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Aeromexico, backed by Apollo, seeks a valuation of up to $2.9 Billion in US IPO
Grupo Aeromexico announced on Friday that it was aiming for a valuation up to $2.92billion in its U.S. Initial Public Offering, as the Mexican airline looks to go back public after more than two years. Aeromexico, based in Mexico City, and its existing shareholders seek up to $234.5 millions by offering 11,7 million American depositary shares priced between $18 and 20 each. After a successful bankruptcy reorganization, mature companies are often looking to return to the public markets. Aeromexico filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, with $2 billion of debt. The pandemic had a major impact on travel demand. Aeromexico, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2022, is now backed by the alternative asset manager Apollo Global as well as U.S. carrier Delta. PAR Investment Partners, a private investment fund, intends to buy $25 million worth of Aeromexico stock in a simultaneous private placement. The price per share will be 95% of the IPO. Aeromexico was one of the first names to be used in the United States. IPO pipeline Publicly File paperwork In May 2024, LATAM Airlines, based in Chile Return to the Homepage After a $456,000,000 IPO, the New York Stock Exchange will be open in July 2024. PUBLIC MARKETS RETURN The legacy airline, founded in 1934 under the name Aeronaves was nationalized in 1959 by the Mexican Government. In 1971, it began operating under the name "Aeromexico". Aeromexico had been owned by the state for many decades, until 2007 when an investor group led by Citigroup bought it for $250 million. Bidding war Saba Family - The full-service carrier first went public in 2011, and traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange until 2022. Delisted As part of its bankruptcy restructuring. Aeromexico is a low-cost carrier that competes with Volaris, a low-cost airline focused on leisure and business passengers. Barclays, Morgan Stanley J.P. Morgan, and Evercore are all joint book-running managers. Aeromexico intends to list at the New York Stock Exchange using the symbol "AERO." (Reporting and editing by Anuj T. in Bengaluru, Arasu Kanagi Basil; Shrey Biswas).
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FAA: Boeing can increase 737 MAX production up to 42 planes per monthly
Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the 38-plane-per-month limit in place since January 2024. The FAA set the record-breaking production cap after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 was involved in a mid-air incident that occurred in 2024. Four key bolts were missing. This announcement marks a major milestone for the U.S. aircraft manufacturer, which has been thrown into a safety emergency following a mid-air accident. The FAA announced on Friday that its safety inspectors had "conducted extensive review of Boeing's manufacturing lines to ensure this small increase in production rate will be done safely." A person with knowledge of the situation said that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford spoke to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg Friday to confirm that the planemaker was able to increase the rate up to 42 aircraft. Boeing will begin production of planes as soon as possible, at the rate of 42 per monthly. Boeing expressed its appreciation for "the work done by our team, suppliers and the FAA in order to ensure that we are ready to increase production while safety and quality is at the forefront." David Shepardson, reporting;
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Trump Administration freezes an additional $11 billion infrastructure spending as part of the shutdown fight
Russell Vought, the White House Budget Director, said that due to the government shutdown the Trump Administration will freeze an additional $11 billion in infrastructure projects for Democratic states. Vought announced on social media that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would halt work on projects of "low priority" in cities like New York, San Francisco and Boston. He said that the projects may be cancelled in the future. The White House Office of Management and Budget stated that President Donald Trump wants to "reorient the federal government's priorities for Army Corps projects." The Trump administration already has frozen At least $28 billion for transportation and energy projects in Democratic-controlled cities and states, as the president pressures his opponents in Congress to end the shutdown, which began October 1. Trump also vowed that he would cut "Democrat Agencies", and he has sought to eliminate 4,100 jobs in the federal government as a way to hurt his political opponents. OMB reported that the Army Corps' projects include a waterfront in San Francisco, bridge extensions in Cape Cod (Massachusetts), and water and waste-water systems in New York City. New York's projects account for 7 billion dollars of the total. OMB also said that other affected projects include those in Illinois, Maryland and New Mexico as well as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware. These states all voted against Trump at the 2024 presidential elections. OMB stated that many of the projects are located in "sanctuary jurisdictions", which have been able to resist the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The Army Corps didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Reporting by Christian Martinez, David Shepardson and Andy Sullivan; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andy Sullivan
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Sources say that FiberCop, a company backed by KKR, has filed a complaint with the EU regarding alleged Italian aid to KKR's rival.
Three sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that KKR-backed FiberCop, a telecom network company, has filed a complaint at the European Commission alleging Italy gave state aid to Open Fiber, in violation of EU competition laws. The complaint, in which it is alleged that Italy has altered the competition in the ultra-broadband sector, escalates a dispute between KKR, the U.S. Fund, and the Rome Government, Fibercop's co-shareholder. FiberCop sent an email to and confirmed that it had lodged a complaint at the EU. However, they did not provide any details. "FiberCop has brought to the European Commission's attention a number circumstances that it feels warrant scrutiny from the perspective of competition." All three companies, KKR, Open Fiber and the Italian Treasury declined to make any comments. The EU Commission didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. KKR has a 37.5% stake in FiberCop which is Italy's largest telecom network. The government owns a 16.1% stake. The complaint filed by FiberCop on Monday targets a number of measures Italy took in 2024-2025 with regards to Open Fiber. Sources said that FiberCop's complaint estimated the value of the measures at up to 4.5 Billion Euros ($5.3 Billion). People said that the measures included direct grants, the extension and strengthening of concessions already in place, guarantees by the state on credit lines, as well as the suspension or reduction of fines for delays with state-sponsored fiber rollout plans. FiberCop claimed that the measures transferred economic and financial risk from Open Fiber to the state, in violation of EU competition laws. The EU was not informed about the measures. KKR is at odds with Italy over the future of FiberCop. FiberCop was sold to a KKR led consortium last year in a deal worth 19 billion euros. Sources told us earlier this week that the U.S. Fund is opposing Italy's efforts to combine FiberCop and Open Fiber, a smaller competitor controlled by CDP, a state investor, and Macquarie Australia, whose fund is Australian. CDP declined comment. Macquarie didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. As part of the network-spin-off deal, a tie-up between FiberCop & Open Fiber could trigger an extra payment up to $2.55 billion from KKR. Open Fiber, the Italian company that was tasked almost a decade earlier with laying fibre optic cables throughout Italy, reported a loss of 364 million euros last year. It expects to reach a positive cashflow by 2028.
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Envoy Air is targeted by hacking campaign linked to Oracle
Envoy Air is the largest regional airline of American Airlines. The company confirmed that Envoy Air was hacked in the last few days, as part of a wave of extortion attacks by hackers who exploited Oracle E-Business Suite software, according to the company. In an email, a spokesperson for Irving, Texas based company that operates over 160 aircraft and 875 daily flights said that they are aware of the incident and have contacted the law enforcement authorities. The spokesperson stated that "we have reviewed the data in question and confirmed that no sensitive data or customer information was affected." A limited number of commercial and business contact details could have been compromised. This is the second company to confirm that it has been hacked. The hacking was a result from a campaign against Oracle E-Business Suite software, which was claimed by "CL0P," a group of cybercriminals who have a long history of extortion attacks on third-party software and service providers. CL0P posted American Airlines as a victim on its website late Thursday. It was unclear when the attack took place. CL0P failed to respond immediately to an email sent to the group's address. A spokesperson for American Airlines referred all questions regarding the hacking incident to Envoy Air. Google experts, an Alphabet unit, stated on October 9th that "massive amounts of customer data were stolen" in a hacking operation that began as long ago as three months. According to the Record, a cybersecurity news outlet, Harvard University confirmed that it was attacked in a similar manner earlier this week. (Reporting from AJ Vicens, Detroit; Editing and proofreading by Matthew Lewis.)
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Interfax reports that Russian Railways will cut managerial jobs due to the slowdown in the economy.
Interfax reported Friday that Russian Railways, the state-owned railway company in Russia, plans to cut management positions as it faces lower freight volumes, and a general slowdown of the Russian economy. The Russian industrial giants - from automakers and railways to producers of metals, coal and cement - are suffering due to a weakening demand at home, low cost Chinese imports, rising interest rates, and shrinking markets. Sources say that Russian Railways (which employs 700,000 people) has already asked its central office staff to take 3 unpaid days per month. Other Russian companies such as carmaker Avtovaz and cement maker Cemros, have reduced their working hours and terminated staff. Interfax reported that the company stated "the optimization of its management structure" aimed to improve efficiency in a context of declining work volume and a challenging economic situation. Russian Railways has not responded to a comment request. Interfax also stated that the first step will be to freeze hiring and eliminate existing vacancies.
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IndiGo, India's largest airline, doubles its widebody order with 30 Airbus A350 Conversions
IndiGo, India's budget carrier, announced on Friday that it had signed a contract confirming the conversion 30 of its 70 A350-900 purchase rights into firm orders. This doubled its widebody order list to 60 from 30, and increased its total number of A350-900s ordered. This move is part of India's strategy to increase its long-haul services and capture more international traffic away from Gulf carriers like Emirates. According to government and industry data, India's international air traffic is expected to grow from 64 million passengers in 2019 to 160 million passengers by 2030. However, the majority of this traffic will still be carried out by foreign airlines. IndiGo has 60% of the Indian domestic market. Double its capacity by the end decade and expand the international network. In April 2024, the Gurugram-based carrier placed its initial order for 30 Airbus A350 900 aircraft. This was their first widebody purchase. IndiGo also retained the right to purchase an additional 70 Airbus A350 aircraft in case of future requirements. IndiGo will still have the right to purchase 40 additional wide-body aircraft after conversion. (Reporting and editing by Tasim Zaid in Bengaluru, Ananta Aggarwal)
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Sources say that U.S. Navy warship holds survivors of Caribbean vessel strike, after sources.
Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. Military is currently holding two survivors on a Navy Ship after they rescued them from a suspected drugs vessel in the Caribbean which was hit by an American strike, which killed two other people. The revelation, which was not previously reported, could mean that the survivors of the strike on Thursday are the first prisoners in the conflict declared by Donald Trump to combat a "narco-terrorist" threat, which he claims is coming from Venezuela. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. One source said that the vessel which was struck on Thursday had moved under the water. It could have been a semisubmersible. This is a vessel similar to a submarine used by drug traffickers in order to avoid detection. Before Thursday's operation U.S. military attacks against suspected drug ships off Venezuela had left no survivors known and videos shown by the Trump administration show vessels being destroyed. Legal experts and Democratic legislators who are concerned about whether the strikes were in accordance with the laws of war have raised alarms. The attacks come as Trump escalates his standoff with Venezuela's government. This includes a U.S. buildup of military forces in the Caribbean, including F-35 fighter planes, nuclear submarines and guided missile destroyers. Trump revealed on Wednesday that he had given the Central Intelligence Agency permission to conduct covert missions inside Venezuela. This has added to the speculation in Caracas about the United States' attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart)
Maguire: Turkey's increasing power pollution is a sign for the future
In 2024, Turkey overtook Germany as Europe’s leading polluter of fossil fuels in power production. This marked a significant shift in the main polluting centres away from Europe’s traditional industrial centers to its edges.
The rise of Turkey in terms of pollution extends far beyond its power. In recent years, the production of energy-intensive products such as steel and chemicals in Turkey has increased while that of Germany has decreased.
The divergence of smokestack patterns highlights a change in location for Europe's most polluting sectors, moving from areas with strict emission limits and overloaded power grids into regions with less stringent pollution standards and rapidly growing energy supplies.
This means that pollution trackers must now extend their monitoring beyond Europe's industrial heartland and into emerging economies, where policies may conflict with climate change goals.
Emissions Toll
According to Ember, the energy think tank, Turkey's electricity sector will discharge 154,5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2024 from fossil fuel based power generation.
This is the first time since decades that Germany has not been Europe's biggest emitter of CO2.
Turkey's dependence on coal as the main source of power and electricity is the key factor behind its swelled power pollution.
In 2024, coal-fired power stations will generate around 35% (or more) of Turkey's electricty. This is the second highest coal share in major European economies after Poland.
In addition, Turkey's coal-fired electricity output reached its highest level ever in 2024, marking the third consecutive year of growth.
This coal consumption trend is in contrast to that of Germany, Poland, and other coal-consuming countries where coal usage has been steadily declining this decade.
In fact, Turkey is the only major country to have seen a growth in fossil fuel emissions by 2024. This was due to its expansion of the use coal as a power source while other major European countries reduced their coal usage.
Ember reports that Turkey's fossil fuel emissions increased by approximately 11 million tonnes of CO2 or 7.5% in 2024 compared to 2023.
This compares with declines in fossil-fuel power emissions of 9% for Germany, 12% for Italy and 13% for the United Kingdom by 2024.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES
The trends in emissions for the power sector is a sign that broader changes are taking place across Europe.
Germany, Europe's former industrial superpower, has dramatically reduced its output of key products, such as steel and fertilizers, due to high electricity costs and natural gas shortages, since Russia's invasion in Ukraine 2022.
Over the same time period, production of these same industrial ingredients in Turkey has increased. A large population, as well as policy support for sectors that create jobs, has spurred growth across many industries.
The sharp differences in electricity and power prices between the two countries have also been a factor in these industrial shifts.
According to Eurostat, the average household electricity price in Turkey will be less than 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (KWh) during the first half 2024. In Germany, this is nearly 40 cents/KWh.
The importance of different economic growth rates has also been emphasized.
According to the International Monetary Fund, since 2020, Turkey has experienced an average annual growth of 5.3% in its gross domestic product, compared with less than 1% for Germany.
Turkey's GDP is expected to grow by 3.4% per year between now and the end decade. Germany will only see a 1% growth.
These projections of growth should continue the trend of industrial relocations from Germany to Turkey in the coming years.
To maintain a competitive edge, Turkey's electricity costs must be lower than those in northern Europe where the industries are still struggling with lower natural gas volumes compared to a few short years ago.
This means that Turkey's energy producers will continue to be heavily reliant upon coal to meet their needs. It should keep the overall cost of energy lower than anywhere else in the region, even if this leads to an increase in emissions.
These are the opinions of the author who is a market analyst at.
(source: Reuters)