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BLoomberg Associated British Foods Plc’s Primark reported a slowdown in sales growth in the first quarter, showing that even the most reliable fashion retailers aren’t immune to the rise of online shopping. At constant currency rates, Primark’s sales rose 7 percent in the 16 weeks to January 6, the London-based company said. That missed analysts’ estimates for growth of 10 ...

Bloomberg The US government has opened an investigation into snow removal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport following a storm earlier this month that snarled scores of flights. The Federal Aviation Administration is probing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s actions during the storm on January 4-5, the agency said. The investigation will determine “if ...

Bloomberg Asian airport operators’ earnings, and their share prices, may be ready to take off. Rising wealth, improving connectivity and social media penetration will spur spending on international air travel, Morgan Stanley analysts including Daniel Lau wrote in a research report. Operating profit growth for airports under the firm’s coverage will pick up to a 9.5 percent compounded annual growth ...

Bloomberg A tourist boom has caused traffic at Iceland’s Keflavik airport to grow more than five-fold over the past nine years, with a predicted 10 million passengers this year. Now Iceland’s main entry point to the world is preparing to accommodate twice as many. The airport expects to invest about $1 billion over the next 7 to 8 years to ...

Bloomberg While President Donald Trump prepares to announce his decision on new solar panel import tariffs, the US industry is quietly trying to broker a sweeping deal to settle a different trade dispute with China involving an estimated $1.5 billion held by Washington. Since 2012, the US has been collecting duties on panels imported from China. American solar companies are ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is ready for its initial public offering in the second half, with the government yet to decide where to list the shares, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said. The kingdom will decide where the stock will be traded, not the company, Nasser said at Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia. One option being ...

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc agreed to annual deals to buy Libyan crude, underscoring how the North African country’s recovering production and improving security are enticing some of the world’s largest oil companies. Shell’s deal with Libya’s National Oil Corp. was the first of its kind since 2013, and Europe’s biggest oil company will load its first ...

Bloomberg OPEC and other global oil producers including Russia won’t be discussing how to end output cuts when they meet this weekend in Oman even as crude prices have recently been rising, Kuwait’s oil minister said. Compliance among all countries in the cuts was 125 percent in December, Bakheet Al-Rashidi told reporters in Kuwait City. The rate is preliminary as ...

Bloomberg When OPEC and Russia review their strategy for clearing a global oil glut, they’ll face an unusual problem: it could be working just a bit too well. As their output cuts, coupled with robust global demand, tighten the market, crude prices have soared to a three-year high near $70 a barrel. That’s prompted warnings — from Iran’s oil minister ...

Reuters Oman’s sovereign wealth fund is planning to start a $1 billion infrastructure fund to boost investment in projects including the Gulf state’s road, transport and energy systems, according to people familiar with the matter. The State General Reserve Fund is talking to international banks and potential investors for the financing, the people said, asking not to be identified because ...