Western Europe

The British air traffic control operator NATS announced on Friday that a software bug was responsible for the 'outage' which affected hundreds and thousands of passengers in the past week. The incident led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights and caused days of disruption. Airlines spent millions of pounds trying to return crews, aircraft and refund passengers. NATS CEO Martin Rolfe stated that the shutdown wasn't related to a 2023 problem which caused widespread?disruption. Nor was it connected to military intervention, as some media outlets reported last week. He also said that safety was not compromised at any point during...

According to a Glencore spokesperson, a Dutch bailiff has launched a public sale of the 'Logistics and Warehousing' business formerly owned by Glencore. According to the notice, interested parties were required to submit a declaration of interest before October 1, said a spokesperson. The auction comes after a ruling by the Amsterdam 'District Court' on July 2, which rejected Glencore’s attempt to buy Access World via a private transfer?to its subsidiary Tironimus. Opponents argued that the proposed price undervalued business. The court said Glencore did not show that a public sale would be harmful, and Tironimus was allowed to bid....

China has established a huge airspace security area around Beijing that is roughly the same size as Italy, which will bar all flights except for commercial, approved emergency and business flights. This comes months after a small plane crashed into Beijing's tallest tower. An?aviation?notice from Beijing's airspace control authorities, available on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration public NOTAM search engine reviewed by, showed that a permanent 600-kilometer-wide circle of "Special Restricted Areas" will take effect as of September 20. This notice stated that the entire airspace will be closed to all flights except commercial airlines, business flights approved by the...

Giorgia meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, announced on Wednesday that Italy will 'abolish road tax' for 14,5 million cars and motorbikes. This move is estimated to cost more than EUR2billion ($2.31billion) in state funds. The government is looking for ways to increase support in advance of the national elections next year. Meloni’s?conservative alliance is trailing in the polls the centre-left and is under pressure from National Future - a new far-right political party led by Roberto Vannacci that is steadily gaining supporters. Meloni stated in a press release released by her office that "today the government eliminates one of the...

Here are some company news stories and updates from France and Benelux that could impact the markets in these regions or specific stocks. KERING: The French luxury group Kering has appointed Sophie Maddaloni secretary general with immediate effect. She?joined?the executive committee. IMPLANET: Implanet, a French medical technology company, reported a first-half revenue figure of EUR7.1million ($8.20million), an operating loss EUR1.87million and a loss net of EUR2.14million. TFF GROUP Tonnellerie Francois Freres, a French barrel manufacturer, reported a first-quarter revenue below expectations of EUR56.9m. This was due to a massive destocking of customers and alterations in its production capacity. It expects...

The UK cannot meet its climate goals and expand Heathrow Airport in London unless the airlines take full responsibility for all their emissions, said Wednesday's climate advisors. Last year, the British Labour government backed the construction of a third runway in?Heathrow Airport, one the busiest airports in the world, claiming that the project would boost economic growth. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) published an advisory on Wednesday at the request of the government, concluding that there is no plausible path under current policies to allow Heathrow expansion while Britain meets its goal of "achieving net zero emissions by 2020". Nigel...

The Canadian Transport Minister said that he expected a'strong interest' from Canadian pension funds and possibly Australians as well, when the country opened its four biggest airports for private investment. In an interview, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said: "We expect a very strong Canadian participation in these concession agreements." The Canadian investors have proven over time that they are very adept at investing in other jurisdictions. Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said earlier that his government is seeking private investment via long-term concessions for airports to be operated in Toronto, Montreal?Vancouver?and Calgary as part a campaign to stimulate the...

Three sources reported that the Russian Urals crude premiums have risen to $8 per barrel against Brent for delivery in Indian ports. This is the highest level since May as a result of a 'lower crude supply' from Gulf producers because of 'the Iran War. The oil prices rose on Tuesday, after an attack on Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure knocked out the East-West Pipeline. This sparked fears that repairs to damaged energy infrastructure and transport routes may take longer. Sources claim that cargoes from Russia's Urals are trading at an $8 premium per barrel delivered to India, compared to the...

On Monday, Europe's truckmakers urged the EU to delay compliance with 2030 CO2 reduction targets by three year - due to insufficient charging networks and high energy costs. Manufacturers in the European Union must reduce CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty cars by 43% in 2030, compared with 2025 levels. They will also have to cut them by 64% in 2035, and 90% in 2040. There are fines for non-compliance, but there is the option to earn emission credits between 2025 and 2029. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said that only 2.4% new 'heavy duty' vehicles are currently zero-emission. This...

The French railway operator and French authorities confirmed that a train derailed in Normandy in northern France between Rouen-Caen on Friday night at around 7:30 pm local time. The head of the local authority Jean-Benoit Albertini told reporters that one of the injured was in a critical condition and had to be evacuated via helicopter. A spokesperson for the French police said that the train 'derailed after hitting an unknown object. The French railway operator SNCF said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of this accident. In a post on X, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot revealed that...

Here are some of the key factors that could affect Swiss stocks on Friday: EUROPEAN MARKETS European?shares? close at a two-month low after ECB hike fuels further tightening of bets. COMPANY STATEMENTS ZURICH INSURANCE AGENCY Financial Times reports that Allianz and Zurich Insurance?insured transactions related to the embattled Iron Ore Trader Radiant World. NESTLE Nestle CEO: Middle East conflict is driving inflation and higher supplier costs. FLUGHAFEN ZUERICH Zurich Airport handled?3,326,119 passengers in August, according to the?Swiss firm. ECONOMY Swiss August consumer sentiment due at 7am GMT (Reporting by Zurich newsroom ?and Gdansk newsroom) |1|For Top News in a multimedia...

Michael O'Leary, the Chief Executive of Ryanair, accused the head of Britain's Air Traffic Control Operator of lying about an outage that led to thousands of canceled flights earlier this week. O'Leary stated that NATS had informed Ryanair that the outage is caused by an errant flight plan. This was the same problem which caused a major disruption to the airline in 2023. NATS CEO Martin Rolfe told BBC Radio that he believes the latest outage was caused by "something else" than previous incidents. O'Leary has called on Rolfe repeatedly to resign. He rejected this explanation. "NATS has?told me it...

ProRail, the rail infrastructure operator, said that deliberate acts of sabotage disrupted train services across 'the Netherlands on Tuesday just hours before a ceremonial opening of Parliament. ProRail reported that pipes were found on railways at over 20 locations in rural areas, mostly in the middle and east of the country. We found materials that were deliberately placed. Joke van Der Cruysen, spokesperson for ProRail, said that they now consider this a'sabotage of railway infrastructure. The King Willem-Alexander was set to open the new session of Parliament on Tuesday with a speech presenting the budget plans for 2027. All trains...

BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, plans to launch its first heavy-duty trucks in Europe next year. It will eventually manufacture trucks locally. A senior executive said this at the 'IAA trade show in Hanover. Stella Li is BYD's executive Vice President and Head of International Business. She said: "We will be producing everything that we sell in Europe locally for the long-term." She said that the company wanted to offer fleet operators an entire package of services including financing, solar-powered charger infrastructure, and a network of workshops supported by mobile roadside support. BYD would be able to avoid import...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The summer is officially over. Buckle up! Carry trades are starting to fail as the markets expect a path of rate increases from the Bank of Japan. The?Japanese?currency?traded as much as 1 percent firmer at 152.89. This is its highest since February. Just weeks after it hit a four-decade low, the U.S. government and Japanese authorities intervened to stabilize the currency. The yen was also boosted by data released on Wednesday showing that Japan's economy expanded faster than originally estimated from the previous...

The new German transport minister has said he wants to tie bonuses to the struggling national 'rail operator' meeting government targets. In an interview with 'newspaper Bild am Sonntag published on Sunday, Steffen Bielger said: "It would have a tangible impact on bonuses paid to managers at Deutsche Bahn if the government targets are not met." Transport experts believe that the problems of Deutsche Bahn are due to decades of 'underinvestment' in infrastructure despite an increase in rail usage, as well as 'its status as a JSC aiming to make a profit while providing a public service. Bilger, who was...

Shipping data revealed on Monday that two tankers?laden with Saudi oil? crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the weekend. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed after reports of vessel attack. Kpler data shows that the number of cargo vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait dropped to 18 on Sunday from 27 on Friday and 28 on Saturday. On July 20, the Iran-aligned Houthis announced a?maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, opening a new battlefront against the U.S. The data shows that the Suezmax tanker Lesvos, and the Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav left the Red Sea without their...

Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. 74SOFTWARE, a software company, reported a first-half operating profit of EUR43.9 mln ($49.94 mln) on Thursday. The company also raised its revenue growth and margin forecast for the full year. AKWEL On Thursday, the automotive component supplier reported a -18.7% decline in revenue for the first half to EUR415 millions and confirmed its outlook through 2026. ARAMIS GROUP On Thursday, the used car retailer reported a third-quarter revenue totaling EUR 559.2 million. It also confirmed its 2026 goals. ARGAN/WDP: The...

Two industry sources reported that commodity trader Glencore will withdraw 30,000 metric tonnes of 'lead' from London Metal Exchange storage warehouses after inventories of the battery metal soared to records. One source and two others familiar with the situation said that Hartree Partners, a fellow trader, also marked metals for delivery from a warehouse by cancelling the lead stocks. The sources did not specify how much lead Hartree cancelled. These withdrawals can create the impression that there is a 'physical demand' for lead when in fact it may be simply being moved between traders or warehouses, rather than actually reaching...

DSV reported a "sharp decline" in its second-quarter cashflow on Wednesday. The disappointment about the company's profit growth and earnings caused shares to fall by 13%. DSV acquired Schenker, a German freight forwarder, last year to become the largest in the world. While planned cost reductions are on track, the deals to sell excess property have not been completed. DSV reported that adjusted free 'cash flow' fell to 786 millions Danish crowns ($120million) from 3.98billion crowns a a year earlier?due a temporary increase in working capital due to higher activity, increasing freight rates and soaring fuel and bunker prices. It...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. The?has not checked these stories or?cannot?guarantee their accuracy. Databricks, a provider of data analytics, has raised a round of strategic funding valued at $188 billion. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Taco Bell owned by Yum Brands would stop using shredded iceberg sourced from a supplier that has been linked with a parasitic outbreak causing a severe form of diarrhea and vomiting. Honda Motors will stop?the production?of its Prologue SUV, which is sold?in America?this?year. Honda Motors will not cancel sales immediately, but expects to continue them until...

Prologis announced on Wednesday that warehouse landlord Segro had rejected its PS12.6billion ($16.62billion) all-share acquisition proposal. The British firm urged shareholders, to pressure the British board to engage the U.S. Logistics firm. Prologis argued that the FTSE 100 company has traded at a persistent discounted to its net 'asset value. It also faces structural constraints, including limitations on its balance sheet which prevents it from unlocking 'value in its data center development pipeline and artificial intelligence. Prologis urged Segro shareholders to encourage the Segro Board to engage with Prologis in order to present a binding proposal to Segro's shareholders. Segro...

FedEx beat estimates for its quarterly profits?and projected an 11% increase in revenue by 2026. However, shares fell 5.7% after a margin drop in the core express segment. Delivery giant also predicted earnings per share between $16,90 and $18,10 for the year. It has shifted its fiscal year from May to coincide with the calendar, instead of its previous year-end. Analysts are still working on'models' that will allow them to compare the new forecast with their previous one. It also follows its June 1 spin-off of its freight trucking division, FedEx Freight. This is part of a multiyear effort by...

FedEx, a global delivery company, said that it expects its revenue to increase?about 11 percent and earnings per share to be in the range of 16 to 18 dollars. This comes after reporting on Tuesday a higher profit for the fourth quarter, helped by increased rates. FedEx's fiscal year has been aligned with the calendar. The fiscal year of FedEx ended on May 31, previously. This comes just weeks after FedEx Freight was spun off on June 1, as part of a multi-year effort to streamline its operations and reduce costs by billions of dollars. FedEx reported an adjusted profit...