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China's Dongfeng to assess Europe sales prospects before plant choice
China's Dongfeng Motor Group needs to assess sales prospects in Europe before choosing the possible opening of a factory in the area, one of its magnates said on Thursday. Ma Lei, the general manager of Dongfeng worldwide business, was speaking at an item event in Turin, Italy, in the middle of efforts by the Italian government to convince Chinese automakers to produce in the nation. Rome has stated it remains in conversations with Chinese business consisting of Dongfeng and Chery Automobile. Talks with Dongfeng authorities about an automobile plant in Italy are at an advanced stage, sources stated in August. Asked whether Dongfeng had actually currently gone to prospective sites in the country, Ma Lei said it was prematurely to have an initial idea. Many ask us about a plant in Europe, however we need to evaluate the entire circumstance first, consisting of from the perspective of clients, he added. As a primary step we need to look after brand name (advancement). and distribution, he stated. Dongfeng has just recently begun offering cars in Europe. Italy is engaging with Chinese groups at it looks for to restore. its domestic automotive output by attracting another significant. car manufacturer to the nation to flank Fiat-parent Stellantis . The Italian government is studying potential websites for a. Chinese vehicle plant consisting of in the northwestern Piedmont region. whose capital is Turin, the historic home of the Fiat brand name.
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GE Vernova states wind section sees 3rd-quarter loss, cites blade failures
Power equipment maker GE Vernova expects its wind sector to publish a core loss of $300. million in the third quarter due to additional costs associated with. offshore blade failures, the company said on Thursday. The forecasted core loss in GE Vernova's wind section in. the current quarter is more than double the loss of $117 million. in the previous quarter. The business mentioned recent blade issues. that significantly stalled development on two overseas wind. jobs under building. We didn't get anywhere near as much work done over the. course of summer season as we anticipated, GE Vernova President. Officer Scott Strazik stated at a conference held by Morgan. Stanley. Some work has resumed on both projects, which include. Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts, and Dogger Bank, near. Yorkshire, England. We've got to restore momentum on that procedure due to the fact that. time is an enemy here, Strazik said. The longer it takes to. finish the wind projects, the more expenses accumulate, he included. GE Vernova stated it expects the wind segment to be decently. lucrative in the fourth quarter. The business expects enhanced efficiency in its power and. electrification units would cushion the blow from the wind unit. Shares of the business fell 3.9% in premarket trading,. however they rebounded and were last up 2.7% early in the afternoon.
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Microsoft names former GE CFO as operations chief
Microsoft on Thursday named previous GE finance chief Carolina Dybeck Happe as its primary operations officer. The visit comes at a time when Microsoft is aggressively pursuing the lead in the cloud services market, doubling down on AI investments to reinforce its cloud organization and close the gap with Amazon's Amazon Web Provider. Dybeck Happe, GE's finance chief since March 2020, was crucial in leading the business's turnaround. She stepped below the role in September 2023, but continued as senior vice president, finishing the spin-off of energy facilities system GE Vernova in April 2024. She has actually held finance head roles at multiple companies, including at A.P. Moeller - Maersk and Swedish gain access to control and security company Assa Abloy, among others. In this freshly produced function, she will sign up with the senior management group
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Pirates a big security issue for S.Africa's last-mile delivery companies
As ecommerce continues to grow in South Africa, lastmile delivery van and vans are significantly ending up being prime targets of hijacking distributes, driving up security expenses for these business, executives stated on Thursday. Brand-new global entrants to the market like U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com and fast-fashion online retailers Shein and Temu have actually also intensified the competition for a greater share of online wallets. Logistics trucks transferring products in bulk and parcel delivery vans are investing an absolute fortune on security, consisting of expenses for employing security to escorts these lorries on the roadway, Craig Pitchers, CEO of privately-owned The Courier Guy said at an e-commerce conference in Johannesburg, including that these eliminate our margins. This remains in addition to the expense of fuel, which has skyrocketed since the pandemic. These vehicles are targets due to the fact that they typically bring valuable items. There are about 20-25 hijacks a day of delivery van and vans, Diederick Stopforth, Commercial Executive at SkyNet Worldwide Express added. Delivery business are now required to move high value items in cash-in-transit cars, Stopforth said. However even those have progressively ended up being targets, with routine battles of these vehicles and shoot-outs on the highway. South Africa has seen a sharp increase in online shopping after the pandemic created a chance for e-commerce to finally take hold, with merchants and companies doubling down on investments in response. South Africa's online retail sector grew 29% to 71 billion rand ($ 4 billion) in 2023, commanding a 6% share of overall retail sales. This share is seen growing to 10% by 2026, a research study by World Wide Worx revealed. All of this has actually brought more delivery trucks, vans and motor-bikes on the roadway, with lawbreakers taking note. Police have actually developed and boosted cash-in-transit task teams as well as increasing exposure on the roadways to deal with hijacks of these automobiles.
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Air Canada says federal government should be prepared to prevent pilots from striking
Air Canada said on Thursday that the federal Canadian government needs to be prepared to step in to prevent a looming pilots' strike that the provider said might cause disturbance for weeks to come. Spokesperson Christophe Hennebelle, speaking by phone, said the airline company was still committed to reaching an offer however implicated the union representing pilots of making unreasonable needs. A strike might start as quickly as Sept. 18. Air Canada and its inexpensive subsidiary Air Canada Rouge together run almost 670 flights daily, and a shutdown might affect 110,000 travelers daily in addition to freight carriage. We are bargaining. We are devoted to reaching a deal. But we are stating that if that fails, the government must be ready to step in and avoid the disruption, stated Hennebelle. Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has broad powers to deal with conflicts and last month stepped in within 24 hr to end a stoppage at the country's 2 largest competing business, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Train. Around 100 service groups on Wednesday advised the government to prevent an Air Canada stoppage before it started. While Ottawa has stepped in several times in labour conflicts over the last few years, it just does so after interruptions have begun, not in the past. MacKinnon's office decreased to comment on Air Canada's. needs. He has consistently stated he wants the two sides to sort. out their distinctions at the negotiating table. There's no such thing as a brief disturbance. If we begin. winding down, there will be an interruption for numerous days, if. not weeks, said Hennebelle. Air Canada's 5,400 pilots are requiring wage rates that. would narrow the pay space with their counterparts at significant U.S. carriers like United Airlines. Hennebelle said the airline had actually offered a wage boost of. over 30%. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the Air. Canada pilots in addition to those at most U.S. airline companies, was not. instantly offered for remark. Association President Jason Ambrosi, writing on LinkedIn. today, stated pilots are unified, devoted, and unwilling to. accept discounted earnings any longer..
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Russian pranksters target Polish foreign minister in scam call about Ukraine
Russian pranksters released footage on Thursday of a video call with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski after apparently fooling him into thinking he was speaking with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who use the aliases Vovan and Lexus, have deceived a number of Western politicians over the years into going over subjects of interest to Moscow. The duo, who have denied Western accusations of having links to Russia's intelligence services, were offered a top state award in the Kremlin in July for their exploits. Reuters could not confirm the credibility of the video call, which reveals Sikorski speaking in English as he discusses Poland's support for Ukraine and other topics. Pawel Wronski, a representative for the Polish foreign ministry, told Reuters the product had actually most likely been gathered in March, and questioned whether and how it had actually been modified. He said Sikorski's comments were similar to things the minister had actually stated many times to different political leaders. You can put all of it together, there is absolutely nothing here to be embarrassed of in any way, said Wronski. He (Sikorski) has talked to Poroshenko often times, so it is hard to even remember whether such words were said or not. It is not understood in what scenarios it was tape-recorded. The pranksters released the video on the same day as Sikorski held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an evident effort to humiliate him. Sikorski is heard stating he thinks it will take a years or more for Ukraine to sign up with the European Union, that he believes some Western nations want to utilize the possibility of Kyiv joining NATO as a possible bargaining chip with Russia, which battling a. war with Moscow in western Europe is an outright red line. Asked about the possibility of Donald Trump ending up being the next. U.S. president, he says he has actually talked to Trump's people who. told him Trump would threaten Moscow with further escalation to. attempt to get a peace offer. He is likewise heard criticising efforts by Kyiv to arrange. peace conferences including multiple nations to put pressure. on Russia, stating such initiatives are ineffective.
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Teen arrested over London transport cyberattack
A teen has been apprehended following a cyberattack on London's public transportation body last week in which some individual consumer information was accessed, the National Crime Company (NCA) stated on Thursday. Transport for London (TfL), which operates the capital's. tube and bus networks with countless journeys each day, stated. it was getting in touch with around 5,000 customers whose bank account data. might have been accessed in the Sept. 1 event. Other customer data consisting of names and contact details had. been accessed, it included. The NCA, which is investigating the cyberattack along with. TfL and the National Cyber Security Centre, said a 17-year-old. male had actually been detained in the main English town of Walsall. and later released on bail. We ... are working at pace with our partners to advance. the examination, Shashi Verma, TfL's Chief Technology Officer. said in a declaration, including that it was taking procedures to. improve security, consisting of an all-staff IT identity check. Verma stated TfL did not expect any substantial impact to. consumer journeys but that some temporary interruption was. possible.
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Cyclone interruption to oil and gas output grows, some energy ports reopen
U.S. energy producers on Thursday were assessing the level of damage from Typhoon Francine to their U.S. Gulf of Mexico infrastructure while export ports in southern Texas started to resume. Hurricane Francine struck the Louisiana coast with as much as 100 mile per hour winds (161 kph), knocking out power to 375,000 consumers and bringing heavy rains and flooding to the state. Francine's winds dropped quickly and it was over southern Mississippi early Thursday where another 54,000 consumers were without power. The level of Francine's effect on energy production started to emerge with brand-new, greater price quotes of lost output from the more than 171 offshore platforms evacuated. Woodside Energy also shut output at an overseas platform due to a power loss onshore. The storm likely interrupted about 1.5 million barrels of Gulf of Mexico production, experts at UBS estimated, and will decrease the region's monthly oil production by 50,000 barrels a day. U.S. oil futures on Thursday increased 1.7% on the production losses, and natural gas prices slumped less than 1% in early trading as liquefied gas export plants were spared the brunt of Francine. Top U.S. oil and fuel export ports from south to central Texas resumed. Corpus Christi, the largest oil export port by volume, lifted restrictions, while ports in Freeport, Houston to as far north as Sabine resumed, the U.S. Coast Guard stated. Louisiana ports consisting of Cameron, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and sections of the Mississippi River stayed closed, according to the Coast Guard. The closures were affecting energy, farming and metals exports.
Why a Canadian freight rail stop would roil North American supply chains
Canada's 2 primary freight rail companies are set to lock out around 10,000 of their Canadian unionized workers on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET (4:01. GMT), starting an extraordinary synchronised work interruption that. would grind practically all train freight movement in the country. to a halt.
HOW INTEGRATED ARE THE RAIL NETWORKS THROUGHOUT THE United States AND CANADA?
Canadian National Train Co and Canadian Pacific. Kansas City have said their rail networks south of the. border will continue to run, but industry groups fear that a. work interruption would have significant impacts on the movement of. items and products across North America.
CN and CPKC's coast-to-coast rail networks in Canada link. south of the border and act as crucial supply chain links to. trade corridors and ports throughout North America.
The networks intersect with those of U.S. rail operators. such as BNSF Train, Union Pacific, Norfolk. Southern and CSX, facilitating the motion of. billions of dollars' worth of items and products through. ports and storage facilities across the continent.
CN's network extends south to New Orleans. CPKC's network. links to the U.S. ports of Corpus Christi, New Orleans and. Gulfport, and it extends further south to the ports of Tampico. and Lázaro Cárdenas on the east and west coasts of Mexico.
HOW WOULD A CANADIAN RAIL BLOCKAGE AFFECT THE UNITED STATES?
Around a third of the traffic moved by the 2 Canadian rail. business crosses the border with the United States.
Numerous U.S. business and manufacturers, especially those in the. Midwest, utilize Canadian ports for imports and exports, as Montreal. can be quicker for shipments to and from Europe, while Vancouver. can be quicker for ocean service to and from Asia.
Union Pacific, the No. 2 U.S. railroad operator, has actually warned. that a synchronised interruption would have devastating consequences. for the U.S. and Canadian economies.
Dozens of groups representing miners, farmers, exporters,. and fertilizer producers, to name a few, have actually alerted that their. sectors face debilitating supply-chain hold-ups, increased costs,. cash-flow constraints and prospective shutdowns in a lengthy. stoppage.
HOW WOULD THE U.S. AND CANADIAN FARM SECTORS BE AFFECTED?
A blockage would strike the movement of whatever from wheat. to ethanol, potash fertilizer and meat.
In specific, it would crimp shipments of U.S. spring wheat. from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to the Pacific. Northwest for export. A blockage would likewise hit Canadian potash. and grain exports.
The U.S. exported $28.3 billion of agricultural items to. Canada in 2023, making it the third-largest location for U.S. farming exports behind China and Mexico. The U.S. imported. $ 40.1 billion of Canadian farming items in 2015,. making Canada the second-largest pioneer of U.S. farming. imports.
Ethanol, potash, corn, cereals, food grains, cooking oils,. and meat are among the farming items traded in between the. 2 countries.
WILL TRADE WITH MEXICO BE AFFECTED TOO?
Mexico is Canada's third-largest single-country product. trading partner behind the U.S. and China, while Canada was. Mexico's fourth-largest merchandise trading partner in 2023.
Mexico exports trucks, cars and trucks and lorry parts to Canada,. together with mangoes and avocados. Canada exports wheat, meat,. aluminum, cars and parts to Mexico.
Two-way trade between the 2 countries, much of which moves. by means of the rails, was almost C$ 55 billion ($ 40.48 billion) in 2023.
CAN THE TRUCKING MARKET STEP INTO THE BREACH?
Truckers state they are dealing with a rise in need and that roadway. freight rates are increasing for carriers in Canada. Nevertheless,. industry experts state that while the trucking sector can manage. some of the need, it can not change rail circulation. In some. cases, the market does not have the equipment, nor the. capability, to handle bulk commodity freights such as potash, food. grains, or coal.
(source: Reuters)