May, 2016

• 18 May

  Ikea plans $1bn sale of European real estate

    Bloomberg Ikea, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, plans to sell about €900 million ($1 billion) of European retail parks surrounding its stores, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Ikea has hired Cushman & Wakefield Inc. to help market the assets, two of the people said. Josefin Thorell, a spokeswoman for Ikea, confirmed that the company plans to ...

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• 18 May

  China home price gains spread as smaller cities march ahead

    Bloomberg Home prices rose in the most Chinese cities in more than two years in April, with gains in second-tier cities surpassing advances in larger hubs. New-home prices excluding government-subsidized housing climbed in 65 cities, compared with 62 in March, among the 70 cities tracked by the government, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That’s the most ...

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• 18 May

  Germany reaches wage deal for building workers

    AFP Unions and employers in Germany’s construction industry on Wednesday agreed a pay hike of around five percent for some 750,000 workers in the sector. The employers’ federation, ZDB, and the union IG Bau said they have agreed a pay increase of 4.6 percent for workers in the west of the country in two stages over a period of ...

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• 18 May

  5 midcentury modern mansions on the market now

  

    Bloomberg The appetite for midcentury modern homes never seems to abate—at least not according to the real estate agents who sell them. “Midcentury modern was one of the biggest home design trends in 2015 but has only continued to pick up steam in 2016,” says Kerrie Kelly, Zillow Digs home design expert. According to a study, homes with “Midcentury” ...

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• 18 May

  Burberry battles slump with cost cuts as revenue falls

  

    London / Bloomberg Burberry Group Plc unveiled a multi-year turnaround plan based on a narrower product range, its biggest cost purge in years and a sharper focus on bags and online sales, after lowering profit expectations for the second time in a month. Earnings for the year ending in March are likely to be near the bottom of the ...

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• 18 May

  Qatar Airways ups stake in IAG

  

    Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. increased its stake in British Airways owner IAG SA for the second time in less than three weeks, as the Persian Gulf carrier seeks to benefit from closer ties with its European partner. The move lifts Qatar Airways’ holding in IAG to 15 percent from a stake of close to 12 percent, which ...

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• 18 May

  Comair to keep flying amid probe

  

    London / Bloomberg Comair Ltd., the South African operator of British Airways flights, won a court ruling to continue flying in the country amid a legal investigation into whether the company breaches airline foreign-ownership limits. The High Court of Pretoria granted an interdict to the Johannesburg-based carrier that ensures its license won’t be withdrawn by the Air Services Licensing ...

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• 18 May

  Singapore Air to manage two low-fare carriers

  

    Singapore / Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd., seeking to restructure its budget airline business, established a new holding company to manage its two low-fare carriers amid speculation of a consolidation in the region. Budget Aviation Holdings Pte will control long-haul carrier Scoot and short-haul carrier Tiger Airways, allowing for greater integration and sharing of operations and planning, Singapore Air said ...

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• 18 May

  Sydney-London flight to take 2 hours in 2018

  

    Sydney / AFP A two-hour flight from Sydney to London is a step closer to reality after the latest successful test on Wednesday of hypersonic technology in the Australian desert. A joint US-Australian military research team is running a series of 10 trials at the world’s largest land testing range, Woomera in South Australia, and at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range. ...

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• 18 May

  Aviation fuel shortage disrupts flights in Nigeria

  Lagos / AFP A lack of jet fuel has led to the disruption of local and international flights in Nigeria, airlines said on Wednesday, warning travellers of cancellations. Arik, the country’s largest airline, said in a statement that scarcity of aviation fuel in the last few weeks had reached “alarming” levels due to an ongoing shortfall in imports. “Due to the ...

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