UK’s plug-in hybrid van targets delivery firms to plumbers

Bloomberg The maker of Britain’s iconic black cabs is building a plug-in hybrid van that can travel for 377 miles without recharging or filling up, in a bid to win over long-distance delivery firms and other companies that rely on purely gasoline vehicles. London Electric Vehicle Co is targeting high-mileage fleets at firms such as Royal Mail Plc and utilities ...

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Airline Wi-Fi that actually works is coming soon

Bloomberg Air travel and glitch-free internet access are often considered mutually exclusive, thanks to the technical difficulties associated with making Wi-Fi work at 40,000 feet. For the airlines, a satisfying online experience is even more elusive. The hardware, software, maintenance and inability to easily switch service providers combine for a very expensive headache. But there may be some good news ...

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ECB’s Lane expects euro-area economic rebound from virus

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) expects the euro-area economy to bounce back from the coronavirus outbreak, Chief Economist Philip Lane said, playing down concerns that the region could slip into a downturn that requires another interest-rate cut. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York, Lane acknowledged that the full impact of the disease remains unknown, and ...

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Fed’s Brainard calls for new strategy to reach inflation goal

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard called for the adoption of new strategies by the central bank to achieve its 2% inflation goal and fight off future recessions. The Fed should seek above-target price gains to make up for past inflation shortfalls and should cap Treasury debt yields if it’s forced to lower short-term rates as far as they can ...

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Canada’s RBC planning to start direct-to-consumer bank in US

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) plans to start a new “direct-to-consumer” business in the US to increase deposits and ultimately broaden out its offerings to a more mainstream clientele. The expansion is likely to come at the end of 2020 or early next year, and will be focused initially on higher-net-worth customers, Chief Executive Officer David McKay said during ...

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Yen not losing haven status: BOJ’s Kuroda

Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda shrugged off speculation that the yen is losing its status as a safe asset and blamed its depreciation on the dollar. “I don’t think there has been a fundamental change in the situation of foreign-exchange rates,” Kuroda told reporters on Saturday in Riyadh, where he is attending a Group of 20 meeting. ...

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JPMorgan, United Airlines renew credit-card deal into 2029

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co renewed their long-time credit-card partnership through 2029, capping months of negotiations. The new deal, and an amended pact with Visa, gives United an extra $400 million this year, according to a regulatory filing by the airline. United declined to provide additional details on the financial impact of the agreement. Revamping ...

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Hindujas, Cerberus partner to bid for Yes Bank stake

Bloomberg Hinduja Group Ltd is partnering with private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP in seeking to pick up a stake in embattled Yes Bank Ltd, according to people familiar with the matter. Representatives of Cerberus and the UK-based Hinduja group, run by brothers Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, met Reserve Bank of India officials earlier this month regarding the ...

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Air France-KLM warns of $216m hit from China virus

Bloomberg Air France-KLM warned the coronavirus outbreak will wipe as much as 200 million euros ($216 million) from earnings, hammering home the financial impact of the crisis even thousands of miles from its epicenter in China. The estimate includes losses from halting flights to the Asian nation this month and next, and assumes that services will resume in April, the ...

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Bigger jets flying more US routes amid coronavirus

Bloomberg Aviation enthusiasts take note: Look for bigger jets flying around North America over the next two months as the coronavirus forces carriers to redeploy some of their largest aircraft from suspended China routes. The US carrier with the most service to China, United Airlines Holdings, is moving 19 wide-body aircraft to mainly domestic service through April 23, when discontinued ...

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