Latest News
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Bloomberg News reports that Brookfield and GIC are close to a binding offer for National Storage.
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported Sunday that Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and Singapore's GIC were close to making a binding bid for National Storage REIT. The deal could value the Sydney listed company at around 4 billion Australian Dollars ($2.65 billion). The report stated that the parties were finalizing the details of the deal, which could be announced as early as Monday. Brookfield and GIC had also made good progress in their due diligence process on National Storage. The report states that the price for the binding offer will likely be the same in November as the conditional offer. Could not verify immediately the report. National Storage REIT announced last month that it received an A$4.02 Billion buyout offer by a consortium consisting of Brookfield, Singapore's GIC and other companies. This would have been the largest real estate privatisation in Australia. ($1 = 1,5067 Australian Dollars) (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci in Bengaluru)
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Canada's Air Transat suspends flights after pilots union strikes notice
Transat AT, a Canada-listed tour operator, announced on Sunday that Air Transat, Canada, will suspend its flights from December 8 to 9 after receiving a 72-hour notice of strike by ALPA, the union which represents the 700 pilots at the company. Air Transat's pilots may begin their strike as early at 3:00 am. Air Line Pilots Association said that the strike would begin at 3:00 AM ET on December 10. The Canadian leisure carrier deemed the strike announcement "premature", given the progress made at the bargaining tables. It said that it had offered compromises including a salary increase of 59% over five years, and improved working conditions. Bradley Small, Chair of the Air Transat Master Executive Council, said: "There's still time to avoid striking, but unless there are significant improvements at the bargaining tables, we may strike to get a modern contract." Transat AT reported that Air Transat was working with the union in order to avoid a strike, but it will stop all operations on December 9th to ensure passengers and crews are not left stranded. Transat AT Inc. offers Air Transat as a brand. Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru and Shivani Tana; editing by Andrea Ricci
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American Airlines asks for notices regarding the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines
According to a court document, American Airlines has filed an appearance notice in the bankruptcy proceedings of Spirit Aviation and requested that all notices and documents be served going forward. Spirit filed for bankruptcy a second-time in August as it struggled to deal with its dwindling reserves of cash and increasing losses. The airline stated that it was looking at all possible options in its restructuring, including a merger and sale of the business. American Airlines filed a request in the Southern District Court of New York on December 5, requesting to receive all notices, including operating reports and plans of reorganization, as well as liquidation statements. Spirit and American didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Spirit Airlines has previously stated that they are considering all options to ensure the future of their airline. Spirit actively explores all possible opportunities. The merger or sale of Spirit could maximize value. Spirit stated in a SEC filing in October that the company was actively involved in discussions with several interested counterparties. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year rejected a request from American Airlines to overturn a judicial ruling that found the company's scrapped U.S. Northeast Partnership with JetBlue Airways in violation of federal antitrust laws. JetBlue and United Airlines have partnered in a partnership since then. You can also Both airlines' websites allow travelers to book flights. Spirit Airlines urged the U.S. Transportation Department in June to reject the collaboration of United and JetBlue. Spirit Airlines said it was anti-competitive and that other large airlines would pursue similar deals. Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York, editing by Andrea Ricci
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American Airlines asks for notices regarding the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines
According to a court document, American Airlines has filed an appearance notice in the bankruptcy proceedings of Spirit Aviation and requested that all notices and documents be served going forward. Spirit filed for bankruptcy a second-time in August as it struggled to deal with its dwindling reserves of cash and increasing losses. The airline stated that it was looking at all possible options, including a merger and sale of the business. American Airlines filed a request in the Southern District Court of New York on December 5, requesting to receive all notices, including operating reports and plans of reorganization, as well as liquidation statements. Spirit and American didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Spirit Airlines has previously stated that they are considering all options to ensure the future of their airline. Spirit actively explores all possible opportunities. The merger or sale of Spirit could maximize value. Spirit stated in a SEC filing in October that it was actively in talks with several interested counterparties. (Reporting from Doyinsola Oladipo in New York, editing by Andrea Ricci.)
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Southwest Airlines fined $11 million by the US for holiday meltdown in 2022
The Trump Administration announced Saturday that it would waive a $11 million fine on Southwest Airlines, as part of the $140 million settlement for the airline's meltdown during a busy travel season in December 2022. Southwest Airlines in December 2023 will pay $35 million in cash and $90 million worth of travel vouchers for passengers who are delayed by at least 3 hours in reaching their final destination due to an airline issue or cancellation. This is because the airline handled the meltdown which stranded over 2 million passengers. In a written order, the U.S. Transportation Department cited Southwest Airlines' decision to invest more than $1 billion into its operations since the 2022 crash to improve performance and reliability as the reason for its decision to waive the remaining $11 millions of the fine due by January 31. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chizu nomiyama
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Merz and Macron to discuss fate FCAS fighter jet in the week of December 15, says industry source
A source in the industry said that the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the French President Emmanuel Macron plan to discuss the fate the troubled Franco German fighter jet project FCAS – or SCAF – during the week of December 15. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a 100 billion-euro ($116-billion) project that was floated over eight years ago, is mired in disputes among the companies concerned about workshare and prized technologies. A source with knowledge of the project said earlier this week that the defence ministers from the participating countries, Germany, France, and Spain, will meet on the 11th to discuss it. The German government spokesperson refused to comment on the exact date but only said that the appointments made by the chancellor will be made public at the appropriate time. The French government did not respond to a request for comment. The French government was not immediately available for comment.
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Bloomberg News reports that Indian and US investigators will meet next week to discuss the Air India crash.
Bloomberg News reported that India would send investigators next week to the United States to review data collected on the fatal Air India crash in June, with the National Transportation Safety Board. The report cited people with knowledge of the situation as saying that Indian investigators planned to share their findings, which included any information they gleaned from cockpit voice and flight recorders. Could not verify immediately the report. The report stated that the meeting would take place at the NTSB headquarters in Washington D.C. Other parties, including Boeing representatives, will also be present. Boeing referred all comments to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. NTSB, India’s civil aviation ministry, and the AAIB didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. Shortly after takeoff, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner departing from Ahmedabad in India and heading to London began to lose thrust. The 242 passengers and 19 people on the ground were all killed, except for one. (Reporting and editing by Aidan Lewis, Aurora Ellis and Yazhini MV from Bengaluru)
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IAEA: Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant temporarily lost electricity overnight
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on Saturday that Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant temporarily lost all of its off-site electricity overnight. It cited Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Since March 2022 when Russian forces seized much of the southeast Ukraine, this nuclear plant - Europe's biggest - has been under Russian authority. The plant is currently not producing electricity, but it relies on external power in order to keep the material cool and prevent a meltdown. IAEA reported that the plant had been reconnected after a 30-minute outage to a power line of 330 kilovolts (kV). The Russian-installed plant management said that the 750 kV power line, which was also previously disconnected, was now back in operation. Stable power supply was restored, they added. The management stated that radiation levels were normal. IAEA said that widespread military activities over night affected Ukraine's power grid, and caused operating nuclear power plants to reduce their output. Reporting by Gnaneshwarrajan and Yazhini MV in Bengaluru, Editing by Aidan Lewis & Bernadettebaum
Italy power costs remain sky high in spite of tidy energy push: Maguire
Electrical energy costs in Italy are the greatest amongst significant European economies, due to a long-lasting reliance on nonrenewable fuel sources for power generation despite development in renewable energy output.
Italy's wholesale electricity rates have actually averaged around 100 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) up until now in 2024, according to energy think tank Coal.
That compares to 69 euros in Germany and 50 euros in Spain, and indicates that Italy's families and companies pay far bigger energy costs than most of their peers across Europe.
FOSSIL REPAIR
High dependence on fossil fuels for electrical energy generation is the main driver behind Italy's high power costs. In 2023, 55%. of Italy's electrical energy originated from nonrenewable fuel sources, Coal information shows.
That compared to 45% in Germany, 39% in the UK,. 25% in Spain and 41% for Europe as a whole.
Up until now in 2024, Italy's power companies have managed to raise. clean power generation to a new record, and have actually cut the share. of fossil fuels in electricity generation listed below 50% for the. very first time, to 47%.
Nevertheless, that fossil generation share still exceeds that of. competing economies, with Europe as a whole recording a 37% average. fossil share this year and Germany a 40% share.
HIGH AND RISING
Italy's fossil fuel generation share is expected to increase. over the rest of the year as tidy power generation. decreases.
The lift in Italy's tidy power output so far in 2024 has. been generally fuelled by a 45% increase in output from hydro dams and. a 18% rise in solar generation.
Along with a 2% rise in wind output, the higher hydro and. solar production assisted lift overall clean electrical power generation. by 20% from January through August from the exact same months in 2023.
In overall, Italy's tidy electrical power generation hit a record. 88 terawatt hours (TWh) during the January to August period,. compared to 73.4 TWh throughout the exact same months in 2023.
However, both hydro and solar generation peak throughout summertime. in Italy, and after that trend progressively lower over the remainder of. the year as snow melt levels drop off and decreased daylight cuts. into solar output.
That means that overall tidy power generation will also. decrease, and will likely stimulate a revival in fossil fuel-fired. output as we head into winter season and the country's primary heating. season.
GAS COST PRESSURE
Italy's power companies mainly count on gas for power. generation, with around 45% of electricity generation coming. from gas-fired plants in 2023.
In contrast, Germany's power manufacturers just depend on. natural gas to create around 15% of electrical power in 2015,. while the average for Europe as a whole was 24%.
What's more, more than 95% of Italy's gas comes from imports. due to steadily decreasing domestic gas production.
Such a high dependence on imported gas implies that Italy's. power companies have been at the mercy of global gas markets. for the lion's share of their power generation fuels.
In addition, Italy's federal government has decided to change gas. supplies from Russia - which was approved by European Union. member states following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - with. buy from other providers.
This switch-out of gas from Russia - which was formerly. Italy's single largest gas supplier - with gas from other. providers has actually strained gas market streams throughout Europe, and. lifted overall gas costs.
In addition, Italy has plugged a growing share of its gas. supply space with imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is. significantly more pricey than gas provided through pipeline.
PASSED ON EXPENSES
Much of the higher costs of gas imports have actually been handed down. to Italy's customers in the kind of the higher wholesale. electrical power expenses.
Italy's government has tried to soften the blow of higher. energy prices by reducing sales taxes and supplying subsidies. for the build-out of renewable energy generation capacity.
However with energies on the hook for aggressive boosts in. renewable resource capability as part of a brand-new energy security. decree passed last year, families have borne the force of the. impact from the greater cost of energy imports.
And with power companies set to face high capital costs as. they construct new tidy energy production assets, utilities are. not in any position to cut costs for households at any time soon.
That suggests that Italy's energy customers look set to keep. paying among the greatest rates in Europe for their power and. electricity for the foreseeable future.
<< The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a. columnist .>
(source: Reuters)