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Bloomberg Walmart Inc. agreed to buy a controlling stake in India’s biggest online retailer, striking a blow against rival Amazon.com Inc. as the battle for e-commerce supremacy goes global. The world’s largest retailer will acquire a 77 percent holding in Flipkart Group for $16 billion, the companies said in a statement. Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and other shareholders will hold ...

Bloomberg WestJet Airlines Ltd. dropped the most in more than two and a half years after it said increased spending to create a new low-cost unit and expand overseas will vastly exceed revenue growth. Costs for each seat flown a mile, excluding fuel and employee profit sharing, will climb as much as 8.5 percent this quarter, Canada’s second-biggest carrier said. ...

Bloomberg JD.com Inc. reported quarterly profit that fell short of analyst expectations as the Chinese online shopping giant ramps up the construction of physical shops and warehouses amid rising competition from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Adjusted earnings-per-share were 11 cents in the three months ended March, missing the 0.81 yuan average of analyst estimates. While sales for the quarter rose ...

Bloomberg British Airways parent IAG SA’s approach for Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA was opportunistically pitched to coincide with the discount carrier’s weakest period for earnings, according to Bjorn Kiese, its chairman. “It wasn’t a coincidence that this came at this time,” Kiese said at Norwegian’s annual shareholder meeting. “April, May is the weakest part of the cycle, also for the ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said the US will withdraw from the landmark 2015 accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program and that he would reinstate financial sanctions on the Islamic Republic, casting the Mideast into a new period of uncertainty. “The fact is this was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never ever been made,” Trump said at the White ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) completed the e-link project with Abu Dhabi Judicial Department — as part of both government institutions efforts to leverage performance, improve customer services, facilitate procedures and enhance communication channels. Under the project, official transactions will be based on a centralised digital system for both parties, as of March 2018. It ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The renewable energy industry has created more than 500,000 new jobs globally in 2017, a 5.3 percent increase from 2016, according to the latest figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). According to the fifth edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs — Annual Review, launched at Irena’s 15th Council in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Mashreq Bank, the UAE’s leading financial institution, on Tuesday announced that it will enter the non-bank financial institution (NBFI) space in India through an engagement with IL&FS Financial Services Ltd to offer external commercial borrowings (ECB) in Indian Rupees. Through the IL&FS Group, Mashreq will serve the Indian market across various verticals including financial services, power, ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Middle East and Africa’s largest international trade fair for beauty products, hair, fragrances, and wellbeing opened on Tuesday, with a new record in exhibitor numbers and exhibition space covered in its 23rd edition. Beautyworld Middle East is a magnet for retailers, distributors, and beauty professionals looking for the latest inspirations in beauty and wellbeing. The ...

Bloomberg The dollar rallied while oil dropped as traders braced themselves for President Donald Trump’s decision on the Iran nuclear deal. Stocks were little changed in the US and Europe. The greenback strengthened for a third session as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stuck with a message of gradual tightening. Italian shares tumbled on the prospect for fresh elections that ...