To stem exodus, Cathay offers pilots up to $93,000 allowances

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd will alter monthly allowances and other perks for pilots as it tries to stem a wave of resignations among crew frustrated by the impact of Hong Kong’s Covid-19 policies on their lives. The changes depend on pilot ranking and come on top of base salaries and hourly flying rates. From next year, the most ...

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Virgin Australia opens invitation-only lounges

  Bloomberg Virgin Australia opened three small invitation-only airport lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, renewing its push under new owner Bain Capital into a business-travel market dominated by Qantas Airways Ltd. The lounges are accessed through unmarked doors and have a boardroom for guests and freebies such as meals and refreshments. Together, they seat fewer than 250 people, the ...

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United Airlines sees a return to profit on surging summer travel

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc jumped after forecasting a profit this year, overcoming a first-quarter loss as consumers increasingly ditch their pandemic-era habits and resume air travel. The carrier’s operating margin in the second quarter will be about 10%, according to a statement. Fuelled by booming leisure sales heading into the summer and “rapidly returning” business travel, the performance ...

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Nestle starts year with strongest price increases in decade

Bloomberg Nestle SA reported a healthy gain in revenue as the world’s largest food company started the year with its strongest first-quarter pricing in more than a decade. Sales rose 7.6% on an organic basis in the first quarter, the company said. Analysts expected 5.1%. The figures exclude Russia, where Nestle has halted some activities. Food and beverage companies have ...

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Amazon targets Shopify with new ‘Buy With Prime’ service

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc said it will let merchants sell products they list with the e-commerce giant directly from their own websites, as part of a move to blunt the momentum of fast-growing competitor Shopify Inc. The new “Buy With Prime” feature combines Amazon’s payments and fulfillment services and makes them available at checkout on other websites, letting shoppers use ...

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FAA sticks to tough stance on unruly flyers

  Bloomberg Violent and unruly airline passengers will continue to face steep fines and potential criminal charges even as rules mandating face coverings fade away. The US Federal Aviation Administration said its zero-tolerance policy against unruly passengers will be made permanent as it attempts to deter bad behaviour. The move came two days after most major US airlines eliminated policies ...

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Traders bet ECB will lift policy rate above zero by year-end

  Bloomberg Traders are betting the European Central Bank (ECB) will raise rates above zero this year for the first time since 2012, after a string of hawkish comments from policy makers spurred speculation the bank is priming the market for faster-than-expected monetary tightening. Money markets are pricing 75 basis points of interest-rate hikes by the ECB’s December decision, according ...

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Fired BNP Paribas boss accused of ‘emotional terrorism’ seeks $4mn

  Bloomberg A senior BNP Paribas SA banker who denies terrorizing subordinates on the trading floor is claiming $4 million compensation for the unfair dismissal. Omar Alami, the then head of BNP’s equity derivatives sales for Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, was fired in 2019 after an internal report revealed that a rant at a trader he allegedly called “useless” and ...

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Bitcoin ETFs all set to roll out in Australia to test crypto demand

Bloomberg The Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) bandwagon is coming to Australia as regulators finalise approvals for products offering direct exposure to digital assets. Cosmos Asset Management said it’s preparing to launch the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF in coming days. It will invest in the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, a Toronto-listed fund with assets of about C$1.6 billion ($1.3 billion). “We ...

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Bank of Korea governor warns of debt, aging risks

  Bloomberg Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong highlighted rapidly rising private and public debt and an aging population as threats to South Korea’s economic outlook. Rhee took office on Thursday after being nominated by President Moon Jae-in almost a month ago. He has so far expressed support for higher interest rates to rein in inflationary pressures while pointing ...

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