Western Europe

United Airlines has revealed a dispute between the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and its long-delayed Airbus A350 purchase. This is 'the latest twist in a long-running saga of jet procurement. The A350 order dates back to 2009, one year before United Airlines merged with Continental Airlines. Continental Airlines was a Boeing champion and had exclusive ties with Boeing. The A350 contract was restructured later, but it has been deferred and changed numerous times. In a filing to the regulatory authorities late Thursday night, the airline stated that it was in dispute with the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, and did not give investors...

Matteo Salvini, Italy's Infrastructure Minister, said that the government would ban airport strikes during the Milano Cortina Winter Games in order to avoid causing travel disruptions at a?major event?. The government has asked the unions to postpone the walkouts to avoid conflict with the Games. However, the unions refused. Winter Paralympics will take place from March 6 to 15. Salvini acknowledged the workers' demands but insisted on the smooth running of the Olympics, calling them an "extraordinary event of global importance". Salvini also called for further negotiations to resolve the labour dispute. The Italy-hosted Games will take place in Milan...

Norwegian Air Shuttle CEO Geir Carlsen said on Friday that the airline does not intend to add Starlink's Wi Fi onboard its planes for now. Instead, it will offer a service paid by another vendor. Starlink is a product that appeals to major airlines such as Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and other large carriers. However, budget carriers who rely on ancillary service to offset low ticket prices are less interested in the product. Karlsen stated, "As far as I'm aware,... if you install Starlink...you can't... charge your passengers for its use." He said Starlink is not yet certified for Boeing 737...

Norwegian Air Shuttle, a budget airline that operates in the fourth quarter of each year, has a positive operating result but missed market expectations due to higher than expected costs. This sent its shares down 5% at the start of Friday's trading session in Oslo. In a earnings report, the airline said that increased air traffic charges and airport fees had a negative effect on operating costs in comparison to 2024. The operating profit for the group was 21 million Norwegian crowns ($2.2million) during the third quarter. This is well below the?comparison of 201 millions crowns. It had a loss...

French aerospace company Safran announced increased earnings and revenue for 2026, following a strong year of profitability, thanks to aftermarket demand. The shares of a?the? manufacturer of civil and military aircraft and jet engines, as well as equipment such landing gear and cabins, rose by over 7%. They were on course for their best day in March 2022. Safran, which produces engines for Airbus jets and Boeing planes under GE Aerospace's CFM venture, forecasted a recurring operating profit of 6.1 to 6.2 billion euro ($7.2 billion up to $7.4billion) for the calendar year. This was based on a projected percentage...

Safran CEO Olivier Andries stated on Friday that CFM will do its best to fulfill any requests from Airbus for additional engines this year. However, the priority is to'meet' existing commitments. Airbus, according to industry sources, is in a standoff with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney about engine supplies. This has put its main production goals at risk and prompted it to turn to CFM to help adapt. Andries informed?reporters CFM's forecasts of a 15% rise in total LEAP engine deliveries this year included in Safran’s annual earnings, announced on Friday, didn't include any provision to?increase its share of market....

French aerospace group Safran announced increased earnings and revenue?for 2026, following a year of profitability gains?due to strong demand for its civil jet engines. Safran, which produces?engines for Airbus and Boeing planes under the CFM venture with GE Aerospace, forecasted 6.1 to 6.2 billion euro ($7.2 billion up to $7.4billion) in recurring operational profit this calendar year. This was based on an estimated percentage increase in revenue of "low to middle teens" for the period. The French version of the earnings announcement stated that this was an increase between 12% and 15%. Safran reported a 26% increase in its recurring...

The European Union’s?aviation regulator on Thursday?recommended that the bloc’s airlines?stay out?of?Iran’s airspace?until?March 31?, saying it was extending a previous warning. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a bulletin that stated: "The presence of and the possible use of an array of weapons and air defence systems, coupled with unpredictable state responses... creates a 'high hazard to civil flight operations at all levels and altitudes." A breakdown in the negotiations between Iran and United States could spark a conflict which could spread to the rest of the oil-producing region. Iran has vowed to respond harshly to any attack and warned...

Howmet Aerospace forecast first-quarter profits above Wall Street expectations on Thursday, as it benefits from strong demand for planes and aircraft parts. Shares of the company rose 9% during morning trade. Airlines have expanded their fleets due to a strong?travel demand. While planemakers have increased production to meet the needs of airlines, they have not yet caught up, allowing older jets to fly longer. This has forced engine manufacturers and other suppliers to juggle competing demands for new plane assembly as well as maintenance of existing fleets. BUYING, INCREASING THE CAPACITY OF A COMPANY Howmet, a Pittsburgh-based company, is expanding...

On Thursday, hundreds of Lufthansa flight cancellations were made as 'pilots and attendants' went on strike. According to the company, the industrial action over pensions and other grievances caused about 800 flights to be canceled, disrupting travel plans for approximately 100,000 passengers. The company stated that this "affects our customers extremely harshly and in a disproportionate manner". It added that they expect a return to the 'normal' schedule on Friday. The departure boards in Frankfurt and Munich show that most Lufthansa flight cancellations for the day have been made, including many overseas destinations. STRIKES Called as FILM FEST and SECURITY...

Industry sources claim that the French-US jet engine manufacturer CFM is evaluating a "more conventional" "advanced-ducted" engine design, alongside its preferred option for a radical open fan concept. The industry is debating fuel-savings as well as reducing emissions. The'venture' co-owned by GE Aerospace, France and Safran, has been promoting an open-rotor, with a large fan exposed instead of a conventional casing, for the next generation of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. This would "generate fuel savings and emissions reductions of 20% in a well-publicised research program called RISE. It is also examining a design that would contain the fan inside a...

On Thursday, hundreds of Lufthansa flight were cancelled as pilots and?flight attendants went on strike at Germany's biggest airline. The company has been struggling for years to reduce?costs in its?core brand. The company initially did not provide the number of passengers and connections affected, but stated that "extensive cancellations" are a result of the strike. ADV, the German airport association, estimates that 460 flights are cancelled and almost 70,000 passengers will be affected. The departure boards of Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa’s German hubs, showed that most flights had been cancelled, including those to overseas destinations. Lufthansa had earlier stated that...

Wall Street is 'in the grip of AI disruption fears. Investors began by selling shares in software companies, but quickly spread to other sectors that were seen as susceptible to automation. This led to sharp losses this week for U.S. stock prices. AI-related scare tactics have affected even industries such as legal services, private credit, data analytics and insurance. Anthropic's legal AI plug in caused a drop in global?tech stocks. Investor unease grew after a series of AI model updates and new releases. Emmanual Cau, equity strategist at Barclays, said that fear is driving the market's sentiment. Investors are still...

The head of Bertelsmann's investment division said that the German media and service group has acquired a majority stake in Lets Transport. It hopes to leverage its position in India as an?important market for growth. In an interview published Tuesday, Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments said: "We have now achieved 80%." Bertelsmann owns the publisher Penguin Random House, is active in education and services, and has a stake in Lets Transport. This ownership began in late 2018. The logistics company, founded in 2015, connects truckers with corporate clients across India. Coesfeld stated that the market for Lets Transportation is...

Spain's major unions of rail workers have called off their?three-day national strike that began earlier on Monday after the authorities agreed to?boost investment and reinforce staffing in response to a series of high-profile accidents. In the last?month?, several consecutive derailments, crashes, and deaths left dozens of people dead. This sparked public concern about the state of Spain’s rail infrastructure. A high-speed train crash on January 18 in southern Andalusia left 46 dead, while a derailment in northeastern Catalonia two days later killed a driver. In a recent statement, the Spanish Transport Ministry announced that it would invest 1.8 billion euro...

The White House announced that President Donald Trump will unveil "TrumpRx.gov" on Thursday night. This website is intended to give consumers discounted access to prescription drugs and to be a key part of his efforts to reduce drug prices in the U.S. Sixteen of the biggest drug manufacturers in the world have joined forces to create a new global alliance. Deals with "most-favorable nation" In exchange for exemptions from U.S. Tariffs,?the Trump Administration will lower drug prices in the United States. These agreements will lower the?prices for Medicaid and cash-paying customers via TrumpRX. Those deals include Agreements with obesity drug...

Available copper inventories The London Metal Exchange has seen its trading volume increase by 11 months, as traders from the U.S.A. and Asia have increasingly turned to the exchange for metal storage. After more than 20,000 tonnes of copper were delivered to New Orleans and Baltimore over the last three weeks as well as similar inflows into South Korea and Taiwan, the amount of copper available in LME warehouses reached 160,625 tons on Wednesday. This is the highest since late February of last year. Copper was shipped in large volumes to the United States before possible import tariffs. Higher?prices at...

Kumba Iron Ore, South Africa, said Thursday that it expected its full-year profits to increase by up to 23% due to higher mineral prices and sales volumes. Kumba, an Anglo American unit, expects to earn between $1,39 billion and $15,33 billion ($862,55 million-$951,29 million) in the year ending December 2025. This compares with the 12.5 billion rand earned the year before. Africa's largest iron ore producer said that the increase in earnings was due to the higher average free-onboard export iron ore prices of $95 per metric tonne in 2025. This is up from $92 a metric tonne the previous...

Trafigura has won its London case against Indian businessman Prateek?Gupta regarding fake nickel cargoes on Friday. The High Court of London ruled in favor of the commodities 'trader. Trafigura, a Geneva-based company, claimed that Gupta and his companies were the masterminds of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme??in which they agreed to deliver high-quality nickel 99.8% but instead delivered low-value materials or even worthless ones. Gupta acknowledged he didn't deliver high-grade Nickel cargoes, but claims Trafigura staff designed the scheme. Former Trafigura head nickel trader Sokratis Oikonomou had denied this in his testimony given in November. Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled Trafigura had...

United Parcel Service, the largest package delivery company in the world, announced on Tuesday that it will close 24 additional facilities and eliminate up to 30,000 positions by 2026. This is due to its ongoing shift towards a'more profitable business. In midday trading, shares of the company rose 4%. The company also announced fourth quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and forecasted a surprise increase in annual revenue. FedEx shares gained 2.6%. Carol Tome, CEO of the company, said in a conference with analysts that the company plans to reduce Amazon deliveries. "We are now in the last six...

Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. Ageas SA: Belgian and Dutch insurance group Ageas reported that its reinsurance unit Ageas Re had achieved inflows at a rate of 379 millions euros on 'January 1, 2026 compared with 206 million euro a year before. Its partnership activity in-force books now stand at 435million euros after the renewal campaign. ARGAN SA - French real estate firm Argan reported a full-year rental revenue of 212 millions euros, and recurring net profit of 154.8million euros. Its end-December Portfolio was valued...

PlusAI, the self-driving vehicle startup, announced on Monday that it would launch Southern Europe's very first program to test heavy-duty autonomous vehicles. It will also expand its partnership with Iveco Group and brand IVECO. Two IVECO S-Way truck equipped with PlusAI’s Level 4 autonomous driving.system will be tested on a 300-km route between.Madrid.and Zaragoza in 2026. A safety operator will also be onboard. Trials will be conducted with Spanish logistics operator Sese, and the regional government of Aragon. PlusAI in Silicon Valley, with offices in Europe and America, has been working with Iveco on joint research and tests for many...

Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Saudi real estate developer Dar Global, announced on Sunday that two Trump-branded luxury projects will be launched in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Jeddah (Jordan). Chaar said that the projects include the Trump National Golf Course in Riyadh and the Trump International Hotel at Diriyah. This is a massive project located on the western edge of the Saudi capital. Chaar said that a mixed-use development called Trump Plaza is planned for Jeddah. Chaar stated that the projects were in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its economy and move away from oil....

Senalia, a grain export terminal operator, expects volumes to double in 2025/26 compared to last year due to a rebound in French harvest production and a brisk barley demand. Rouen, on the Seine River in Normandy, is France's main grain export hub. Rain-stricken 2024 reduced its export surplus, and port terminals were idle for part the season. Senalia, the cooperative-owned cereal exporter, has forecast that Senalia will load 3.8 millions metric tons in the current July-June period, up from just 1.8 million in 2020/25. This is exactly what it did two years ago. He said that 1.7 million tonnes of...