Chinese firms bet on European fashion names as demand soars

Bloomberg As China’s shoppers power growth for European luxury brands, Chinese companies want to bring home some of the profits along with their Prada loafers. Fosun International Ltd. acquired a majority stake in French fashion house Lanvin for an undisclosed sum, the Shanghai-based group said. It’s the latest in a series of moves by Chinese companies to snap up iconic ...

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Flybe may get bid from airport operator Stobart

Bloomberg Logistics specialist and airports operator Stobart Group Ltd. said it’s looking at putting together a bid for Flybe Group Plc, Britain’s biggest domestic airline, as the regional carrier grapples with declining earnings. Flybe shares rose the most in four years as Stobart said options include taking a non-controlling interest in a business that would make a cash bid for ...

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London hubs could add 30 million passengers without new runways

Bloomberg Two of London’s three biggest airports said they could add almost 30 million more passengers between them yearly without requiring extra runways. Stansted, the biggest hub for Ryanair Holdings Plc, plans to apply to raise a cap on annual passenger numbers by almost one-quarter to 43 million, owner Manchester Airports Group said in a statement. That would be 17 ...

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Airbus super-jumbo sheds financial weight in revamped state aid deal

Bloomberg Airbus SE’s revised deal with the countries that helped fund the A380 superjumbo almost two decades ago will help save the European planemaker more than $1.4 billion, according to a regulatory filing. Future obligations for refundable advances declined by about about 17 percent to an estimated $7.3 billion, Airbus said in its annual financial statements. While the balance includes ...

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Stock recovery gets its groove back after a week of false starts

Bloomberg Bulls wondering if a rally would ever hold again got an answer on February 23, as a rousing advance in the S&P 500 salvaged the week and nearly erased losses from the worst day of the February selloff. Following three days in which every gain proved ephemeral, the 1.6 percent surge left the benchmark gauge for US equities up ...

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Austria seeks Bitcoin rules based on gold

Bloomberg Austria’s finance ministry is looking at the trading rules for gold and derivatives as inspiration for drawing up regulations on cryptocurrencies for the nation and for the European Union (EU). The goal is to prevent Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies from facilitating money laundering—a crime that’s no stranger to the precious metals business— and to bring trading platforms under ...

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Pratt reins in threat to $10bn jet-engine programme

Bloomberg Pratt & Whitney succeeded in tamping down the latest crisis to threaten its $10 billion next-generation jet-engine program, with a temporary fix that will keep Airbus SE planes flying until a permanent solution is found. Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp., scrapped a newly introduced seal that caused engine vibrations and took almost a dozen Airbus A320neos out ...

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British Airways owner presses on with expansion in crowded skies

Bloomberg British Airways owner IAG SA is following European rivals in a capacity splurge led by an expansion of its low-cost Level and Aer Lingus long-haul divisions, while going on the offensive in Europe. The shares fell as much as 3.9 percent in London, mirroring the reaction when rival Air France similarly said this month that it would charge ahead ...

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Subway’s ‘$2-off plan’ aims to reverse slump

Bloomberg Subway Restaurants, facing one of the biggest sales slumps in its five-decade history, is looking to win back customers with a new incentive: $2 discounts through a revamped loyalty program. The sandwich chain will let diners use their loyalty rewards on any menu items, lifting restrictions under the current programme. The new system, which will expand to 28,500 US ...

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