the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE entered into a new phase of ...

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