Europe

The British team announced on Tuesday that Scottish rider Oscar Onley would join INEOS Grenadiers at the start of the?2026 season, after he had agreed to a transfer from Dutch outfit Picnic 'PostNL. The Kelso 23-year old has been one of the brightest cycling talents since turning pro at 19. He underlined his potential with a 4th-place finish in this year's tour de France, the youngest rider among the top 10. Onley stated in a press release that he was "proud" to join the Grenadiers for a long time. It will also be a British team that races when the...

The Italian competition authority announced on Tuesday that it had fined Europe’s largest budget airline Ryanair $300.19 million ($255.19 mln) for abuse of its dominant position with travel agents. The regulator claimed that the airline had allegedly made it difficult for travel agents to offer Ryanair in combination with other airlines and other services. Ryanair didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. The authority alleged that it was unhappy with the 'airline for introducing facial -recognition procedures initially, blocking payments to online travel agencies, and finally imposing partnership agreements on travel agents limiting their abilities to offer Ryanair as...

Honeywell said Monday that it expected to "record a one time charge of about $470 million" in the fourth quarter related to a possible settlement of Flexjet litigation. This sent its shares down by 1.3% during premarket trading. Flexjet, a private aviation company, sued Honeywell on?March 20, 2023 for allegedly breaching an agreement regarding aircraft engine maintenance services. Flexjet demanded liquidated damages for?delayed repairs of engines and said the damages continue to accrue each month. Honeywell updated its full year outlook, as it plans on reporting its 'Advanced Materials Unit' as discontinued operations beginning in the 'fourth quarter 2025. This...

On Sunday, several thousand activists from all over Serbia rallied in support of the student protests that took place in the southwest region. They were protesting what they called government pressure on public universities. The protest, which was part of a larger movement against political interference in higher educational institutions, was 'the first demonstration of its kind held in Novi Pazar - a town with majority Bosniak Muslim residents. This is one of many protests that have been organised since the roof of a railway in Novi Sad, a northern city, collapsed last year and 16 people were killed. After...

Executives from both companies said that the proposed merger?of Mexican low-cost carriers Volaris Aerobus and Viva Aerobus aims at putting the new 'airline group' in a stronger position to negotiate its most expensive costs, including acquiring & renting aircraft. Exclusively reported on Thursday, Volaris confirmed that the two airlines were close to an agreement. "Reducing aircraft ownership costs is a significant opportunity, as they are the biggest expense - even more than fuel," Viva's CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua told analysts in a conference call. He added that "major global carriers, such as Viva and Volaris, operate with up to 60%...

A Belarusian accused of bombing two trains in Siberia at the order of Ukraine's Intelligence Services was jailed on Thursday for 22 years by a military court. The General Prosecutor announced that Sergei Yeremeyev had been found guilty of committing an act of terrorism, and planting explosives in two freight trains, including one which was traveling through Russia's largest conventional rail?tunnel, at the time. The FSB?said that Yeremeyev admitted his 'guilt' at the time of arrest. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which claimed responsibility for the two attacks, said that it wanted to disrupt rail lines in Siberia, which Russia...

Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, said that the airline plans to expand transatlantic flights in order to take advantage of strong demand from key U.S. markets and promote its new premium seats. In an interview with Lufthansa in Frankfurt, he stated that "we have been able to shift the point of sale?to?almost 60 percent now coming from Europe and only 40 percent from the U.S. This used to be the opposite for many years." Spohr stated that the majority of U.S. growth has come from smaller cities as opposed to hubs like New York. Lufthansa will, for example, increase its...

Carsten Spohr said that the German airline group Lufthansa expects a?6% increase in supply for its passenger airlines operating on its "long-haul" routes by 2026. The CEO also stated that it expected to receive a new widebody aircraft every other week, which would help boost growth. Lufthansa wants to expand its international routes and internationalize its company as part of its broader strategy aimed at achieving a profit margin increase between 2028-2030 of 8-10%. Spohr said that the capacity growth will be limited on shorter haul routes where they are seeking efficiency. Spohr, at the offices of?Lufthansa in Frankfurt, said:...

A government review released on Thursday revealed that plans for a long promised tram network in Leeds, northern England, have been pushed to the late 2030s. This highlights 'Britain’s?chronic difficulty in delivering infrastructure. Early 2030s was the promised date for the tram network that would bring mass transit to Britain’s fourth-most populous conurbation. Experts believe that the aging, unreliable rail network is a major obstacle to productivity growth. It also explains why London dominates. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has axed the northern leg?of?the high-speed rail network HS2 in 2023. The new route will run from London to England’s midlands....

After another year of mixed results under Carsten Spohr, the German airline group has vowed that its ambitious turnaround plan will become a reality in 2026. The group's share price has fallen by around a third since Spohr became CEO in 2014. The stock rose in 2017 but was then hit by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It has since struggled to recover, becoming a laggard among European airlines. According to LSEG, if you had invested the day Spohr took over as CEO, you would have lost 18%, including dividends. That's 1.7% annually. LSEG data shows that although its shares have closed...

The U.S. Senate passed unanimously legislation?Wednesday that would toughen military helicopters safety rules, and rescind a clause?in the annual defense act?that critics claimed would have weakened aviation security. Republican Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz on Wednesday won unanimous consent to approve a revised version of legislation that would require aircraft operators by the end of 2031 to equip their fleets with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, also known as ADS-B. The bill is co-sponsored with Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. It also increases oversight of commercial helicopter and jet traffic, as well as flight routes near airports. Cantwell stated that...

The European Safety Authorities issued preliminary instructions to airlines on Wednesday, requiring them to inspect the fuselage panels of dozens of A320 family jets. This was after Airbus slowed deliveries due to a production issue at a Spanish supplier. According to a proposed directive by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, airlines are required to inspect the thicknesses of certain panels at the front of aircraft within six months. This can be done sooner if these panels have already been repaired. The inspection order covers 177 aircraft in service, plus another 451 planes that are still in various stages of...

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...

Argentina, a global food supplier, is planning to boost its grain and mineral exports through privatization, and a modernization program of its railway network. Industry leaders claim that this will reduce freight costs in regions located far from ports by half. The first tender will be for the Belgrano Cargas, which runs the three biggest freight train lines in the country. The initiative, which will be launched in early 2019, could increase production of global commodities like soybeans and corn. It also includes copper and lithium. The project could also help transport sand from Vaca Muerta in Argentina's Southwest. The...

Data released on Monday showed that the cargo volumes handled by Russia's largest commercial employer, state-owned Russian Railways, continued to decline in November. Russian Railways released a statement saying that November cargo volumes fell by 1.5% on an annual basis to 94.2 millions tonnes. Volumes from January to November also dropped by 5.6%, to 1.021 billion tonnes. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. It has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50,8 billion). The railway cargo volume, a key economic indicator of the strength of Russia's export economy, fell to its lowest level in...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure some Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, the largest commercial employer in Russia, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings are...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, which is the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings...

A notice published by the London Metal Exchange on Friday revealed that Henry Bath & Son, a warehouse operator in Hong Kong has been the latest company to register a facility at the London Metal Exchange. According to the LME's notice, the warehouse is located in Hong Kong’s New Territories in the Kwai-Chung district. It can store nickel, lead and zinc, as well as copper, aluminum and aluminium alloy. The LME approved the first Hong Kong warehouses in January of this year. Its aim is to provide a gateway into mainland China, which is the largest metals consumer in the...