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ZURICH/BERLIN/LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Urs Kessler, who runs Jungfrau Railways, a train that takes tourists up the highest mountain in Switzerland, was excited for the return of Chinese tourists after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted late last year. Chinese outbound flight bookings to Europe during March and August are only 32% that of pre-pandemic levels, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys. OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTUREMany tourist operators and retailers hope the second half will bring a relaxation in visa policies, more flights and the long-expected influx of Chinese tourists. Harrods launched branded stickers, including its iconic teddy bear, on China's popular WeChat messaging platform this year to attract Chinese tourists. Kessler believes his Lang Lang campaign was still worth it.

☆ Why Apple and the Carriers Want Your Old iPhone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cellular carrier: Trade in your old phone and we’ll give you a free brand spankin’ new iPhone 14! You: Really? Pretty sure there’s a booger in my iPhone 11’s charging port.

☆ Inside the Lucrative–and Secretive–Business of iPhone Trade-Ins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

S2 E21Apple’s iPhone Passcode Problem: How Thieves Can Take Over in Minutes iPhone thieves across the country are locking people out of their Apple accounts and draining their bank accounts—sometimes before victims even know what happened. How do they do it and how can you protect yourself? WSJ’s Joanna Stern investigates. Photo illustration: Elena Scotti, Kenny Wassus

☆ French regulators lift ban on online marketplace Wish
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - ContextLogic Inc (WISH.O) said on Tuesday that France had lifted the ban on its e-commerce marketplace, Wish, after it was delisted from search engines and app stores over concerns about product safety. France's General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) banned the U.S.-based firm's listings in November 2021 on grounds that it had found a large proportion of products on the Wish site to be dangerous. "France is an important market to us, and we look forward to a continued partnership with DGCCRF in the future," Wish's compliance chief, Joanna Forster, said in a statement. The company said users will now be able to download the Wish app from Google's Play Store while it will be restored on Apple's App Store in the coming days. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Two bond ETF strategies that may help investors profit from rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Interest rate jitters are meaningfully pushing investors to the shorter end of the yield curve, according to Joanna Gallegos, co-founder of fixed-income ETF issuer BondBloxx. Gallegos, former head of global ETF strategy for JPMorgan, believes it's a sound approach. So, as interest rates are going up, people are a little uncertain about what's going to happen to bond prices really far out," she said. As of Friday's close, the U.S. 10 Year Treasury was yielding around 3.7% — an 84% surge from one year ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. 6 Month Treasury yield was around 5.14%, which reflects a one-year jump of 589%.

☆ How ETFs are expediting bond market modernization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Kevin Schmidt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Despite equities having long transitioned to electronic trading, over-the-counter trading remains common in the bond market. Bond ETFs are changing that. "Bond ETFs are 20 years old today, and they trade the same way as some of the technologies in fixed income." Roughly a decade after equity ETFs were first introduced, the first four bond funds launched in July 2002 — the iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (SHY) , the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund (IEF) , the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) and the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) . "And it just sounds really familiar to the way ETFs had grown with the equity markets."

☆ Spain's Indra begins succession process for new CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 7 (Reuters) - Spanish technology company Indra (IDR.MC) said late on Monday it would begin a process to appoint a new chief executive (CEO) to replace Ignacio Mataix, saying the decision was linked to a new strategic plan for the next years. Mataix will continue as CEO until the appointment of a successor and after that will serve as a strategic advisor to Indra's board of directors for a period of two years, the company said in a statement. Reporting by Joanna Jonczyk-Gwizdala, editing byOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ETF Edge: The resurgence of high-yield bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailETF Edge: The resurgence of high-yield bondsCNBC's Bob Pisani with Joanna Gallegos, BondBloxx co-founder, joins the 'Halftime Report' to discuss the resurgence of bond ETFs.

☆ It's very actionable to take advantage of the yield that's out there right now, says BondBloxx co-founder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIt's very actionable to take advantage of the yield that's out there right now, says BondBloxx co-founderJoanna Gallegos of BondBloxx joins Jon Fortt and the 'CNBC Special: Taking Stock' to discuss the 10-year/2-year spread hitting its most inverted level since October 1981.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive body is set to provide permits, regulatory support and easier access to public and private funding for certain strategic green technologies, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. Certain technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), were not included in the draft as potential candidates for the support scheme. The rules would also support auctions to deploy renewable energy sources, adapt innovation funds and provide easier access to public-private procurement. If the goals aren't achieved by 2030, the European Commission will propose "additional measures aimed at covering the identified gaps," the draft says. The European Commission declined to comment on the draft document, which an industry source said was expected to be released in the coming weeks.

The company's full-year operating profit of 1.51 billion euros ($1.60 billion) came after a loss of 1.6 billion euros a year ago. Fourth-quarter profit swung to 575 million euros from a loss of 42 million euros, in line with expectations. The balance sheet also improved, with net debt falling to 6.9 billion euros from 9 billion euros. However, operating profit was still 34% lower than the pre-pandemic 2019 level and passenger numbers had only recovered 72%. The company said it expects "further significant improvement" in operating profit this year.

☆ Apple 'green charging' setting sparks backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailApple 'green charging' setting sparks backlashJoanna Stern, Wall Street Journal senior personal technology columnist, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss Apple's new 'green charing' setting, how far away consumers are from full AI-written emails and more.

☆ The New Tech That Will Take Us Beyond the Smartphone. Maybe.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BARCELONA—It’s a tough time for the smartphone market. Not that you’d know from the 2,000-plus exhibitors and 80,000-ish attendees jammed into a conference center for MWC, the mobile-tech show formerly known as Mobile World Congress. Everyone seems to have optimism about the future, abuzz with buzzwords to sell it. The rules of Buzzword Bingo are simple. As fast as you can, scan the trade-show floor and spot all the acronyms: 5G!

☆ ECB confronts a cold reality: companies are cashing in on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

"It's clear that profit expansion has played a larger role in the European inflation story in the last six months or so," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. "The ECB has failed to justify what it's doing in the context of a more profit-focused inflation story." Instead, national accounts and earnings reports from listed companies are being used as proxies to paint the inflation picture. "The main story of the risks going forward is still that there's a looming wage-price spiral which should make the central bank even more aggressive in hiking interest rates." loadingloadingEven inside the ECB, labour representatives demanding higher pay for central bank staff have distanced themselves from what they described as the institution's "anti-worker bias".

☆ House Committee Warns of Beijing’s Threat to U.S. Interests and Values
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Qualcomm CEO Says AI and VR Are Future of BusinessChip makers, like Qualcomm, have been hit by the slowdown of smartphone sales. But the company's CEO says focusing on more sophisticated computing tasks, like supporting artificial intelligence, and virtual reality are the company’s future. Cristiano Amon spoke with Wall Street Journal senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern at MWC. Zoe Thomas of WSJ Tech News Briefing hosts. Photo by Josep Lago/Getty Images.

☆ Norse Atlantic adds new US destinations from UK's Gatwick as demand surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Norway-based airline Norse Atlantic (NORSE.OL) said it will add Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston to its summer schedule from London Gatwick airport this year, as it seeks to benefit from the post-pandemic boom in travel. Passenger demand for travel has surged over the last 12 months and is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels on most routes in 2023. Norse said it would fly daily to Los Angeles from Gatwick from June 30 with economy return fares from 430 pounds including taxes. When it adds the new destinations later in the summer, it will serve more U.S. cities than any other airline flying from Gatwick, Britain's second-biggest airport. Gatwick's transatlantic connections suffered during the pandemic following the failure of Norwegian and after Virgin Atlantic stopped flying from Gatwick and focused on its operations at Britain's biggest airport, Heathrow.

LONDON/MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Central Asian airlines are seizing opportunities from Russia's closed airspace, with airline traffic into the region booming in the year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, executives and analysts said. "The Russian airlines themselves are severely constrained in what they can do because of equipment shortages, they can't maintain the aircraft to sufficient standards," said James Halstead, an aviation analyst and managing partner at Aviation Strategy. It will grow since the restrictions are lifted," one Russian airlines industry source said. If the war drags on in Ukraine, there could also be further opportunities for tourism in central Asia as Russian tourists look for alternatives to Europe for their holidays. The main tourist destinations were Turkey, with 5.2 million trips or about 25% less than in 2019, the United Arab Emirates, with 1.2 million trips or 21.2% more than in 2019, Egypt and Thailand.

☆ Medical tourism looking sickly as patients watch their spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Joanna Plucinska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"People are more cautious," Knott told Reuters, staring at the empty building across the street from his existing Kreativ Dental clinic. Rising air fares and fewer flights - and the memory of last summer's travel chaos - are also putting off would-be patients, clinic operators and analysts told Reuters. A hip or knee replacement at Nordorthopaedics in Lithuania is about 15% more expensive now than five years ago, the clinic told Reuters. Lyfboat, an Indian company providing medical services for foreign patients, told Reuters it has collaborated with a fundraising platform called ImpactGuru to help patients pay for essential surgeries. ACUTE VS ELECTIVEThe International Medical Travel Journal, published by market intelligence service LaingBuisson, estimates the medical tourism market is currently worth around $21 billion, less than pre-pandemic, although editor Keith Pollard warned data is poor.

☆ I made nearly $5,000 in 30 days from writing online. Here's my best advice for others who want to make money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Dayana Sabatin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sabatin said writing as many posts as possible gives you the best chance at making more money. If you'd asked me if I'd be making money from writing my thoughts and opinions online, I would've laughed in your face. "Write or don't eat"I kept a sticky note on my computer with the words "write or don't eat" written on it. Trust me, I thought it was at first too, but the two cents I made my first month of writing online humbled me. It took me nearly two years to make $5,000, and that was from hustling daily and having multiple writing income streams.

☆ A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Joanna Stern | Nicole Nguyen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK—In the early hours of Thanksgiving weekend, Reyhan Ayas was leaving a bar in Midtown Manhattan when a man she had just met snatched her iPhone 13 Pro Max. Within a few minutes, the 31-year-old, a senior economist at a workforce intelligence startup, could no longer get into her Apple account and all the stuff attached to it, including photos, contacts and notes. Over the next 24 hours, she said, about $10,000 vanished from her bank account.

☆ How to Protect Your iPhone Data From Thieves
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Nicole Nguyen | Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Our phones are a portal to everything that’s important to us—our most sensitive communications, our life savings, our photos. You’d think all that would be protected by something more complex than a four- or six-digit passcode. And yet, as we reported, thieves across the country are stealing iPhones along with their passcodes. They are getting it all: cash from bank apps, access to credit cards via Apple Pay and more.

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG (ICAG.L) forecast 2023 profit could jump almost 90% after its financial performance improved substantially last year and it agreed a deal to buy all of Spain-based Air Europa. For 2023, the airline group, which also owns Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, forecast operating profit in the range of 1.8 billion euros ($1.91 billion) to 2.3 billion euros, compared to the 1.22 billion euros it made last year. That result came in ahead of analyst expectations and represented an improvement of 4 billion euros from the previous year when COVID-19 travel restrictions made airlines across the world loss-making. IAG agreed on Thursday to pay 400 million euros ($423.84 million) to Spain's Globalia for the remaining 80% of Air Europa it did not already own, a deal aimed at expanding its position in the Latin American market. Looking ahead, chief executive Luis Gallego said IAG was seeing robust forward bookings, although it remained conscious of the global macro-economic uncertainties.

☆ Apple’s iPhone Passcode Problem: How Thieves Can Take Over in Minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

S2 E20Bing With AI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Why Search Is Changed Forever Microsoft is combining the tech behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT with its Bing search engine. In an interview, WSJ’s Joanna Stern spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the new tools and how AI is going to change search. (Oh, and Clippy!) Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street Journal

REUTERS/Cole Burston/File PhotoFeb 24 (Reuters) - Airports are taking steps to avoid gridlock during the upcoming holiday travel seasons, with some limiting flights during peak hours to avoid the long lines and luggage piles that marred last summer. While smoother holiday travel is expected for Europe and North America, airlines and airports which learned tough lessons on holiday travel in 2022, are taking a more prudent approach as global traffic rebounds roughly to pre-pandemic levels. Despite extensive planning and hiring this year, some airlines and airports are still wrestling with industry staff shortages, including baggage handlers. Germany's Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) said it has cut summer flights by an unspecified amount due to shortages of personnel like ground handlers at airports in Frankfurt and Munich. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency were not immediately available to comment on staffing.

☆ Lying to a Person With Dementia Can Help With Anxiety and Stress, but Not All Agree
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Clare Ansberry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some people with dementia say there are times when it is OK for their families to lie to them. Joanna Fix is a 54-year-old retired psychologist and college professor who was diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. She has directed her husband to fib whenever he thinks the truth is overwhelming or will unnecessarily worry her.

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