30/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | SEPT 30, 2025

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Lufthansa announces 4,000 job cuts MUNICH: Lufthansa will cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 and set higher profitability targets, the German airline group said yesterday, as it seeks to boost efficiency through digitalisation and automation. Shares in the company rose on the announcement, jumping 2% by 0726 GMT (3.26pm in Malaysia). Lufthansa has struggled to cut costs and pursue growth as it has dealt with labour challenges in recent years. It issued two profit warnings last year and dropped a target of reaching an operating margin of 8% that year. The group said yesterday it had not abandoned the 8% target, though it has now been pushed back to later in the decade as part of new mid-term targets for 2028 and 2030. Lufthansa is pursuing an ambitious group-wide turnaround programme announced last year. The capital markets day was designed to reassure investors that the programme is going as planned. In particular, Lufthansa is looking to revive its “problem child” core airline as it struggles to clamp down on rising costs that have raised concerns among analysts and investors. Lufthansa now expects its adjusted operating margin to reach 8-10% from 2028, up from a previous goal of 8%, and adjusted free cash flow of more than €2.5 billion (RM12.2 billion) a year, Lufthansa said at its first company-wide capital markets day in six years. Reuters reported last week that Lufthansa planned to cut about 20% of its non-operational staff. The reductions will be made mainly in Germany and in consultation with social partners, the company said, where the airline group has struggled most with moderating costs. It has said repeatedly that cost management is far easier at its other bases, such as Rome, where Lufthansa’s minority-owned Italian carrier ITA Airways is based. The group plans to add more than 230 new aircraft by 2030 and deepen cooperation among its airlines to improve returns. That integration means it can invest more heavily in newer, more profitable subsidiaries and move resources away from cost-heavy parts of the firm if needed, executives said. – Reuters drugmaker to pull back from the UK, citing a tough business environment. AstraZeneca has also pledged to invest US$50 billion in US manufacturing by 2030, amid global drugmakers’ efforts to avert hefty tariffs on pharmaceutical imports into the country, and will cut some direct-to-patient US drug prices as demanded by President Donald Trump’s administration. – Reuters

A France Air Force Mirage 2000 D, a Greece Air Force F16 and two French Rafales flying over the southwestern coast of France. – AFPPIC

Investors eye opportunities from govt spending

environment still dominated by AI. Saira Malik, chief investment officer at American asset manager Nuveen, which manages US$1.3 trillion in assets, expects equity gains to broaden beyond the US tech-heavy trade to cyclical sectors, small-caps and value plays. “US outperformance is not the only game in town this year, thanks to a weaker dollar,” she said. Saira advised investors to stay balanced, but with a tilt toward US markets. “I don’t think investors should just own US (assets) at the expense of everything else, but I would fully argue against betting against the US.” Saira also sees opportunities in infrastructure, utilities and waste management, describing them as resilient and effective hedges against inflation. Both UBS and Nuveen stressed active management over passive bets. “It’s less of a time for beta and more of a time for active investing,“ Haefele said. – Reuters London, Stockholm and New York,” AstraZeneca chairman Michel Demare said in a statement. “Enabling a global listing structure will allow us to reach a broader mix of global investors.” The company earlier this month also paused a planned £200 million (RM1.1 billion) investment in its Cambridge research site, becoming the latest

Generali Asset Management, which manages US$430 billion in assets. The magnitude and persistence of these fiscal commitments on both sides of the Atlantic were unprecedented compared to previous market cycles, he said, adding that the structural realignment they drive would last for years. “It takes time before those moneys actually percolate (through) the system ... before you see them becoming reality,” Cavarero said. Nuclear power, energy infrastructure, biotech innovation and defence were industries that “cannot be ignored by the market”, he added, while warning: “At some point, we will need to deal with these debts.” A rise of nearly 14% this year in the S&P 500 index has largely been powered by AI-related momentum, versus more modest gains of 9.5% in Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600. But the aerospace and defence index of the latter has surged almost 68%, showing that fiscal priorities are lifting defence and industrial plays even in a broader market done so in recent years include miner Glencore, investment firm Petershill Partners, equipment rental firm Ashtead. Unilever also picked Amsterdam for listing its ice cream spin-off. “We set out our proposed harmonised listing structure which will support our long-term strategy for sustainable growth, while remaining headquartered in the UK and listed in

o Infrastructure, energy, healthcare and defence draw interest

MUMBAI: Some of the world’s biggest investors are looking beyond a boom in artificial intelligence to longer-term spending by governments tackling geopolitical, technological and demographic pressures set to reshape markets over the next few years. Asset managers are spreading bets across infrastructure, energy transition, healthcare and defence, to capitalise on fiscal stimulus from governments, even as Wall Street debates whether the AI-powered rally in stocks is sustainable. As concerns over some countries’ ballooning fiscal debts draw attention, many investors “under estimated the impact that (stimulus) could have on real and financial assets”, said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management.

oversees US$4.5 trillion (RM19 trillion) in assets, is “investing thematically along with what governments are doing”, diversifying into areas such as power, resources, healthcare and defence. July’s sweeping US tax-cut and spending bill will add trillions to government debt by extending tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s first term, ramping up funding for border security and defence, and trimming Medicare and Medicaid. Europe’s fiscal support is just as dramatic, with sentiment boosted by Germany’s €500 billion (RM2.5 trillion) infrastructure fund exempt from its strict debt brake and Nato members’ pledges to lift defence spending to 3.5% of GDP. “Fiscal stimulus is always a big element of the performance of the financial markets,” said Antonio Cavarero, head of investments at London’s most valuable company – was considering ditching its British listing in favour of the U.S. That had raised worries about the shrinking London stock market as companies seek higher valuations and access to deeper capital markets elsewhere. Companies that have either considered moving from London or have

Hafele told the Reuters Global Markets Forum that his firm, which AstraZeneca to switch to direct US listing, retain UK base

LONDON: AstraZeneca plans to directly list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, instead of its current depositary receipts structure, to attract more global investors, the drugmaker said yesterday, but will remain listed and headquartered in London. The move will be of some relief to UK investors after media reports suggested the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker –