BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s aviation sector will aim to turn losses into profits this year with an expected recovery to 85% of its pre-COVID volume of domestic passenger trips, the aviation regulator said on Monday. China’s domestic air traffic, once the world’s envy after a fast rebound during the pandemic, is faltering due to a…

By Ron Bousso and Sabrina Valle LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – Europe’s Big Oil companies are planning to spend their windfall from high energy prices on becoming Small Oil. Surging oil and gas prices in 2021 delivered billions of dollars in profits to top oil companies, in stark contrast to the previous year when energy prices collapsed…

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s New Oriental dismissed 60,000 employees and saw operating income plunge by 80% after Beijing enforced new sweeping rules on the country’s private education industry that barred for-profit tutoring last year, according to its founder. Yu Minhong, who founded the company in 1993, published the figures on his official WeChat account on…

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Emerging economies must prepare for U.S. interest rate hikes, the International Monetary Fund said, warning that faster than expected Federal Reserve moves could rattle financial markets and trigger capital outflows and currency depreciation abroad. In a blog published Monday, the IMF said it expected robust U.S. growth to continue,…

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Major share markets made cautious gains on Monday as investors counted down to another U.S. inflation reading that could well set the seal on an early rate hike from the Federal Reserve, lifting bond yields yet further. The explosion in coronavirus cases globally also threatens to crimp consumer spending…

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Virgin Australia said on Monday it would reduce capacity across its network by around 25% for the rest of January and for February due to reduced travel demand and staff being required to isolate as COVID-19 case numbers rise in Australia. The airline, which competes against Qantas Airways Ltd, said it would cut…

(Reuters) – The former chief executive of James Hardie Industries on Monday rejected the Australian building materials giant’s claims about concerns over his conduct and management style, and said he was “blindsided” by his firing last week. The world’s top maker of fibre cement products on Friday terminated CEO Jack Truong, saying dozens of top…

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Shimao Group Holdings has put on sale all of its real estate projects, including both residential and commercial properties, as the cash-strapped Chinese property developer accelerates asset disposals, Caixin reported. Shimao, which defaulted on a trust loan last week, has asked agents since late December to help seek buyers for its properties,…

By Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil lost more ground on Monday as rapidly climbing cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant hit economic activity, although losses were curbed by supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and Libya. Brent crude slid 38 cents, or 0.46%, to $81.37 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down…

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian share markets were muted on Monday as investors count down to another U.S. inflation reading that could well set the seal on an early rate hike from the Federal Reserve, lifting bond yields and punishing tech stocks. The explosion in coronavirus cases globally also threatens to crimp consumer…