Cathay Pacific H1 profit drops amid China slowdown

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said Wednesday its first-half profit dropped 82 percent from a year earlier, with the company hit by an economic slowdown in China and increasing competition from its peers. It compared to the HK$1.97 billion recorded in the same period last year and largely fell short of the HK$1.07 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of four analysts. "The operating environment in the first half of 2016 was affected by economic fragility and intense competit