Business

Italy to launch virtual pavilion on Alibaba e-commerce platform

Ren Leen November 23, 2020

ROME (ITALY) – Italy on Monday signed a partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to build a virtual store for Italian products, in a move aimed at boosting business-to-business (B2B) exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Made in Italy Pavilion” will serve as

Business

Lenders of Cineworld agree to waive debt to rule out closures

Editorial Bureau November 23, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain’s Cineworld Group said on Monday its lenders had agreed to waive its debt covenants until June 2022. The company secured $450 million in new loans to rule out the coronavirus crisis.

Business

Delta implies at the chances of purchasing Boeing’s 737 MAX

Editorial Bureau November 22, 2020

GEORGIA (US) – Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Ed Bastian hinted at the possibility of purchasing Boeing Co’s 737 MAX, which was recently approved to fly again by U.S. regulators, in an interview to the Financial Times on Sunday. “We’re talking to Boeing about lots of different things, the Max included,” Delta’s chief executive told […]

Business

Benettons look forward to hiring professor to help with Atlantia dispute

Editorial Bureau November 22, 2020

ROME (ITALY) – Italy’s Benetton family has asked well-connected business economics professor Enrico Laghi to help solve a dispute over the future of Atlantia’s motorway unit Autostrade per l’Italia, two sources familiar with the matter said. The wealthy family, which owns 30% of infrastructure group Atlantia, has been embroiled in a feud with the

Business

Italian govt gives nod to stimulus package aimed at helping battered businesses

Editorial Bureau November 21, 2020

ROME (ITALY) – Italy has given the nod to a new package worth 10 billion euros ($11.9 billion) in a bid to extend support to businesses affected by the pandemic crisis. Under the measures approved late on Friday, Rome will immediately offer 1.95 billion euros in grants to coronavirus-hit businesses and food aid for the […]

Business

Pandemic regulations flatten Hong Kong’s once-thriving tourism industry

Editorial Bureau November 20, 2020

HONG KONG – At a port in northern Hong Kong, hundreds of tour buses are gathering dust as they have been off the road for 10 months since city authorities have prohibited tourists from visiting the financial hub because of the pandemic. According to Freddy Yip, president of Hong Kong’s Travel Agent Owners Association, the […]

Business

Amazon cuts down staff at Prime Air drone project

Editorial Bureau November 20, 2020

NEW YORK (US) – Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it had laid off a considerable number of staff working on the e-commerce giant’s delivery drone project as part of a reorganisation of the team. The US retailer has been working on to deliver goods to a large number of its customers by using a fleet […]

Business

British factories witness big dip in orders following resurgence of COVID-19

Editorial Bureau November 19, 2020

LONDON (UK) – The resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic prompted a sharper fall in new orders for British factories this month, a survey showed on Thursday. The Confederation of British Industry’s monthly manufacturing order book balance fell to -40 from October’s seven-month high of -34, despite the strongest reading for output since September 2019. A

Business

Carrefour heeds minister’s request, suspends ‘Black Friday’ sales

Editorial Bureau November 19, 2020

PARIS (FRANCE) – A spokesperson for Carrefour said on Thursday that Europe’s biggest retailer has decided to suspend its Black Friday sales event, which was slated to take place from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday urged supermarkets and online retailers to reschedule Black Friday sales as shops […]

Business

Buoyed by online shopping boom Royal Mail raises revenue prediction

Editorial Bureau November 19, 2020

LONDON (UK) – On Thursday, Britain’s Royal Mail raised its full-year revenue prediction as it stood to gain from the spurt in online shopping because of the pandemic spread and the lockdowns. However, the firm warned that it was grappling with the costs of social distancing and the loss-making letters business. According to the firm, […]