October, 2021

• 21 October

  Don’t blame India for blocking the WTO

  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is due to visit New Delhi this week and, to be honest, nobody in India knows why she’s coming. Trade experts elsewhere are aware that the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) new director-general has staked her credibility — and the organisation’s — on completing a long-delayed agreement to curb subsidies that have encouraged massive overfishing. As far as the ...

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• 21 October

  Heathrow fees to increase by 56%, angering airlines

  

  Bloomberg Britain will allow London Heathrow airport to lift its charges by as much as 56%, stoking a clash with airlines who warned that higher fares will stifle a recovery at Europe’s busiest airport. The announcement by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sets up months of high-stakes lobbying before a final decision early next year. The hike could prove ...

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• 21 October

  Thai AirAsia parent seeks to raise up to $540 million

  

  Bloomberg Asia Aviation Pcl, the operator of Thailand’s biggest budget carrier Thai AirAsia Co, plans to raise as much as 17.9 billion baht ($535 million) from new loans, share sales and convertible-debt offerings as it attempts to restock coffers depleted by the worst crisis in aviation history. A revised financial restructuring plan for the company has been put forward and ...

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• 21 October

  Airports South Africa building its defense against Covid resurgence

  

  Bloomberg Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) is looking to generate more income from hotels and land, win service contracts and boost cargo revenue to prepare for a potential fresh wave of Covid-19 infections and restrictions. The state-controlled owner of international hubs including Johannesburg and Cape Town fears a new coronavirus variant may emerge that is vaccine resistant, CEO Mpumi Mpofu ...

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• 21 October

  United Air posts smaller loss after variant wrecks profit plan

  

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc posted a narrower loss than analysts had expected as a dip in demand from a summer surge in the coronavirus delta variant proved fleeting. The carrier lost $1.02 per share, or $300 million, in the third quarter on an adjusted pretax basis, better than the $1.61 loss analysts had estimated, according to figures compiled by ...

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• 21 October

  India opens inflight data market to UK’s Inmarsat

  Bloomberg British satellite operator Inmarsat Holdings Ltd said it’s the first foreign operator to get India’s approval to sell high-speed broadband to planes and shipping vessels. Inmarsat will access the market via Indian state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, after BSNL received a license from India’s Department of Telecommunications, the London-based company said. A representative for the Indian government ...

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• 21 October

  Russia urges major foreign aid for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

  

  Bloomberg Russia called for major international aid to help the Taliban control the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday as it hosted the radical movement for the first time since the chaotic US withdrawal in August brought it to power. It’s time to “mobilise the resources of the international community to provide Kabul with effective financial, economic and humanitarian help,” said ...

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• 21 October

  Kering shares fall after Gucci growth slows

  Bloomberg Kering SA shares tumbled after slowing growth at Gucci, its biggest brand, put more pressure on the label’s new collection to deliver a strong holiday season. Comparable sales at the Italian brand rose 3.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, Kering said in a statement. Analysts had forecast a 9.3% increase. The performance suffered from virus restrictions, ...

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• 21 October

  Blinken calls Venezuela move to leave Mexico talks ‘unfortunate’

  

  Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Venezuela’s decision to withdraw from talks with the political opposition “deeply unfortunate,” saying the move showed how President Nicolas Maduro put his own interests ahead of his country’s. Speaking at a news conference in Quito, Ecuador, Blinken said the extradition of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Maduro’s, had been “going on ...

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• 21 October

  Merkel’s final weeks marked by fears EU is picking a bad fight

  

  Bloomberg Angela Merkel is worried that some European Union leaders and lawmakers are thrusting the EU into a fight with Poland that leaves no room for compromise and could end in disaster. In her final weeks in the job, the German chancellor has publicly warned in her own carefully couched and diplomatic way about the EU’s tactics in the confrontation. ...

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