Europe

Snow and ice brought misery for travellers in north-west Europe on Wednesday, but joy to others who set off to explore a snowy Paris on skis and sledges. Storm Goretti, which blew in from the Atlantic Coast, hit Paris at dawn, with heavy snowfall that caused further flight cancellations, traffic jams, and transport disruption. As shops prepared for the first New Year's sales, the city's buses were suspended. Tourists and locals alike enjoyed the rare sighting of snow-covered Paris. Some even took the opportunity to ski along the Champs de Mars gardens and down the slopes at Montmartre. "It's exceptional,...

West Europe was bracing itself for more snow and freezing rain on Wednesday as the first named storm in the year hit the continent's Atlantic coast. As storm Goretti approached the region, more flights were cancelled and train services disrupted. Roads were also blocked. As the sun rose, heavy snow fell in?the _Paris region. The south of Britain will be affected most on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, cold weather warnings were issued for large parts of France and Britain. Meteo France, the French weather agency, warned that snow would extend across the northern half?of?the country Wednesday. Met Office in...

Five people died on French roads after being struck by freezing weather on Tuesday. Snow and ice conditions forced the cancellation of hundreds flights in the Netherlands. A computer outage caused a disruption to the entire rail network in the Netherlands. All services were suspended on Tuesday morning. After 0900 GMT trains began to run in some parts of the Netherlands, but there were still problems in the area around Amsterdam. The high-speed Eurostar service to Paris from Amsterdam was either cancelled or delayed. Over?400 flights have been cancelled at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, the majority of which were by Air...

The Greek skies were a communication black hole for a few tense minutes on Sunday morning. The usual radio chatter of the air traffic controllers at the Athens airport suddenly disappeared, replaced by a piercing whistling. According to two controllers on duty and an aviation official, it became apparent that the controllers had lost touch with the majority of aircraft in Greek airspace. This included dozens of incoming flight, at the time. Internet systems appeared to be failing across the board. Even the press office of the civil aviation authority resorted instead to reading out statements on the phone, rather...

The European Commission extended the deadline for SATA and TAP to complete divesting assets in order to qualify for the state aid provided by the Portuguese government. Portugal's government restarted its long-delayed plan to privatise the flag carrier?TAP in 2013, stating that it would sell a 49.9% stake of the company within one year. The European Commission announced on Monday that it had extended 'until the end of December 2026 the deadline for SATA to sell a majority stake of 51% in Azores Airlines. The deadline for divesting TAP's shares in the service units SPdH & Cateringpor was also extended...

Budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air reported strong passenger growth in December compared to the previous year, reflecting the robust demand for holiday travel among budget-conscious 'holidaymakers. According to data collected by the airlines, Ryanair is Europe's biggest budget airline, measured in passenger numbers. It carried 14.5 million passengers, an increase of 7% from December 2024. Wizz Air, on the other hand, flew 5.85 millions passengers, an increase of 15.5% from year-to-year. The continued popularity of budget travel is evident as European holidaymakers seek out affordable flight options during the Christmas period despite economic uncertainty. Ryanair reported that it operated...

Due to technical problems with the landing guidance system, and poor visibility at Bergamo Orio-al-Serio airport in Italy, flights were halted on Saturday evening. This left thousands of passengers stranded over night. SACBO, which operates the airport, stated in a press release that the technical issue was resolved around midnight. However, a warning posted on the website of the 'airport' warned "flights could be delayed or canceled". Local media reported that the incident led to 26 flights being cancelled, 6 being diverted to other airports, and 7 being rescheduled for Sunday. Images show people sleeping on the ground and luggage...

Air China, China's largest carrier, announced on Tuesday that it and its subsidiary signed a "pact" with Airbus for the purchase of 60 A320NEO aircraft. The deal is worth approximately $9.5 billion in list prices. This announcement is just the latest of a series made by carriers in the second largest aviation market in the world, including Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. Both plan to buy Airbus aircraft. Air China has informed the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it will deliver its planes in batches from 2028 to 2032. Airbus said that it was "very pleased" with Air China's decision to...

The European stock market closed at a record level for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. This was boosted by commodity-linked stocks and banks, but gains were limited by thin trading in the year-end period. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.6% to?592.78, moving ever closer to 600 points. Aerospace and Defence gained 1.4%, while banks jumped 1.3%. The defence index is on track to achieve its largest annual gain since 1996 despite the fact that it has been easing off since October. This is due to increased defence spending pledged across Europe. STOXX 600 rose 1.7% as basic...

Russian Railways announced on Monday that the board of directors has approved spending for 2026 of 713.6 billion rubles ($9.15 billion), down from this year's 890.9 billion roubles. The Russian government is looking at ways to support the country's largest commercial employer. This company has accumulated a?debt pile of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), despite falling revenues caused by a sharp drop in Russia's war economy. Russian Railways announced that 531.4 billion rubles of the approved expenditure will go towards maintaining the 'infrastructure, safety and security. Another 161.7 billion roubles is earmarked for the purchase of railcars, and 120 billion...

According to stock exchange filings, China's Spring Airlines (China) and Juneyao Airlines (Japan) announced Monday plans to buy 30 and 25 Airbus A320 family?jets. Spring Airlines, a budget carrier in China, has signed a deal to purchase 30 A320neo planes at a list price of $4.13 billion. The company filed corresponding documents with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It said that the jets would be delivered in batches between 2028-2032. In a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange,?Juneyao Airlines of Shanghai said that it planned to sign an agreement?with Airbus to buy?25 A320 family jets. The planes, based on their list...

Indonesian rescuers found a dead body on Monday while searching for Spanish soccer coach Fernando Martin, his children and their boat after it sank on Friday near the coast of an?popular tourist destination. Martin was a coach for the Spanish club Valencia CF. The club confirmed that he and three of his children had died in a tragic boating accident in Indonesia. Authorities said that the boat Martin was on with his family capsized Friday due to an engine failure in bad weather conditions near Labuan Bajo. This location is close to the Komodo National 'Park, a UNESCO World Heritage...

The Turkish distributor of China's Dongfeng Motor said that the company is in discussions with an investor to produce passenger cars in Turkey. Turkey is a large market with an annual sales volume of 1.4m vehicles. It also has a customs-free trade agreement with the EU. Chinese imports of cars to Turkey are subject to additional taxes, and Chinese automakers including Chery are seeking to set up production in Turkey with local partners. In a LinkedIn statement, Yavuz Cirak said, "We're working hard to begin production this year." Cirak is the CEO of Dongfeng’s local distributor,?Marcar, and was a part...

Goldman Sachs dominated again the league tables of global dealmaking for 2025. It took the?marketshare and top spot in an year marked by high stakes political dramas and ever larger mergers. Goldman's No. 1 ranking was boosted by the rise of $10 billion deals, of which there were 68 in the last year totaling $1.5 trillion - more than twice as much as the previous year. According to LSEG data, Goldman has the No. 1 ranking. The firm was involved in 38 of these 'deals', more than any other investment banking firm, and the total value of the deals it...

Goldman Sachs dominated again the league tables of global dealmaking for 2025. It took the market share and top spot in an year that was marked by high stakes political dramas and ever-larger mergers. Goldman's No. 1 ranking was boosted by the rise of $10 billion deals, which totaled $1.5 trillion last year, or more than double the previous year. According to LSEG data, Goldman ranked No. 1 in the world. The firm was involved in 38 of these deals, more than any other investment bank. Total volume of advised deals was $1.48 trillion. This was the most active period...

Snowfall in the Netherlands disrupted air and train?traffic on Monday. Hundreds of flights had to be canceled and trains around Amsterdam were at a standstill. ANP, a news agency, reported that Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, which is one of Europe's busiest hubs cancelled nearly 500 flights Monday morning. The airport was closed to all incoming traffic from 1200 GMT until then due to the snow. ANP reported that planes heading for Amsterdam were diverted to another airport. Schiphol was unable to be reached immediately for further comments. Snow and freezing temperatures had already forced the airport to cancel hundreds of flights...

Police reported that heavy snowfall caused a 20-kilometer (12.43-mile) tailback on an autobahn between Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, and Gdansk, a Baltic port town. The police report was made on Wednesday. According to the police, hundreds of people were trapped in their vehicles in freezing temperatures. However, the traffic was moving again by early Wednesday morning. Tomasz Marcowski, a police spokesperson in Olsztyn, said that the difficult situation started 'yesterday afternoon after 4 pm, when the first truck on the S7 route began to have difficulty approaching the slopes. This?led to an?overnight traffic jam that stretched approximately 20...

Equity investors looking for a smooth ride through 2026 may want to consider increasing their exposure beyond the artificial intelligence euphoria. Opportunities could be hidden in plain sight. Investors should be cautious. The valuations of U.S. equity are stretched. The Shiller price-earnings for the S&P 500 is above 40, which is very close to the levels during the dot-com boom in the 1990s. Markets have become 'highly concentrated. Goldman Sachs analysis shows that the five largest U.S. tech companies, Nvidia Apple Alphabet Microsoft and Amazon, have a combined value greater than?the Euro STOXX?50. This includes Britain, India Japan and Canada...

The European Union was thanked by Ukraine on Friday, even though the bloc did not agree to an ambitious plan that would use frozen Russian assets as a means of financing. The stakes were high for 'Kyiv' to find money because, without EU financial support, Ukraine will run out of cash in the second quarter next year, and may lose the war. This would increase the risk of Russian aggression towards the EU. The 90 billion euro loan was approved by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, wrote the following on Telegram: "This is a...

BNP Paribas has been in exclusive negotiations with Mercedes-Benz in order to acquire its car-leasing company Athlon. The French bank announced this on Thursday. BNP said that the acquisition would help strengthen its position on the European vehicle lease market, through its Arval division, by adding about 400,000 vehicles under full-service financing to its fleet. BNP's Arval division currently has a total fleet of 1.9 millions vehicles. In an interview, BNP Chief Operating Officer Thierry Laborde stated that this transaction was very important. It would allow the group to become the European leader for long-term rental cars. BNP Paribas will...

The federal government of Brazil plans to auction off the massive Tecon '10 container terminal at Santos Port in the first half of March, said Minister of Ports and airports Silvio Costa Filho on Friday. He said that more than 10 bidders have expressed interest in the auction, including the Philippines-based ICTSI, JBS, JSL and unnamed 'Arab investors. The Minister said that the minimum bid price will be below?6.4 billion (about $1.19 billion), the amount of money the winning bidder must invest to build and run the terminal. Roberto Lopes confirmed that the Rio Brasil Terminal, controlled by ICTSI will...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that, in November, the share of copper made in China among all available stocks increased. A favorable price arbitrage encouraged Chinese exports. The percentage of copper stock that is available or on a warrant The data revealed that the percentage of - of Chinese Origin in LME Warehouses had increased to 85% by the end of the last month from 82% at the beginning of October. A LME warrant is an ownership document. The absolute amount of Chinese copper stocks on the LME rose to 130,225 tonnes at the end last month from...

On Wednesday, dozens of Greek farmers disrupted the operations of the regional port in Volos as part of a national?demonstration protesting delays in farm assistance payments and high production costs. The farmers have been blocking traffic along major highways and at border crossings for days with thousands of trucks and tractors. They are facing a deficit of over 600 million euros in EU aid and other payments. Investigations into a corruption case in which some farmers, with the help of state employees, fabricated land ownership to be eligible for payments, led to delays. The audits have slowed down subsequent payments....

A nationwide protest on Monday, triggered by delays in funding, saw Greek farmers shut down an airport on Crete's island. They also blocked roads and crossed the border and threw rocks at police. Local media reported that protesters had deployed thousands of trucks, tractors and other vehicles in at least twenty blockades throughout the country. Police used tear gas to disperse a group protesting farmers at Heraklion Airport in Crete who were throwing stones and forcing their way onto runway. This halted air traffic. A second group, near the Chania Airport in Crete, smashed windows of police cars with shepherd's...