May, 2019

• 5 May

  Air France-KLM’s Q1 loss widens as wage hit shows cost of union peace

  

  Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group’s first-quarter loss more than doubled as fares fell and wages climbed following union deals struck by Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith after he took charge last year. The loss jumped to 303 million euros ($339 million) from 118 million euros a year earlier, with higher fuel costs and currency fluctuations also taking their toll. The loss ...

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• 5 May

  Gildan bets on Bangladesh hub to expand apparel output in Asia

  

  Bloomberg Apparel giant Gildan Activewear Inc is building a new manufacturing hub in Bangladesh, aiming to supply both Europe and a Chinese market that it described as “on fire.” The Montreal-based manufacturer of T-shirts and innerwear spent $45 million to buy land in the South Asian country, where it’s been since 2010 and currently employs 3,500 people. Gildan expects the ...

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• 5 May

  Neiman Marcus plans its luxury apparel unit sale

  Bloomberg Neiman Marcus Group Inc is working with Lazard Ltd on the sale of luxury apparel platform MyTheresa, which may fetch more than 500 million euros ($560 million), people familiar with the matter said. Neiman said that it was evaluating options for MyTheresa, which has been at the centre of a dispute with creditors since the unit was effectively transferred ...

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• 5 May

  H&M abandons its print catalogue after 39 years

  

  Bloomberg One of the last vestiges of traditional shopping habits is being laid to rest. Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz AB said it ceased publication of its print catalogue after 39 years with immediate effect. The move follows dwindling interest from customers in flipping through glossy pages of inventory when they can find the latest deals with their mobile ...

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• 4 May

  UAE non-oil private sector activity hits 16-month high

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The UAE non-oil private sector recorded a sharp monthly improvement in business conditions — the greatest since December 2017, according to Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index. The composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy rose for the second month running in April, hitting 57.6 from 55.7 ...

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• 4 May

  Cyclone Fani hits Bangladesh after killing eight in India

  

  Bloomberg Cyclone Fani barrelled through the eastern parts of India, unleashing heavy rain and prompting authorities in the country and neighbouring Bangladesh to evacuate a total of more than 3.5 million people to shelters. At least eight people were killed as the windstorm swamped towns and villages, the Press Trust of India reported, citing government officials it didn’t name. Dhaka-based ...

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• 4 May

  Noor Bank’s Q1 profit up 8%

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Noor Bank, one of the leading Shari’ah-compliant banks in the UAE, has announced a net profit of AED217 million in Q1 2019, an increase of eight per cent over the same period last year and 220 per cent on last quarter. The Bank’s top-line revenue also rose by eight per cent during the period under review, ...

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• 4 May

  US to extend waivers tied to Iran nuclear program

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration will renew several key waivers that allow Iran to keep operating a limited civilian nuclear program, a move that heads off a clash with European allies and Tehran over the fate of a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned last year. The US is extending five waivers the administration had previously granted allowing nations that remain in ...

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• 4 May

  Oil advances on US jobs report

  Bloomberg Oil eked out a gain as a forecast-topping US jobs report signalled a strong domestic economy to go along with the supply disruptions squeezing global crude markets. Futures in New York rose 0.2 percent, after unemployment unexpectedly fell to a 49-year low in world’s biggest econ- omy, with cooler-than-projected wage gains. Crude nonetheless recorded a loss for the week ...

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• 4 May

  Singapore’s Hyflux in talks with Utico to secure $294mn funds

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s Hyflux Ltd, the water and power company battling for survival, said it is in talks with Middle Eastern utility Utico FZC about securing S$400 million ($294 million) of funds, disclosing the identity of the potential investor after receiving a non-binding letter of intent. Hyflux’s legal and financial advisers are in discussions with Utico on the details of the ...

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