COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Qatar Airways annual losses double

Qatar Airways Group on Monday reported a doubling of annual losses to 14.9 billion riyal (US$4.1 billion), hit by the Covid-19 collapse in long-haul travel and aircraft impairment charges.

The state-owned group, which includes the airline and other aviation assets, said it booked a one-off impairment of 8.4 billion riyal on its fleet 10 Airbus A380s and 16 A330s jets.

Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has cautioned that the A380s, the world's biggest passenger jet, may never return to the airline's operational fleet due to the impact of the pandemic.

The financial result for the year to March 31 compares with a 7.3-billion-riyal loss in the year prior, which was also hit by an airspace ban by Saudi Arabia and others that ended in January. Total revenue and other operating income fell 42.5% to 29.4 billion riyal. Passenger revenue fell nearly 80% to 7.9 billion riyal.

Qatar Airways also reconfirmed it had received US$3 billion in state support since the onset of the pandemic, provided via equity injections from its sole shareholder, the State of Qatar. -Nampa/Reuters

Wells Fargo to pay US$37.3 mln

Wells Fargo & Co will pay US$37.3 million to resolve US government claims it fraudulently overcharged commercial clients on foreign exchange services, the latest in a string of scandals over the bank's treatment of customers.

Monday's settlement resolves US Department of Justice civil fraud charges against the fourth-largest US bank. It includes a US$35.3 million fine plus a US$2 million forfeiture.

Wells Fargo previously returned US$35.3 million to customers as restitution, making its total payout nearly US$73 million, court papers show.

The Justice Department said sales specialists jokingly used expressions such as "back the truck up" and "when in doubt, spread them out" when they were overcharging customers, with one referring to the sales group as a "bucket shop."

Spokespeople for the bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The settlement was filed with the US District Court in Manhattan and requires a judge's approval. -Nampa/Reuters

Facebook puts Instagram Kids on hold

Instagram has hit pause on a new app it is creating for kids, the photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc said on Monday, in a move that comes amid growing opposition for the project.

Instagram Kids had been touted as requiring parental permission to join, and was supposed to provide ad-free, age-appropriate content, but US lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the social media giant to drop its launch plans, citing safety concerns.

"We won't stop pressuring Facebook until they permanently pull the plug," said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on kids.

"The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today," it said, noting that there were app versions of Alphabet Inc's YouTube and ByteDance's TikTok for those under 13.-Nampa/Reuters

PBOC promises to protect consumers

China's central bank vowed to protect consumers exposed to the housing market on Monday and injected more cash into the banking system as the Shenzhen government began investigating the wealth management unit of ailing developer Evergrande, the clearest sign yet the authorities could move to contain contagion risks.

Once the epitome of an era of helter-skelter borrowing and building in China, Evergrande has now become the poster child of a crackdown on developers' debts that has left investors large and small sweating their exposure.

In a letter to investors seen by Reuters, the Shenzhen Financial Regulatory Bureau said "relevant departments of the Shenzhen government have gathered public opinions about Evergrande Wealth and are launching a thorough investigation into related issues of the company."

It is also urging China Evergrande and Evergrande Wealth to work to repay investors, the letter said, which was sent following investor demands for an inquiry.

The People's Bank of China made no mention of Evergrande in a statement posted to its website, which contained just a line on housing along with promises to make its monetary policy flexible, targeted and appropriate. -Nampa/Reuters

VW to pay US$1.5 million

Volkswagen AG on Monday said it has agreed to pay US$1.5 million to settle environmental claims with the states of New Hampshire and Montana over updates of emissions software arising from the 2015 diesel cheating scandal.

The settlements, about US$280 per vehicle, are a small fraction of what the states initially sought. The German automaker and several courts previously have cited astronomical figures as maximum liability the German automaker faces over the issue of whether states can enforce emissions laws over updates to emissions software after the vehicles were sold.

VW will pay New Hampshire US$1.15 million and it pledged to build another high-speed charging station in the state by 2024. VW has agreed to pay Montana US$357 280.

New Hampshire had sought up to US$25 000 per vehicle per day and Montana sought up to US$10 000 per violation per day. The settlements with the two states announced Monday cover about 5 500 vehicles.

VW last month asked the US Supreme Court to reverse an Ohio court ruling that cleared the way for the state to move forward with its diesel emissions lawsuit. -Nampa/Reuters