Wednesday , 4 March 2026

Pilot strike grounds nearly 900 Lufthansa flights

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s long-running pilot dispute reached new levels of bitterness as a failed bid to have a day-long strike declared illegal led a union to retaliate by extending the walkout by 24 hours. Lufthansa canceled 876 flights on Wednesday, disrupting travel for 100,000 people, and could lose a similar number of services on Thursday after the Vereinigung …

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USA clears more plane deliveries to Iran Air: Airbus

  Paris / AFP The United States has approved a second export licence for Airbus to sell jetliners worth billions of dollars to Iran’s flag carrier, the European aviation giant said. “We confirm that we have received our second licence from the US Office of Foreign Control Assets following the agreement (with Iran Air) signed in January 2016 in Paris,” …

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Canada considers buying 18 Super Hornet fighter jets

  Bloomberg Boeing Co.’s aging Super Hornet fighter is getting a lift after Canada said it planned to purchase 18 as a stopgap measure while the government begins a five-year bidding process for new jets to modernize its fleet. The country will enter negotiations with Boeing to “immediately explore” the acquisition of the jets, and a separate competition will be …

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Pilot strike threatens Amazon and DHL shipments

  Bloomberg ABX Air, which flies packages for Amazon.com Inc. and DHL Worldwide Express, asked a federal judge to force striking pilots back to work and thwart a threat to disrupt deliveries during the holiday shopping season. About 250 pilots employed by ABX Air, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group Inc., are striking to protest alleged staffing shortages at …

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Fiji Airways orders five new Boeing 737s

  Suva / AFP Fiji Airways announced on Wednesday it had ordered five new Boeing 737s — reportedly worth $470 million — as part of a fleet upgrade programme at the Pacific nation’s flag carrier. The airline said it would take delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft next year and three more in 2018 to replace five earlier-model …

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Mastercard, Visa poised to reap spoils of India’s war on cash

  Bloomberg India’s war on cash has at least two likely victors: Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. The world’s largest payment networks will see a surge in transactions and cardholders after the Indian government’s decision this month to remove high-denomination bills from circulation, according to analysts who cover the companies. The two networks have been pushing for this kind of …

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Long bank queues in India? There’s an app for that!

  New Delhi / AFP Huge bank queues have become an ubiquitous sight across India after the government suddenly withdrew the two highest denomination notes from circulation two weeks ago — but now you can hire-a-queuer online. New Delhi-based startup BookMyChotu — a play on the Hindi word “chotu” meaning “little one” — is cashing in on the cash crunch, …

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HSBC to advise Saudi pension fund on financial hub sale

  Bloomberg The local unit of HSBC Holdings Plc is advising Saudi Arabia’s Public Pension Agency on the sale of its struggling financial hub to the country’s sovereign wealth fund, according to people familiar with the matter. The Public Investment Fund is offering to acquire the Riyadh district for less than the pension fund’s 30 billion riyals ($8 billion) investment, …

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OPEC deal raises WTI price forecast: Goldman

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its oil-price forecast for early next year, while Russia, Iran and Iraq separately signaled optimism that producer nations will be able to reach a deal to limit output at OPEC’s next meeting on Nov. 30. Goldman is now “tactically bullish” on the likelihood of an OPEC agreement and expects oil prices in New …

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Three Spanish banks fined over ‘empty halls’

  Barcelona / AFP Barcelona’s leftwing city council charged three Spanish banks over a million euros in fines for keeping four apartments empty for more than two years. The city issued a fine of 315,000 euros ($335,000) for each of the empty apartments, which the banks have had on their books for over two years, and which they have refused …

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