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Accenture plans to add 12,000 jobs at its new campus in India’s Andhra Pradesh
Three sources with knowledge of the matter said that Accenture proposed to set up a campus in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The goal is to add 12,000 new jobs to the company's workforce in India. This move is similar to deals made by Tata Consultancy Services (IT firm) and Cognizant (IT company), which leverage a new policy of the state offering to lease land to large companies willing to create employment at 0.99 Rupees ($0.0112) an acre. Accenture has more than 300,00 of its 790 000 employees in India. Sources said Accenture had requested land in Visakhapatnam, on similar terms. The matter is confidential, so they asked to remain anonymous. Accenture has not responded to the request for comment. A state official stated that the Andhra Pradesh Government is eager to bring Accenture in. While approvals could take some time, it is expected that the proposal will be approved. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "This is not a unreasonable request by Accenture and the proposal will be approved." The amount Accenture plans to invest in the campus is unclear. TCS and Cognizant have secured land leases to build campuses in Visakhapatnam that could create around 20,000 new jobs. Cognizant plans to invest $183 millions, while TCS will spend slightly more than $154 million on its facility. In order to take advantage of lower costs for land, rent, and wages in smaller Indian cities, technology firms are expanding. After the pandemic, it is easier for many to hire locals in Tier-2 cities. This reverses the trend of workers migrating from smaller tech hubs to larger ones. This comes in the wake of President Donald Trump's new policy, which requires a $100,000 fee to be paid for all new H-1B visas. These visas are widely used by technology firms to hire foreign talent. This move will hurt the IT industry, which was by far the biggest beneficiary of H-1B Visas last year. Customers could also delay or re-negotiate their contracts, as the U.S. is debating a proposed tax of 25% on American companies using outsourcing services. $1 = 88.7500 Indian Rupees (Reporting and editing by Dhanya Skarichan and Sonia Cheema; Urvi Dugar, Abinaya Vjayaraghavan and Sonia Cheema; Urvi and Abinaya wrote the article).
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Spirit Airlines bankruptcy threatens flights to small towns
Spirit Airlines' second bankruptcy could force the airline to cut or eliminate service at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Residents of Latrobe in Pennsylvania may have to drive to Pittsburgh 65 miles away to fly. Gabe Monzo is the executive director of Westmoreland County Airport Authority, located in southwest Pennsylvania. "We have 150 000 people who want to go someplace," said Monzo. Spirit is currently the only commercial airline servicing the airport. Spirit has announced that it will reduce its November flight capacities by 25%. It is also furloughing a third of its flight attendants in order to save money. Monzo stated that if it cuts service to Latrobe "it would be a serious deficit for air transportation in this area." Discount airlines have been struggling since the pandemic and have tried to move upmarket. Spirit filed for bankruptcy in August. It plans to cut service in 11 locations as part of cost-cutting efforts. Spirit is the only airline that some regional airports use, and they say this will reduce affordable options for Americans on a budget. Spirit enjoys a special relationship with the Arnold Palmer Airport, named for the golfing legend, who was a native son and died in 2016. Westmoreland County invests approximately $900 million per year to support Spirit Airlines' operations at this airport, which is otherwise used by small private planes. When Spirit decided to move into the airport, it had very limited capabilities and was not compatible with commercial aviation. "But we changed that," said Monzo. Darlene Wommer was waiting for a flight from Myrtle Beach to South Carolina to visit her dad. She said, "I fly Spirit every time." "I will miss it if it disappears." Spirit Airlines said that its presence had helped to lower fares of consumers for the past 30 years, regardless of whether or not they flew directly with them. The U.S. Department of Justice blocked the merger of JetBlue and the company in 2024 citing customer harm. Spirit has been forced to reduce its operations as a result of this decision, while airport operators in the U.S. are looking to Spirit to increase regional flight connectivity. Two-weekly flights between Middle Georgia Regional Airport and Fort Lauderdale, starting at $50 one-way, were among the plans that fell victim. Spirit announced the plan in a partnership with Contour Airlines, based in Smyrna Tennessee, this year. However, it was scrapped before it could begin. Doug Faour is the Macon-Bibb County aviation director. Spirit stated that they were evaluating their options while implementing the transformation in order to position Spirit best for the future. Contour has not responded to our request for comment. Spirit plans to end service at Albuquerque International Sunport as well, leaving New Mexico’s largest commercial airport with no ultra-low cost carriers. Discount airlines Frontier Airlines, Allegiant Air and United Airlines have already left Albuquerque. Daniel Jiron said, "It was an important deal to get them here at first," said Daniel Jiron. Associate director of Albuquerque International Sunport. "We wanted to see them succeed." Jiron stated that without lower-cost carriers the prices of flights from Albuquerque and Las Vegas could increase. Southwest Airlines is used by about half of the passengers who transit the airport, according to TD Cowen. Arnold Palmer Airport is looking at other options for low-cost travel, since it hasn't heard yet whether it will be shut down. Monzo said that people were counting on the airline's survival. Our loyalty to Spirit runs deep. We will work with them in order to make them flourish. Quinn Glabicki, Latrobe, Penn., and Doyinsola Oladipo from New York contributed to this report. Editing by David Gaffen & David Gregorio
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Kenyan Aviation Workers Give Seven-Day Notice for Strike
Kenya Aviation Workers Union gave a seven-day notice of strike action on Tuesday, demanding resignation of the Kenya Airports Authority Board in response to labour conflicts and the fallout resulting from an canceled airport leasing deal. The planned industrial action may disrupt the operations of Kenya's international airport, which is one of Africa's most important aviation hubs. Moses Ndiema, the KAWU secretary general, declined to give a specific date for the start of the strike. He said it could begin at any time following the expiration of the notice period. Kenya Airports Authority has not responded to comments immediately. A year ago, workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport went on strike for a full day over their concerns regarding a plan to rent the airport to Adani Group, a company in India led by Gautam Adani, one of Asia's wealthiest people. Kenya eventually canceled the deal after the United States charged Adani, along with seven other individuals, for allegedly paying $265 million to Indian officials in bribes. The Adani Group denies these claims. In a letter from 23 September, Moses Ndiema of the KAWU accused the KAA Board of being incompetent and not acting in Kenya's interests. Ndiema, without mentioning the length of the strike, said that the recent events surrounding the Adani deal were the epitome and evidence of the board's lack of competence and inability to grasp the realities. (Reporting and writing by Humphrey Malalo, editing by Barbara Lewis).
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TUI confirms its annual targets and sees a positive start to the winter travel season
LONDON, September 23 - Europe’s largest tour operator TUI confirmed on Tuesday its annual and medium-term financial goals after steady demand, a positive winter start, and a competitive market despite heatwaves, conflict in the Middle East, and a highly competitive environment. TUI increased its annual profit forecast in August, as it experienced particular success in both its Hotels and Resorts and Cruises businesses. The German travel agency also reported a positive start for the winter season 2025/2026. TUI's latest update revealed that airline bookings for summer fell 2% on an annual basis, with the German market experiencing a drop of 5%. Summer travel is a crucial time for many airlines and tourism businesses. Many operators make up for earlier losses in the year during the holiday season. The company stated that bookings for destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, along with the Canary Islands, continue to be strong. TUI will release its results for 2025 on December 10.
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Sri Lanka rejects immediate LNG imports by India due to infrastructure problems
The energy minister of Sri Lanka said that the country has no immediate plans for importing liquefied gas from India as the infrastructure, including storage facilities, is still being built. India announced last summer that it would provide LNG to Sri Lankan power plants, and also work on a cross-border energy connection including a pipeline for petroleum and a power grid link. Despite the lack of progress in the LNG supply, there is still a long way to go. "First, we have to build the storage facility. The construction has not yet begun," said Sri Lankan energy minister Kumara Jayakody on the sidelines of Confederation of Indian Industry’s energy summit, held in New Delhi. He said that Sri Lanka has not yet finalised the LNG contract with India. After the completion of construction, it will take at least 3 years for the storage infrastructure to be completed. Imports can then begin. He said that while discussions about building storage took place under the former government, no contracts had been signed. Jayakody stated, "We are evaluating earlier content and determining the location. We will also be evaluating loan and pricing issues." Last year, the state-run Indian firm Petronet LNG signed a contract to supply LNG for power plants of Sri Lankan engineering company LTL Holdings in Colombo. The Minister said that both countries had formed a joint team to prepare a prospective report on the work planned for developing a trans-border transmission system between southern India and the north of the island. (Reporting and Editing by Shri Navaratnam).
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Wall Street Journal, September 23,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Disney announced on Monday that it will return Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show to television on Tuesday. This comes six days after the suspension of his show and threat of a regulatory investigation were imposed over comments made by Kimmel about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The companies announced that Nvidia will invest up to 100 billion dollars in the artificial intelligence startup OpenAI as part of a new deal. Uzbekistan Airways and Boeing signed a deal worth over $8 billion. Uzbekistan Airways intends to purchase up to 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Oracle has named Clay Magouyrk as its co-CEO, replacing Safra Caz. She was instrumental in defining the cloud strategy of the company and launching it into the AI boom, with large contract wins. - Locomotive parts maker Wabtec has reached a $4.2 billion agreement with Kazakhstan under which the Pennsylvania-headquartered company will provide the central Asian country with 300 locomotives, the U.S. Department of Commerce said. Spirit Airlines announced on Monday that it will be preparing to lay off one-third its flight attendants following its second bankruptcy filing in a single year. The carrier is struggling with mounting losses and dwindling funds.
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New York Times Business News - September 23,
These are the most popular stories from the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. Disney announced that "Jimmy Kimmel Live", the talk show host, will be back on air Tuesday. The suspension came after threats from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission regarding comments made by the host about the assassination Charlie Kirk. Nvidia is investing up to $100 billion into OpenAI, and will supply the company with data center chip. This marks a partnership between two of artificial intelligence's most prominent players. Under a new agreement, the software giant Oracle will monitor the changes and updates made to TikTok’s powerful recommendation techniqe under an effort to avoid a ban on the service. Spirit Airlines will furlough a third of its flight attendants following its second bankruptcy filing in one year. The carrier is struggling with mounting losses and dwindling funds. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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Danish police claim that the drones that closed Copenhagen Airport were flown by a 'capable operator.
Danish police confirmed on Tuesday that the drones which shut down the main airport of Denmark on Monday were flown by a "capable operator". They added that no suspects have been identified. After drones were spotted in their airspace on Monday night, Copenhagen and Oslo airports, which are the busiest in Scandinavia, were closed for several hours. This left tens thousands of passengers stranded, as flights were diverted. Jens Jespersen, Danish Police Chief Superintendent Jens Jespersen, told reporters Tuesday that the drones spotted in Copenhagen were operated by a "capable operator". Jespersen added that it was still too early to determine if the incidents from Denmark and Norway are linked. Officials said that Copenhagen Airport was shut for four hours after two or three large drones flew in the immediate vicinity. The Oslo Airport, meanwhile, was closed for three hours following two sightings. Jespersen stated that the drones were coming from different directions in Denmark, and turning on their lights before finally disappearing after a few hours. (Reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, Stine Jacobsen)
Smiths Group shares soar after a record-breaking profit.
The engineering firm Smiths Group posted profit and revenue that exceeded market expectations on Tuesday. This was aided by a strong demand for upgraded luggage-screening detectors, and a rebound in the semiconductor industry. Shares of Smiths Group reached a record high.
Conglomerate shifts its focus to industrial engineering following investor pressure. Plan includes selling Smiths Interconnect and spinning off Smiths Detection.
The group stated that the divestment plan was progressing well, and it expects to update the Interconnect market by the end 2025.
Smiths Interconnect is a provider of electronic components. Smiths Detection, on the other hand, is well-known for its explosives detectors and baggage screening kits at airports.
According to a poll conducted by the company, analysts expected a 5.3% growth in revenue from organic operations for the year that ends July 2026. It reported a 7.2% growth for the fiscal year 2025.
"We've absorbed some minor tariff headwinds and our fiscal 2026 guidance takes into account our current understanding of tariffs." In an interview, CEO Roland Carter stated that the company felt "robust and resilient" in the current macroeconomic environment.
The company's shares rose up to 7%, reaching a new record of 25.5 pounds.
John Crane has been facing challenges as a result of the slowdown in construction activity in the United States. John Crane provides mechanical seals, engineered solutions and other industrial products for the oil and gas industry.
Analysts at JP Morgan wrote in a report that "the John Crane organic revenue miss may concern some investors. However, we note that it was driven by ongoing operations challenges, which were exacerbated due to the cyber incident and not by end-market demand."
Smiths Group, a group of companies in the United States and Canada, reported an incident involving cybersecurity that occurred in January.
The company's headline operating profit was 580 million pounds ($783,17 million) in the year ending July 31. This is higher than analysts' expectations of 573 millions pounds. Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru and DhanushVigneshbabu in Mumbai; editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Aiden Lewis
(source: Reuters)