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Bloomberg British Airways parent IAG SA will almost halve its planned expansion, reducing expected earnings growth, as it responds to slowing economies and a glut of seats that’s depressed prices. IAG, which also owns Spain’s Iberia, Aer Lingus of Ireland and discount operators Vueling and Level, will now increase capacity by 3.4% a year in the 2020-2022 period, it said. …

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG is stepping back from a commitment to buy 14 Boeing Co 777X wide-body jets valued at $6.2 billion as it slows fleet growth in an effort to cut capital spending and rein in capacity. Announced as a regular order six years ago as part of a 34-jet deal, the aircraft have been re-designated as “options,” Lufthansa …

Bloomberg A judge has permanently blocked the union representing Allegiant Travel Co pilots from threatening a strike or staging a work slowdown in a dispute over a work scheduling system. A magistrate judge in a federal district court in Nevada signed a final order in the case. The ruling resolves a case in which Allegiant claimed a threatened walkout by …

Bloomberg No longer the khaki king of the ’90s, Gap Inc has been in need of an overhaul for a very long time — and Art Peck won’t be the one to deliver it after all. Gap fired its chief executive officer after his turnaround efforts failed to reignite sales growth, with disappointing third-quarter performance sending shares plummeting in late …

Bloomberg Chinese state-owned entities are in talks about investing a combined $5 billion to $10 billion in Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO), people with knowledge of the matter said. The Beijing-based Silk Road Fund is among parties that have been in discussions to buy stock in the offering, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the …

DUBAi / WAM The 2019 edition of the Islamic Banking Index by Emirates Islamic demonstrates significant progress made by the Islamic banking sector across parameters, with Islamic banking penetration reaching its highest level since the inception of the Index five years ago. Top-line findings of this year’s milestone edition of index indicate the sector continues to widen its appeal to …

Bloomberg Oil held near a six-week high as signs of another increase in US crude reaffirmed the prevailing view that global markets are comfortably supplied. Futures added 0.2% in New York after rising 5.6% over the past three sessions. The American Petroleum Institute reported that crude stockpiles increased by 4.26 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the …

Dubai / Emirates Business Airlines and airports spent a record $50 billion in 2018 on IT to support improvements to the passenger journey and are now beginning to enjoy the benefit of that investment. Figures published by SITA for the first time show that this investment has resulted in a significant improvement in both the satisfaction levels for passengers and …

Bloomberg Germany’s finance ministry sought to break the deadlock in discussions over European banking integration by signaling it may drop its opposition to a key part of the plan. Berlin is ready to consider a form of joint European deposit insurance, something that would stabilise the financial system by reducing the risk of bank runs, according to a finance ministry …

Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months and said it will ease rules on outflows to curb a surging currency. Five of the seven Monetary Policy Committee members voted to cut the key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 1.25%, the central bank said in a statement. That matches a …