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  Against all expectation (not a single economist polled by Bloomberg had predicted it), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has cut interest rates. The ease was only by 10 basis points, to the bank’s one-year lending rate, but it was still in the exact opposite direction to the monetary route being taken in the west and in the rest ...

Bloomberg British Airways check-in staff approved a pay settlement that their union said amounts to a 13% raise, while Uber Technologies Inc agreed to raise fares in the UK to boost earnings for its drivers. BA employees “overwhelmingly backed” the settlement, the Unite union said, after announcing last month that an agreement had been reached to avert strikes at the ...

  Bloomberg Malaysia Airlines said it will acquire 20 Airbus SE A330neo wide-body planes as it seeks more fuel-efficient jets amid a travel rebound. The Southeast Asian carrier will purchase 10 A330-900 aircraft, with the rest coming from lessor Avolon Holdings Ltd existing order book, it said in a statement. The model is a re-engined version of the original A330 ...

Bloomberg The decision by five Chinese state-owned companies to leave US stock exchanges adds to skepticism that authorities in both countries can reach an agreement on disclosure rules, with analysts seeing state-controlled airlines as the next potential group to depart, possibly followed by internet giants. China and Hong Kong are the only jurisdictions worldwide that don’t allow inspections by the ...

Bloomberg Scenes of mayhem unfolded in an Ikea in Shanghai as health authorities tried to lock down the store and quarantine those on site after learning someone who had been in contact with a Covid-19 patient had visited. News of the flash shutdown sent shoppers fleeing and screaming in an effort to get out of the building before the doors ...

  Bloomberg The recovery of global business-travel spending to the pre-pandemic level of $1.4 trillion has been pushed out 18 months to mid-2026 by inflation, economic slowing and high energy prices, the Global Business Travel Association is forecasting. The return to the 2019 level also is being slowed by supply-chain disruptions, labour shortages, lockdowns in China and the effects of ...

  Bloomberg Paramount Global reached a deal with Walmart Inc to offer its streaming service to subscribers of the retail giant’s membership program. Under the agreement, Walmart+ members will have access to the Paramount+ Essential plan, an ad-supported version of the streaming service, at no additional cost, according to a statement. The offering may bolster Walmart’s appeal as it tries ...

Bloomberg The top American naval commander in Asia criticized what he said were unsafe and provocative actions by Chinese warplanes, reiterating US complaints about behavior that officials argue could prompt a clash. Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy’s Japan-based Seventh Fleet, expressed concern Tuesday about increasingly assertive efforts by the People’s Liberation Army to intercept US and ...

  Bloomberg The US and its two top Asian allies announced they had conducted a joint missile defense exercise off Hawaii, raising the profile of exercises that show their willingness to work together in the face of threats posed by North Korea and China. The anti-missile drill took place Aug. 8-14 at the same time as the multinational Pacific Dragon ...

Bloomberg Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who lost the August 9 presidential elections by a tiny margin, rejected the outcome of the vote and vowed to take constitutional steps to challenge it. Odinga, 77, who was making his fifth run at the presidency and secured 48.9% of the vote to Deputy President William Ruto’s 50.5%, said the head of ...