Uber now offers rides in more than 200 U.S. cities. Rival Lyft does too. But Uber gets an estimated 60 percent of its U.S. revenue from just five metropolitan areas (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington), according to a new report from the research firm 7Park Data. There is a similar regional concentration in ride-business data ...
Read More »Titans of law are worthy of a Nobel, too
Now that this year’s Nobel Prizes have all been awarded, we can play the annual game of wondering what other fields should be included. Why should the great scientists, writers, peacemakers and economists have all the fun? (And get all the money?) Every year there’s a new suggestion: Why not visual art? Why not athletics? This time around, the ...
Read More »Qatar Airways bags ‘Mideast Airline of the Year’ award
DUBAI / Emirates Business International business travellers have once again chosen Qatar Airways as the Middle East Airline of the Year applauding the airline’s global network, modern aircraft, and luxurious Business Class service for providing them with an exceptional travel experience. The accolade, presented at the 10th annual Aviation Business Awards held in Dubai, encapsulates passengers’ pleasure in flying ...
Read More »Boeing China veteran to take top sales job
Bloomberg Boeing Co.’s chief airplane salesman, John Wojick, will retire from the post in early 2017 after four years of globetrotting and head-to-head competitions with Airbus Group SE for multibillion-dollar jetliner orders. He’ll be replaced by senior vice president Ihssane Mounir, who leads the planemaker’s sales team in northeastern Asia, Boeing commercial airplane chief Ray Conner said in an ...
Read More »Kenya Airways to halt ticket sales
Bloomberg Kenya Airways will stop selling tickets unless a pilots union calls off a seven-day strike to protest against Chief Executive Officer Mbuvi Ngunze as Africa’s third-largest airline strives to minimize losses from the walkout. “The threatened action is already costing Kenya Airways significant losses as passengers have begun to make cancellations,†the airline part-owned by Air France-KLM said ...
Read More »Australian, NZ carriers ban recalled Note 7
Sydney / AFP Australian and New Zealand airlines barred the recalled Samsung Note 7 from all planes starting Sunday citing its “potential fire risk”, after a similar ban was imposed by US officials. Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, has halted production of its latest flagship mobile device and recalled all Note 7 phones and replacements following reports of ...
Read More »Airlines, tour agents brace for Thai slowdown
Bloomberg Asia’s airlines, tour agents and cruise operators are on alert for a tourism slowdown in Thailand following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The government called on the country to avoid “joyful events” for 30 days and to dress in mourning for a year. Travel companies across the region say they’re now trying to grasp the potential consequences ...
Read More »Construction Bank in $743mn debt plan with Yunnan Tin
Bloomberg China Construction Bank Corp., the nation’s second-largest lender, said it agreed to form an almost 5 billion yuan ($743 million) debt-to-equity pact with Yunnan Tin Group. The agreement is part of a larger 10-billion yuan framework the two companies signed to cut Yunnan Tin’s debt ratio, the Beijing-based lender said in a statement on its website on Sunday. ...
Read More »Serbia keeps key rates unchanged for third month
Bloomberg The Serbian central bank left borrowing costs unchanged for a third month, disregarding an unexpected inflation slowdown and watching out for the dinar’s reaction to the increasing prospects of an interest-rate increase in the U.S. The National Bank of Serbia left the benchmark one-week repurchase rate at 4 percent, according to a statement on its website. Twenty-one of ...
Read More »NCB posts $523mn net profit in Q3
DUBAI / Reuters National Commercial Bank (NCB) missed analysts’ forecasts on Sunday by reporting a 1.6 percent fall in third-quarter net profit, as Saudi Arabia’s largest listed lender provided more evidence that a weaker economy is hurting the banking sector. Banks in the kingdom are feeling the pinch as depressed oil prices slow economic growth to its lowest level ...
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