BLOOMBERG Airbus SE will double production capacity in China of its top-selling jet in a bold bet on future demand in one of the world’s biggest aviation markets. The European planemaker will add a second final assembly line for A320 narrow-bodies at its existing factory in Tianjin, under a deal signed by Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury in Beijing. The ...
Read More »Southwest CEO’s bonus rises despite holiday meltdown
BLOOMBERG Southwest Airlines Co, which promised to cut bonus payments after a late-December meltdown in flight operations, boosted short-term incentive pay for its chief executive officer and chief operations officer. CEO Bob Jordan’s bonus for 2022 rose 89% to $195,720, according to a regulatory filing by the Dallas-based airline. He received more than $5.3 million in total compensation last year, ...
Read More »Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $8.9bn to resolve cancer lawsuits
BLOOMBERG Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it agreed to pay $8.9 billion to resolve all cancer lawsuits tied to its talc-based powders and will make a fresh attempt to contain the liability within a bankruptcy filing by one of its units. The world’s largest maker of healthcare products hopes to settle complaints from about 60,000 claimants and fund a trust ...
Read More »Inflation is helping drive a boom in secondhand shopping
BLOOMBERG A growing number of people are buying used clothing, shoes and accessories, propelling the secondhand industry to $177 billion in global sales last year, according to a new report from online thrift marketplace ThredUp Inc. That marks a 28% increase over 2021, thanks to surging inflation, more retailers developing curated secondhand or “resale†offerings, plus increased awareness of sustainable ...
Read More »Trade growth to slow to 1.7% in 2023: WTO
GENEVA / WAM Global trade growth in 2023 is still expected to be subpar despite a slight upgrade to GDP projections since last fall, WTO (World Trade Organization) economists said in a new forecast. Weighed down by the effects of the crisis in Ukraine, stubbornly high inflation, tighter monetary policy and financial market uncertainty, the volume of world merchandise trade ...
Read More »UK housing market slump drags construction activity lower
BLOOMBERG The UK’s construction industry grew more slowly than expected in March as sliding demand for houses cut into activity across the sector. The Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index from S&P Global fell to 50.7 in March — above the crucial no-change reading of 50 but down from 54.6 in February. It missed economists’ expectations of 53.6. While activity on commercial ...
Read More »Vodafone fields approaches for $4b Spanish business
BLOOMBERG Vodafone Group Plc’s Spanish business is attracting takeover interest from potential buyers, including Apollo Global Management Inc, people with knowledge of the matter said. The British telecommunications group has been contacted by other financial and strategic suitors interested in the business, according to the people. While it’s not running a formal sale process for the unit, Vodafone would consider ...
Read More »S Korea dismisses report of US spying on allies, says ties strong
BLOOMBERG South Korea played down any possibility of a rift with the US over a report that American intelligence agencies had eavesdropped on allies’ discussions about Ukraine, reiterating that its alliance with Washington remains strong. “We will review past precedents and cases from other countries to come up with countermeasures,†and will hold consultations with the US on the issue, ...
Read More »US election in 2024 won’t change Aukus plans: Australia PM
BLOOMBERG Australia is confident its agreement with the US to purchase a fleet of nuclear submarines for delivery in the early 2030s will go ahead no matter who wins the 2024 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. In an interview broadcast on Sky News on Sunday, Albanese was asked about growing political division in the US following the indictment of ...
Read More »China holds military exercises around Taiwan
BLOOMBERG China held a second day of military drills around Taiwan, with multiple exercises involving aircraft and ships, after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a visit to the US. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that it detected 58 aircraft from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and nine warships near Taiwan as of midday, with 31 of ...
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