Latest News
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Gazprom lowers its investment for 2026 to 1.1 trillion Russian roubles compared with 2025
Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, announced on Thursday that its management board approved an investment program for 2026 in the amount of 1.1 trillion Russian roubles (approximately $13.53 billion), which is almost a third less than a revised figure of 1.615 trillion Russian roubles set for 2025. Gazprom did not include the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline from China to the list of priority projects for next year. The company announced last month that it had signed an agreement for the construction of a pipeline which would allow the delivery of 50 billion cubic meters of additional gas to China each year via the Mongolian gas fields in the Arctic. The price of the gas that will be supplied through the new pipeline, which is a key factor in determining the costs of the construction of the pipeline and the way those costs are shared between the parties involved, has yet to be decided. Gazprom announced on Thursday that the funding for next year will focus on developing gas-producing centres in Russia's eastern region and Arctic Yamal Peninsula, as well supplying gas to homes and expanding the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline to China. Gazprom has agreed with China to increase annual gas supplies through the pipeline from the planned capacity of about 38 bcm by an additional 6 bcm. This is the only existing pipeline between the two countries.
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ExPro reports that Ukraine will resume its gas imports via Transbalkan routes in November.
ExPro, a consultancy firm, said that Ukraine will resume imports of gas via the Transbalkan pipe in November after a dramatic increase in Russian attacks against the country's energy and gas infrastructure. In October, Russia intensified its strikes against Ukraine's gas industry. This resulted in Kyiv losing 55% of their own production of gas and forcing them to import an extra 4 billion cubic meters of gas to keep cities warm this winter. ExPro reported that Greek DEPA Commercial and D.Trading, a subsidiary to Ukraine's largest energy company DTEK, as well as Swiss Axpo Trading have booked capacities for the import of gas from Greece into Ukraine in a daily quantity of 0.6 millions cubic meters. Transbalkan, the route that links Greece's LNG Terminals with Ukraine, has not been used since September and October. It was only operational in July and August. Ukraine imports approximately 24 million cubic meters (mcms) of gas per day, including over 10 mcms from Poland, around 10 mcms from Hungary, and more than four mcms from Slovakia. Transbalkan pipeline is not in demand because of the high costs of transiting gas through the Ukraine and the four countries. ExPro reported that tariff reductions made by Moldovan and Romanian operators in November had helped to fill bookings. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Reporting by Pavel Polityuk)
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Howmet Aerospace raises its annual forecast due to strong demand for jets
Howmet Aerospace raised its revenue and profit estimates on Thursday as the manufacturer of castings, fasteners and other components expects to see a rise in demand due to increased production of commercial aircraft. Suppliers like Howmet have benefited from the influx of Airbus and Boeing aircraft orders, thanks to a resilient demand for air travel. As aircraft manufacturers struggle to meet demand due to production and supply-chain challenges, the company also sees an increase in demand for spare parts by airlines that are flying older jets longer. Howmet expects to reach $9 billion in revenue by 2026. This represents a 10% growth year-over-year. Howmet CEO John Plant stated that "turning to 2026 the air traffic continues growing and the backlog for commercial aircraft extends throughout the decade." This will provide both solid demand for commercial aerospace original equipment and growing demand for engines spares. Boeing, the top customer, received approval earlier this month to increase monthly production of its best-selling 737 MAX jets to 42 a week, up from 37. Plant, a key customer of Airbus, said that the best-selling A320 does not yet have a build rate. This was stated in the earnings call for July. The aircraft parts manufacturer expects revenue in 2025 to range between $8.18 and $8.2 Billion, up from an earlier forecast that was $8.08-$8.18 Billion. The company also increased its profit forecast to between $3.66 and $3.68 a share. This compares to the previous range of $3.56 to $3.64. Howmet has said that it will pass on to its customers the inflated costs associated with manufacturing materials such as aluminum and steel to help cushion any tariff impact. The company's adjusted third-quarter profit was 95 cents, exceeding Wall Street's expectations of 91 cents. The quarter's revenue was also higher than the analysts' expectations of $2.04billion. (Reporting by Allison Lampert, Montreal; Nandan Mandayam, Bengaluru. Editing by Vijay Kishore).
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Malaysia's Capital A "ordeal" to unify AirAsia's seven airlines is nearing its end
Capital A, a Malaysian company, said that it had met all the conditions for selling its AirAsia business to AirAsia X (its medium-haul low cost sister company) by December. This will unite seven airlines under a common banner. Capital A announced that all key conditions for disposal have been met. This includes consent letters from creditor, approval by the Thailand Stock Exchange, and commitments made to raise new equity. AirAsia, founded in 2001 with just two aircraft, has grown to be one of Asia's leading budget airlines. Capital A, which was severely affected by the pandemic travel restrictions, has been classified as PN17 by Malaysia's Stock Exchange. The company will exit this status by the end if the year after the deal. Over the past year, we've overcome every obstacle and approval to close these deals. "We are now at the end of what seemed like an endless ordeal," Tony Fernandes said in a press release. AirAsia Group will be the name of the unified group. Capital A will focus on travel and digital operations. By December, the parties expect to have completed other procedural requirements like Capital A's reduction in capital and distribution of its shares and AirAsia X listing. Capital A divested its aviation unit last April, when AirAsia Group acquired AirAsia Bhd, without having to pay a purchase cost, since Capital A transferred its outstanding debts to the airline operator. The company has reported a record loss for the full year 2020 of 5.1 billion Ringgit. ($1.21 billion). In fiscal year 2024, the company reported a loss in 475 million Ringgit.
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LME to implement permanent restrictions on large-position holders
The London Metal Exchange said Thursday that it intends to set permanent rules imposing restrictions on members who have large positions in contracts near them due to low inventory levels. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., the world's largest and oldest market for industrial metals which is owned, placed temporary restrictions on June following a spike in premiums for copper contracts near by. LME stated that these measures were implemented in response to a low-stock situation combined with large positions in nearby dates. This had led the LME Special Committee to instruct market participants to reduce their large on-exchange position. Recent premiums on zinc near you have reached record levels, after inventories fell by around 85% this year. Maintain orderly markets The LME stated that it believes that a permanent rule, which applies to all market participants who have significant positions on nearby prompt dates, is the best way to maintain orderly market conditions. In June, the LME announced that it had taken steps to prevent the emergence of a "corner" or "undesirable condition" on the market. In a Thursday statement, the LME stated that the restriction required holders of long positions greater than total stock levels to loan back to the market with a zero-premium. It added that the new rule expands restrictions on positions closer to delivery known as "tom next" positions. Zinc, the premium on the cash contract for the three-month forward Last week, the price of a metric tonne was $339. On Wednesday it had fallen to $133. The LME announced that a consultation period would run until 21 November. (Reporting and editing by Bernadettebaum and Alexander Smith; Eric Onstad)
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Vietnamese airline Vietjet orders 100 Airbus jets, 40 Rolls-Royce engines
Vietjet, a Vietnamese airline, has agreed to order 100 Airbus planes worth billions of dollars. The companies announced this in a statement released on Thursday. Vietjet has also ordered 40 Rolls-Royce engine as part of its expansion plans. To Lam, the top leader of Vietnam, visited Britain in order to strengthen ties between London and Vietnam. According to a joint statement, the airline has placed orders for 100 Airbus A321neo aircraft, following an non-binding Memorandum of Understanding signed with Airbus in June. Vietjet, in an internal document, said that the deal, which was valued at $25 billion but did not specify if it included additional planes, engines, or services, was not disclosed. The budget airline is involved in a dispute with the London High Court regarding a payment due for four leased aircraft. It also confirmed an agreement to purchase 40 Trent 7000 engine for 20 Airbus A330neo planes. The Vietjet contract showed that the deal had a value of $3.8 billion. This was a value which hadn't been disclosed before. Rolls-Royce announced the agreement back in June but refused to comment on its value. Reporting by Phuong nghuyen, writing by Francesco Guarascio, editing by Gareth Jones & Tomaszjanowski
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Internal memo: Qantas digital and customer chief steps down after cyber breach months later
Qantas Chief Customer and Digital Officer?Catriona larritt is set to step down at the end of the month, according an internal memo seen on Thursday. This comes months after Qantas suffered one of Australia's largest cyber breaches. Vanessa Hudson, the CEO of the group, wrote to her staff that Larritt would leave the group in order to "pursue opportunities external to the group". Larritt joined the group in 2015, and worked for the airline's Jetstar and Freight units. According to the company's website, she assumed her current position in September 2023. Her responsibilities include customer experience, branding, marketing, and technology. In July, the airline reported that more than one million customers' sensitive information, such as their phone numbers, dates of birth, or addresses, had been accessed in the cyber breach. Hudson stated that after Larritt's resignation, Danielle Keighery, the corporate affairs chief, will be in charge of brand and marketing. Andrew Monaghan, the risk chief, will be in charge of cyber security. Keighery will also be reporting to Petra Perry, the chief marketing officer and her team to help restore the group's reputation and brand. Hudson said that the chief information security officer Matt Biber will also report to Monaghan. This team, which includes cyber security experts, will bring more governance to Monaghan. (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru, Sherin Sunny from Bengaluru)
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Minister: Polish jets intercepted Russian aircraft in the Baltic Sea
Polish MiG-29 jet fighters intercepted Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea Thursday, the second incident of this kind in the past week. Poland's Army said on Wednesday, that Polish jets intercepted on Tuesday a Russian aircraft conducting a reconnaissance flight in international airspace above the Baltic Sea without a flight plan filed and its transponder off. Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the same incident occurred today, with MiG-29s intercepting a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. He did not provide any further information. Since September, countries on NATO's Eastern flank have been on alert for possible airspace incursions. This is after three Russian jets violated Estonian airspace for 12 minute, just days after over 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Anna Wlodarczak Semczuk and Pawel Florkiewicz)
Virgin Media O2 in the UK signs a deal with Musk's Starlink to provide rural coverage
Virgin Media O2 in Britain announced that it has signed a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink in order to improve mobile coverage in rural regions, starting with data and messaging services. The deal will be launched in the first half 2026.
VM O2, a joint-venture between Telefonica, Liberty Global and Vodafone, announced that it will be the first British operator using Starlink's over 650 satellites for connecting to compatible handsets.
Starlink, Musk's SpaceX subsidiary, has signed agreements with mobile networks in the United States and Canada for direct-to cell services.
T-Mobile, the U.S. mobile network, launched its commercial services in July. It began with text messages before adding apps like WhatsApp.
In January, VM O2’s British rival Vodafone announced that it would be working with AST SpaceMobile in order to offer satellite connections to its European clients next year.
Lutz Schuler said that Starlink was the most advanced satellite constellation in the world and therefore the best partner to help VM O2 achieve its goal of providing reliable mobile connectivity throughout the UK.
VM O2, who already uses Starlink satellites for mobile backhaul to connect some of its remote bases stations, announced that it will initially offer messaging services and data directly to handsets.
The company said that pricing details would be announced at a future date. (Reporting and editing by Mark Potter.
(source: Reuters)