Aurelia Butler

British Airways has avoided a damaging summer strike after agreeing a “vastly improved” pay deal, according to unions, a boost to the airline that has been forced to cancel thousands of flights this year. The Unite union on Thursday said a dispute affecting check-in staff at London’s Heathrow airport “has been suspended” after the company made a new offer on pay. Staff will instead be balloted on the sweetened pay deal. “We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff. Unite has repeatedly warned that pay disputes at BA were inevitable unless the company took our members’ legitimate grievances seriously,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.The GMB union, whose members were also set to strike, has agreed a deal with BA, according to a union official. About 700 BA check-in crew at Heathrow had voted to strike last month, with unions promising “severe disruption” timed to coincide with the summer rush to fly abroad.Unite said the pay offer from BA was “vastly improved” without disclosing further details. The union had demanded that pay be reinstated to its pre-pandemic level, following a 10 per cent cut imposed by BA when the industry was all but shut down by Covid-19 travel restrictions. The airline said it was “very pleased” with the outcome, which came a day after it announced plans to cut another 10,300 flights this summer owing to staff shortages, taking the total number of cancellations this year to about 30,000. BA was under extreme pressure to avoid a strike that could have thrown its operations into chaos on one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel, as schools break up for the summer.But many other employers are also recognising that they will have to make concessions on pay to avoid bitter industrial disputes, especially in a tight labour market where recruitment is difficult. Unite said separately on Thursday that it had won an additional 4 per cent salary increase for more than 17,000 of the lowest-paid staff at NatWest bank, which would be consolidated in base pay, and not a one-off lump sum. It recently reached a deal for a similar top-up to salaries at Barclays, and a £1,000 bonus for staff at Lloyds Banking Group. Meanwhile, a Bank of England survey published on Thursday showed two-thirds of employers were finding it “much harder” than normal to hire new staff, with average wage growth expected to remain above 5 per cent over the next 12 months — a level policymakers think is unsustainable.Separately, a survey published on Friday by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, the professional body for UK recruitment businesses, showed employers were still reporting worsening availability of candidates and sharp increases in starting salaries, even though the frenetic pace of hiring had slowed a little.While private sector employers are showing flexibility, the current political turmoil could make pay disputes brewing in the public and quasi-public sector more intractable.Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail workers’ union, said that Boris Johnson’s resignation raised the prospect of “months of chaos at the heart of government, which could seriously undermine the prospect of a settlement in the national rail dispute”.On Thursday 2,000 RMT members at Govia Thameslink Railway voted to join industry-wide strikes, meaning the train operator is the 14th facing industrial action in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. Nadhim Zahawi, the new chancellor, has not given any firm signal on whether he might be prepared to fund more generous pay settlements for public sector workers than the 2-3 per cent offer currently factored into departmental funding plans. More

(Reuters) -Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc said on Thursday it bought another 12 million shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) this week, giving it an 18.7% stake in the oil company.The purchases were made on Tuesday and Wednesday and cost about $698 million, Berkshire said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.Buffett’s company had also purchased 9.9 million Occidental shares last week.It is by far the largest shareholder of Houston-based Occidental, owning 175.4 million shares worth $10.8 billion.Berkshire also owns $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock, and has warrants to buy another 83.9 million common shares for $5 billion, or $59.62 each. That is slightly below the shares’ Thursday closing price of $61.47.Occidental’s share price has more than doubled this year, helped by Berkshire’s purchases as well as rising oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Berkshire’s growing stake has prompted market speculation that Buffett’s company might eventually buy all of Occidental.If the stake reached 20%, Berkshire could consider an accounting change that would let it record its proportionate share of Occidental’s earnings with its own results.Berkshire uses the equity method of accounting for its 26.6% stake in Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Co, the packaged food company.Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate owns dozens of businesses including the BNSF railroad, Geico car insurer and its namesake energy business, as well as stocks including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC).Occidental has been reducing debt since purchasing Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE:APC) for $35.7 billion in 2019. Berkshire’s preferred stock investment helped finance that takeover.Berkshire’s share price has fallen 7% this year, comparedwith an 18% decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500. More

The IBC-Br economic activity index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product, dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.44% from March. That came after a 1.09% gain in March from the previous month. Both figures were released late, affected by a strike by central bank workers that ended this week.Alberto Ramos, an economist at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), said that the numbers support a positive carry-over for the second quarter, which should be further helped by tax cuts and a fast labor market improvement.”Following the solid expansion of the economy in Q2, we expect the growth to be moderately visibly in Q3 and activity to face increasing headwinds as we approach the end of the year,” he wrote in a note to clients, reviewing this year’s GDP forecast to 2.1% from 1.6% previously.At the same time, he downgraded the 2023 growth outlook to 0.7% from 0.8% before. While industrial output rose slightly in April from March, retail sales beat expectations. Services activity missed market forecasts but still posted some growth.The IBC-Br index was up 2.23% on a nonseasonally adjusted basis from April 2021, while in the 12 months through April the index grew 3.46%, the central bank said.Despite high interest rates to battle double-digit inflation, the Brazilian economy has shown more strength than initially projected by the market.Economy Minister Paulo Guedes recently estimated that Brazil will grow by 2% this year, while the ministry’s official forecast points to a 1.5% expansion. More

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.Boris Johnson on Wednesday signalled the end of a tumultuous three-year reign as Britain’s prime minister, defending his record and blaming Conservative MPs for their “eccentric” decision to force him from office. He quit as Conservative leader but defied pressure to step down immediately as prime minister, saying he would remain until his successor is chosen, probably in September. Read his full resignation speech here.

Video: Boris Johnson’s resignation speech in front of No 10 Downing Street

Conservative MPs hoping to succeed Johnson as Tory leader were preparing their campaigns, with former chancellor Rishi Sunak, foreign secretary Liz Truss and defence secretary Ben Wallace among the likely contenders. One of his successor’s challenges: he or she will have to repair Britain’s status abroad, writes Gideon Rachman.On Thursday one of the most surreal cabinet meetings in British history convened, just hours after he announced he was quitting as Conservative party leader. The cast sitting around the coffin-shaped table were the last vestiges of Johnson’s ministry, the survivors in a political disaster movie, the people charged with keeping the show on the road. Johnson urged his shell-shocked caretaker cabinet to carry on “delivering for the British people”.Read moreOpinion: UK politics commentator Stephen Bush considers the next steps for the Conservative party and the country. Sign up here for Stephen’s newsletter Inside Politics. Go deeper: Boris Johnson was the entertainer who tried to defy political gravity. He once united people in amusement, but ended up uniting them in contempt.Business: British business leaders welcomed Johnson’s resignation, calling for a swift transition to a new administration.FT View: But it is high time for the needs of the country, not the Conservative party, to come first, writes our editorial board. Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia and here is the rest of the day’s news — EmilyFive more stories in the news1. Former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani convicted of fraud Former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani has been convicted of fraud in connection with his role at the now-defunct blood testing start-up founded by his former girlfriend and business partner Elizabeth Holmes. Balwani was convicted on all 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.2. Rajeev Misra to launch new $6bn fund The trader who helped transform Japan’s SoftBank into the biggest and most controversial technology investor is launching a new $6bn fund backed by a trio of Abu Dhabi investment groups. Misra, a former Deutsche Bank and UBS executive, told the Financial Times that he would remain involved with SoftBank at a senior level but that he was excited about his new venture.3. Evergrande launches first electric car to shore up revenue The electric vehicle unit of indebted Chinese property developer Evergrande has launched its first car and begun taking orders, as it pivots to carmaking in an attempt to shore up revenues. The order announcement from Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group came in the same week the developer delayed one of its offshore dollar bond payments again.4. Ardern warns against ‘self-fulfilling prophesy’ of war in Pacific New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for a de-escalation of the tensions between China and the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific, warning that the region risked embracing a “self-fulfilling prophesy” and sparking a conflict. Ardern stressed that Beijing had a “crucial role to play” in upholding the world order.5. Samsung’s subdued profits reflect fading electronics surge Samsung Electronics has reported a smaller-than-expected operating profit for the second quarter as higher inflation damps consumer demand for mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. The company is bracing for waning demand in response to rapid price rises worldwide following the pandemic-driven surge in the tech sector over the past two years.The days aheadChina CPI and PPI June consumer price index and producer price index figures are set to be released. Inflation in China has been picking up.

Hinkley Point B begins shutdown The UK nuclear plant is expected to begin its shutdown despite concerns of blackouts later this yearWimbledon championships The women’s tennis championship final will take place on Saturday, followed by the men on Sunday. Japan’s upper house election On Sunday half the members of Japan’s less powerful upper house of parliament will be elected through a mix of constituency and proportional representation votes. Recent polls suggest that the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito will win a majority of the 125 seats up for grabs on the back of steady public support for prime minister Fumio Kishida.How can business leaders adapt and prepare for unforeseen global events? Senior industry leaders share their insights in today’s event, Capitalising On Disruption To Create Business Opportunities. Attend for free here.What else we’re reading New Covid variants threaten China’s vaccine hopes China is making progress in efforts to develop a homegrown messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccine, widely seen as essential to any shift away from President Xi Jinping’s economically costly zero-Covid policy. But experts warn that China risks being outpaced by rapid mutations of the Omicron coronavirus variant.Fruit becomes a luxury under Erdoğan An old saying has become popular in Turkey again: “There is no government that cannot be brought down by an empty cooking pot.” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might be expected to heed that warning as astronomical inflation pushes up the prices of essential food.How China’s BYD played catch-up with Tesla Before this week the Chinese carmaker had already overtaken some of the best-known marques in the industry including Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors. Industry insiders, executives and academics explain the secret of the company’s success as it becomes the biggest maker of electric cars.Opinion: Tesla cannot unsynch from the politics of US-China relations, writes John Thornhill. A coup for the right: Justice Thomas’s Supreme Court America’s highest court has lurched to the extreme right, a stunning transformation that has turned what the Founders called “the least dangerous branch” of government into anything but. Under Clarence Thomas, this brand of conservatism will shape the court for decades to come, writes Jill Abramson, author and former New York Times executive editor.What can pension savers do in bleak markets? It’s natural for retirement savers to feel depressed, not just about the present but also about future prospects. And it’s particularly gloomy because the ballast traditionally provided by bonds when equities fall can no longer be taken for granted. There are ways to manage inflation and recession, says Don Ezra, but safety comes at a price. TravelAs Sri Lanka’s fuel supplies have dwindled to almost nothing over the past three months, fuel queues have become an ordinary sight. In the capital Colombo, fuel queues have lasted three or four days. Tourist dollars are desperately needed, but visitors face a dilemma as resources dwindle and inflation soars.

A motorbike driver with a tourist jumps to the front of the queue at a fuel station in Weligama earlier this year © Getty Images More