Europe

Arianespace, the operator of Europe's flagship rocket programme, announced on Wednesday that Amazon 'Leo' has ordered six more launches using Europe's 'Ariane 6' launcher. Amazon has now ordered 24 Ariane launches by 2031, following the announcement made at a space conference in Paris. ArianeGroup's commercial arm announced that new flights on the Ariane 64 high-capacity version will start in 2029. Emmanuel Macron, French President, praised the deal during the opening of a 2-day space summit that was boycotted by a number of?top U.S. companies, including Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This followed what sources described last week...

A nationwide strike on Wednesday against the government's proposal to cut welfare spending halted public transport in The Netherlands. A 24-hour strike affected train services in the entire country, including international trains to Belgium, Germany France and Britain. The strike was organised by the unions against plans to reduce welfare spending up to EUR6.5billion ($7.6billion) annually, mainly through limiting unemployment benefits. The strike is a further obstacle to the centre-right minorities government that was installed in this year's parliament. The coalition is in need of outside support, as it lacks a majority. The opposition's leading left-wing Pro Party has joined...

Budget airlines 'Wizz Air' and 'Ryanair, both European carriers, called for a restructure of Britain’s air traffic controller NATS on Tuesday after a?new technical issue that caused?hundreds? of flights to be disrupted at key airports across the country. "A vital national infrastructure provider shouldn't repeatedly stop the aviation system." NATS in its current state is not suitable for the purpose it was intended for," said a Wizz Air spokesperson. Rival airline Ryanair has also criticised this agency and demanded the resignation of its CEO, Martin Rolfe. We were told that lessons would be learned after the collapse of 2023. "Resilience...

The Financial Times reported that a unit of the Russian state-owned aircraft?lessor GTLK is suing 'easyJet' for $72 million over claims it illegally abandoned six Airbus airplanes after ending their leases due to sanctions. STLC - Europe Eight, a division of GTLK Europe filed the lawsuit in London's High Court. It alleges that easyJet leased 'Airbus jets at Madrid and Cyprus without maintenance in 2022 while airport storage charges continued to accumulate. According to the claim the carrier leased 'aircraft from STLC, and informed the lessor 'April 2022 it was terminating leases due to EU sanctions that prevented them from...

Budget airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair called on Tuesday for a restructure of Britain's air-traffic control provider NATS after a new technical issue disrupted hundreds of flights at major airports across the country. "A national infrastructure provider that is critical to the aviation industry should not bring it to a standstill repeatedly." NATS in its current form is not suitable for the purpose it was intended for," said a Wizz Air spokesperson in a statement. Rival airline Ryanair has also criticised this agency and demanded the resignation of its CEO Martin Rolfe. We were told that lessons would be learned...

Heathrow Gatwick Manchester Stansted were among the major British airports that experienced delays and restrictions on Tuesday due to a technical problem with NATS, which is responsible for air traffic control. We are currently investigating a technical problem that is causing some delays in flight departures. NATS posted on X that "Our engineers are on the ground and we will give you an update as soon as possible." Heathrow Airport, Britain's largest hub, has said that it is working with NATS in order to solve the problem as quickly as possible. Edinburgh Airport posted a message?on X stating that this...

The Anfield'side has agreed a five year deal with Turkish Airlines to become its main club partner from 1 June 2027. This is the first time since 2010 that Standard Chartered was their shirt sponsor. According to media reports the deal announced Tuesday is worth more than PS300 million ($405.78 millions), which would make it one of the most lucrative deals in the Premier League. The exact figures are not yet confirmed but it is expected to be similar to the income generated by Manchester United's shirt sponsoring deal with Qualcomm that was signed in August 2024. Standard Chartered is...

Airbus jet deliveries increased 9% in the first eight-months of 2026. The European planemaker is 'broadly on target' to meet its yearly quota, but it still has some catching up to do with the A330 after a production snag. Airbus announced in a monthly bulletin it delivered 475 jets between January and August. This is up from the 434 that were delivered in the same period last year. The total included 57 deliveries during August. The France-based company released data showing that deliveries of the A330 wide body jet resumed in August with one handover, after they had been suspended...

ArianeGroup, a European rocket manufacturer, is looking at a "potential increase" in the deployment of its Ariane 6 heavy launcher. CEO Christophe Bruneau said to reporters on Monday. The European Space Agency said 'on Friday that it was looking at increasing the launch rate for Europe's Ariane 6 rockets and Vega-C in future years in order to deal with a looming satellite deployment bottleneck. Arianespace, ArianeGroup's subsidiary in charge of marketing and operating launches out of French Guiana, wants to achieve a stable launch rate between nine and ten Ariane 6 rockets per year, starting in 2027. Bruneau said at...

On Sunday, five people were killed when a Boeing 767-3000 cargo plane operated by 21 Air on behalf of Amazon's Prime Air network overran the runway at Miami International Airport. The plane also struck several vehicles before catching fire. Here are some details about other fatal accidents that have occurred in recent years. UNITED STATES Air Canada Express'?pilot and?co-pilot?were killed and dozens of people were injured when the regional jet collided with an oncoming fire truck at New York LaGuardia Airport on March 22, On June 12, 2025, hundreds of people died when an Air India flight to London crashed...

Portugal's government asked rivals Lufthansa and Air 'France-KLM to submit better offers for a'minority stake' in the 'flag carrier TAP', starting a final round of negotiations, after judging that both groups' first bids were too similar to choose one. In July, both European airline groups made binding but undisclosed offers to purchase a 44.9% stake in TAP. They also offered to become TAP's strategic partner. The?government received the assessment of the offers from Parpublica, the state-owned holding company. Leitao Amaro stated that the two binding offers "differeced in their content but were rated as being broadly similar overall". He told...

A top court in Sri Lanka announced on Friday that the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested and remanded to a prison until September 18 for alleged graft related to purchases of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines. Namal Rajapaksa is a member of the opposition Sri Lankan Podujana peramuna. He was arrested after more than five hours?of questioning from Sri Lanka's main anti-corruption body, the Commission to Investigate Allegations Of Bribery Or Corruption. The order remanding?him came from Colombo Chief Magistrates?Asanga?S. Bodaragama. Rajapaksa has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers weren't immediately available to comment. His arrest is...

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...

North Korea and Russia opened their first bridge on Monday in a well-choreographed show of friendship. The structure spans the Tumen River and was hailed by both sides as a milestone for their growing strategic partnership. First trucks with flags trundled over the bridge's 1 km (0.6 miles) of two-lanes as Russian Premier Mikhail Mishustin, and North Korea's premier Pak Thae Song watched via video link. They addressed workers and officials from both nations. The construction of the new bridge began in April 2018 after it was decided to build the bridge during the visit by Vladimir Putin in North...

A drone attack overnight?caused?minor damage and??temporarily???closed? a logistics complex operated by Russian online retailer Ozon, according to the company on Thursday. Ukraine has been 'attacking' several Ozon facilities in the city of Ufa since Saturday as it continues its campaign against Russia by targeting ecommerce giants who are?key employers in an?expanding?sector. The company stated that no fire broke out at the Ufa Complex in Bashkortostan Region, but the complex sustained minor damages. The area is temporarily closed as it undergoes an inspection. The company said that a second Ozon facility in the southwest city of Orenburg had been evacuated due...

Ukraine's grain sales have plummeted?this week after Russian attacks effectively shut down its Black Sea ports.?Rail and river routes are unable to compensate for the lost capacity. Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway operator, said that grain exports have been reduced by 60% compared to the same period in August last year. It said that the volume consisted of 170,000 tons delivered to Ukraine's Danube port and 343,200 tonnes transported to the western border crossings. After Russian attacks effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea port, which handled?90% grain exports, shipments have been rerouted via Danube ports, and border crossings to European countries. These...

A Russian regional official stated that self-driving vehicles and drones could be used to transport goods between China and Russia's Far East. The brisk trade across the border has prompted a search for?new forms of cargo transportation?to avoid congestion. The Amur region of Russia, which?shares? a long border between China and Russia, is developing trial programmes with Chinese authorities in partnership, said the deputy chairman of the regional government, Pavel Puzanov. He was speaking at a business conference in Kazan. China is providing a lifeline for Russia's economy after it was sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in...

On Tuesday, Latvia announced that a tunnel was discovered 'under the border of Belarus. It also announced plans to combat the networks which it claims are helping an increasing number of migrants cross the border 'illegally. Last month, Latvian soldiers fired a warning shot and used teargas to deter migrants from entering the country through Belarus. Belarus shares a 173 km (107 mile) border with Latvia. Interior Minister Janis Dombrava said at a press conference held jointly with Prime Minister Andris Kubergs that "the protection of Latvia's east border will be enhanced, through closer cooperation between Border Guard, State Police...

Alexander Gusev said that a drone attack killed a person and injured two others overnight in the Voronezh region of 'Russia. Gusev, a Telegram user, said that Russia's air defense units destroyed 15 drones in the area of Voronezh. "A drone crashed caused fires in two warehouses of a large company. The fire at one warehouse has been contained within an area of 16 square meters. At the other, a fire covering 20,000 square metres is currently being put out. "Emergency Services are on the scene," said?the governor. He didn't identify the company that was affected. On?Tuesday?, Russian online retailer...

According to a Monday letter published by the 'Russian Central Bank,' creditors are advised to assist businesses that have been affected by Ukrainian drone attacks on warehousing and logistics centres. Ukraine has?attacked at least 20 warehouses owned by Russian ecommerce retailer Wildberries since July 18. In a letter, the regulator stated that "small and medium-sized businesses who have suffered due to terrorist attacks on warehouses, manufacturing plants, retail, offices, and other premises can apply for restructured loans." Sberbank, VTB and Wildberries Bank, which is owned by the retailer, have all announced that they are ready to help?businesses. Sergei Melamed, senior...

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...

Azerbaijan's government expects the freight volume along the "Middle Corridor", a trade route, to rise 17% this year to 5.5 million tons before rising to 7 million tons in 2027. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known by the name of the corridor, connects China to European countries via Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. It also passes through Georgia, Turkey, and Georgia. Containers containing clothing, electronics, and other consumer products, as well grain, coal, ore and fertilisers are transported along this route. The corridor, with its annual capacity of over 15 million tons is still a tiny part of the rail traffic...

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...