Latest News
-
Vietjet signs $965 million financing agreement for 6 Boeing 737-8 aircraft
Vietjet, a Vietnamese budget 'airline', has announced that it has signed a $965-million financing agreement with Griffin Global Asset Management. This is for the purchase of six Boeing 737-8 planes. Vietjet stated in a press release that the agreement was a'significant step' in their strategy to diversify international funding sources. To Lam, head of Vietnam’s Communist Party, signed the deal during his visit to the U.S. to attend the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting, an initiative started by U.S. president Donald Trump to tackle?global conflict. Vietjet announced on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney earlier this month. The deal was worth $5.4 billion. * ?The Agreement The contract, which was originally announced at Singapore Airshow, is for the supply and maintenance of 44 engines for A321neo aircraft and A321XLR. (Reporting and editing by John Mair; Khanh Vu)
-
JetBlue engine failure causes traffic disruptions at Newark Airport
Officials said that traffic was disrupted on Wednesday at Newark Liberty International Airport after a JetBlue flight bound for Florida?had an engine failure during takeoff. The plane returned to the airport. Around 5:55 pm, passengers and crew of Flight 543 exited on the Airbus A320 taxiway. The Federal Aviation Administration and JetBlue reported that the crew evacuated passengers using slides after reporting smoke in the cabin and cockpit. There were no injuries reported. Flightaware and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey said that nearly all flights had been halted at the airport outside of New York City for an hour. Flightaware is a website that tracks flights. It reported that 31% of arriving flights, or 183 flights, were delayed in Newark, along with 30%, or 177 flights departing. The FAA announced that it would be investigating the incident involving the plane bound for West Palm Beach in Florida. Safety is JetBlue's number one priority. "We are focused on supporting our crewmembers and customers, and we will work closely w/ the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what happened," said?JetBlue.
-
Next week, the US House of Representatives will consider legislation relating to aviation safety.
The House of Representatives is set to consider aviation safety legislation on Monday. This will address dozens of recommendations made by the National Transportation 'Board. It was formed after a collision in January 2025 between a regional jet of 'American Airlines and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, which killed 67. The U.S. Senate passed legislation unanimously in December known as the ROTOR Act that would require aircraft operators by the end of 2031 to equip their fleets with a safety system ?known as automatic-dependent-surveillance-broadcast system, or ADS-B. The bill will also increase oversight of commercial helicopter and jet traffic, as well as flight routes near airports. A spokesperson for the House Transportation Committee said that leaders of the House Transportation and Armed Services Committees were?working separately to introduce a comprehensive House Bill to address the issues raised by the crash. Major aviation unions, as well as many families of those killed on Wednesday, urged the House to pass the ROTOR Act quickly. The NTSB concluded last month that systemic failures on the part of the FAA caused the crash, which was the worst U.S. airline disaster since 2001. The NTSB determined that the FAA allowed helicopters to fly close to the airport without any safeguards to keep them separate from planes, and failed to act on its recommendations to move helicopter traffic away. The NTSB sent more than 30 recommendations to the FAA, citing several failures that occurred before the Washington crash. There have been 15200?air separation?incidents between commercial planes and helicopters near Reagan Airport since 2021. This includes 85?close call events. The NTSB has found problems with the way that the FAA manages traffic at Reagan. The NTSB also stated that the FAA rejected advice from its own staff to include hot spots on a chart of helicopter routes. FAA Chair Jennifer Homendy stated that the agency did not also review helicopter routes as required annually and had routes which were not designed to provide proper separation. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
-
Oil prices settle at 4% due to tensions between Iran and the US, while Russia-Ukraine negotiations end without a breakthrough
The oil prices rose by more than 4% on Wednesday, as traders priced-in potential supply disruptions due to concerns about conflict between the U.S.A. and Iran and after talks in Geneva failed to produce a breakthrough. Brent crude futures settled up $2.93 or 4.35% at $70.35 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $65.19. This is a gain of $2.86 or 4.59%. Both contracts reached their highest settlements in the past 30 days, rebounding from two-week lows. According to Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group, both contracts rose late in the session, by more than three dollars, on reports that Israel raised its alert levels on signs of an attack by the U.S. or Israel on Iran. U.S. Heating Oil Futures also rose?around 5%. Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates said that the oil price movements today are solely geopolitical. They continue to respond to headlines about meetings between U.S., Iran and Russia,?and Ukraine and Ukraine. He added that "the oil market prices in an additional risk of supply disruption." Oil fell on Tuesday after Iran's Foreign Minister said that Tehran and Washington reached an agreement regarding the principles to be used in nuclear talks. The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency announced on Wednesday that Iran and Russia would conduct naval drills in both the Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean. Iranian state media reported that Iran temporarily closed parts of the Strait?Hormuz - a vital oil supply route for the world - due to "security precautions" while its elite Revolutionary Guards were conducting military drills in this area. State media reported that the strait was closed for a few minutes, but did not specify if it was fully reopened. "Iran is aware of (U.S. president Donald) Trump's negotiating tactics." It also knows that Trump does not want a disruption of oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz or a rise in oil prices up to $150 per barrel. "Iran can negotiate calmly." In a note sent to clients on Tuesday, the political consultancy Eurasia Group stated that it believes there is a probability of 65% of a U.S. strike against Iran before April's end. John Kilduff is a partner with Again Capital. He said: "Everyone is watching the amount of military gear that is flooding into the region from the U.S. This is an indication that hostilities will be imminent." RUSSIA AND UKRAINE PEACE TALKS END AFTER BREAKTHROUGH The two days of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended on Wednesday without a breakthrough. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow of blocking U.S.mediated efforts to end this four-year war. Trump has repeatedly pressed Ukraine to accept a deal which could involve painful concessions. This is because Russian forces have been pounding Ukraine's power grid and advancing on the battlefield. Zelenskiy called the discussions "difficult." Kilduff, of Again Capital, said that if the talks go as Zelenskiy has suggested, we may finally see a drop in Russian exports to the world market. This would be a positive development. U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories Last week, the temperature dropped. Market sources said that American Petroleum Institute figures released on Wednesday were in stark contrast to the expectations of analysts. Crude stocks will rise by 2.1 millions barrels. The Energy Information Administration will release its official U.S. crude oil inventory report on Thursday. Reporting by Georgina Mcartney in Houston; Siddharth Cavale in New York; Stephanie Kelly and Alex Lawler, in London; Mohi Nrayan, in New Delhi, and Katya Glubkova, in Tokyo. Editing by Mark Potter and Kirby Donovan.
-
After a massive blackout, power returns to Paraguay’s capital.
Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, began receiving power on Wednesday after some transmission lines were taken offline. This knocked out power in much of South America. The state power company ANDE said that one of the transmissions lines was re-started, and it is normalizing the?power distribution in Asuncion and its surrounding metropolitan area. ANDE released a statement saying that "technicians are continuing to do the necessary work to restore service across the country." The outage affected the northern and eastern regions of the country. Drivers in the capital were thrown into chaos when traffic lights went dark. The blackout occurred as Paraguay is experiencing the austral summer, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. The state water utility ESSAP said that its services may also be affected by the "blackout". ANDE stated that it was 'investigating the cause of the outage. (Reporting and writing by Daniela Deantis, Sarah Morland, Cassandra Garrison).
-
The Argentine maritime workers’ strike for reform of labor halts grain shipments
The Argentine maritime workers of the maritime workers federation FESIMAF began a 48-hour walkout on Wednesday in protest against a planned 'labor reform', which was deemed by the grain exporters' chamber to be paralyzing shipments through the nation's ports. Argentina is the top grain supplier in the world, and it's also the largest exporter of soy oil and meal. Gustavo Idigoras is the president of Argentina’s CIARA CEC grain exporters chamber. He added, "We think it's a purely political measure which is a long way from any specific needs." The FESIMAF stated that the strike action, which comes one day before the planned walkout nationwide called by Argentina's powerful CGT labour federation, is to "defend the workers' rights in the workplace and their job security from the proposed changes in labor laws. The SOEA oilseed crushing union in Argentina has also announced that it will be on strike for 24 hours on Thursday. Daniel Succi, leader of SOEA, said in a press release: "We condemn this misnamed modernization which only seeks to?legalize labor setbacks and destruction of thousands jobs. We also condemn the dismantling our national industry." The strike was a protest of President Javier Milei’s proposed labor reform bill. It would limit the right to strike and cap severance payments, tighten sick leave, and limit the ability for workers to claim damages following dismissal. The reform package, a flagship for Milei’s administration, is being strongly opposed by Argentine unions who claim that it threatens the long-standing protections of workers. According to industry sources, the maritime strike would disrupt services such as cargo loading,?unloading and pilot transfers, and other commercial vessel activities, especially in the port of Rosario. Rosario is one of the largest agricultural export hubs around the world. Guillermo Wade of the 'Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities' told ' Earlier on Wednesday, Guillermo Wade, manager of the?Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities told? The lower house of Argentina is scheduled to discuss the bill Thursday after it was approved by the Senate last Monday. (Reporting and writing by Maximilian Heath and Nicolas Misculin; Writing and editing by Aida Pelaez Fernandez and Sarah Morland, and Lucinda Elliot, Chizu Nomiyama, and Alistair Bell).
-
Canadian arbitrator upholds Air Canada wage agreement
The Canadian arbitrator has largely accepted Air Canada's offer to increase its flight attendants' salaries by more than 20% in four years. This puts an end to the bitter dispute that led to a four-day cabin crew strike of 2025. The arbitrator's ruling is a blow for flight attendants, who had demanded higher wages. They claimed that the raises Air Canada offered did not cover their rising cost of living in cities like Toronto. The tentative agreement was signed between the airline, the Canadian Union of Public Employees in August 2025. However, the wage issue went to arbitration after both sides were unable to reach an agreement. The union stated that the arbitrator Paula Knopf?found wage rates offered by Canadian Airlines were generally within normative ranges for this sector, and needed to be evaluated in light of other improvement,' According to the agreement, flight attendants are now paid for their work both on the ground and in the air. They receive a portion of the hourly wage for tasks such as boarding passengers. Cabin crew unions in North America have been pushing this change for a few year now. Delta Air Lines will be one of the first companies to offer ground compensation in 2022. Knopf has also increased the wages offered to employees of Rouge, Canada's budget airline. They argue that the rates must not be lower than other Canadian airlines. (Reporting and editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri in Bengaluru)
-
New York tunnel construction will resume after Trump releases funding
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that construction on the massive $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project would resume next week, after the Trump?administration released $127?million of frozen funding on Wednesday. New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit after the U.S. Department of Transportation withheld $200 million in funding from the project since October 1, 2017. The funding freeze led to a construction halt on February 6, which put 1,000 workers unemployed. The Hudson Tunnel Project is aimed at building a new commuter train tunnel between Manhattan and?New Jersey, and repairing a century-old one used by over 200,000 passengers and 425 trains?daily. Hochul posted on social media that the new law was "a major victory for commuters and workers." "We will continue to fight for the federal government to meet its commitments." The Department of Transportation has not yet commented on whether it intends to withhold future funds for this project. Sources said that Republican President Donald Trump had offered to unfreeze funds last month in exchange for Democrats' support to rename Washington Dulles Airport, and New York Penn Station, after him. Democrats strongly criticised the suggestion. The Hudson Tunnel, which was heavily damaged by hurricane Sandy in 2012, requires frequent emergency repairs, causing travel to be disrupted on the country's busiest passenger rail line. Trump posted on Monday, 'on social media, that he was against the project and worried about cost overruns of billions of dollars. Trump stated that "Gateway would be a financial catastrophe for the region if hard work and proper preparation is not done NOW to avoid future cost overruns insurmountable," Hochul claimed that she called Trump Monday, after his posting and informed him that the project did not face cost issues. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas has ordered the federal government to release funding for this project. Under then-Democratic President Joe Biden, the project received federal funding of about $15 billion. So far, nearly $2 billion has already been spent. (Reporting and editing by Edmund Klamann; David Shepardson)
Maguire: Booming LNG exports in the US could be dragged into the cost of living debate
The U.S. LNG export boom has pushed the discussion of rising energy costs in the U.S. into the context of LNG exports.
The latest data from U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters consumed a record amount of?5,000 billion cubic feet (141.6 million cubic meters) of gas between January and November 2025.
This total is a significant increase over the roughly 4,000 BCF gas that was consumed by residential sites and the approximately 3,000 BCF by commercial sites in this period. LNG exporters now rank as 'the third largest 'U.S. Gas consumption is second only to industry and power companies.
Last year, the U.S. benchmark natural gas price (the Henry Hub spot price) rose by 61%.
Natural gas power plants provide around 40% of the U.S.'s electricity - more than any other power source. This increase in gas prices has led to a rise in electricity bills, which reached all-time-highs in 2013.
Voters in the United States are likely to push back against any further increases in electricity bills, as they already face record-high costs for housing, insurance, food, and medical care. This is especially true in the lead up to midterm elections this year.
This could lead to LNG exporters being criticized for competing with power companies and households in the market for gas, even though additional LNG export capacities are due to be installed and will increase potential U.S. LNG volumes.
STEEP GAINS
The amount of?gas purchased by U.S. exporters of LNG during the first eleven months of 2025 was 209% higher than the same period in 2019.
During the same period, gas consumption in residences, commercial locations (restaurants and hospitals), industries and power companies increased on average by?3%.
This means that LNG exporters are the fastest-growing source of U.S. Gas demand in the last decade. They have caused dramatic changes in the domestic gas market dynamics. These include tighter supplies for other gas consumers and higher volatility in natural gas prices.
Gas prices are expected to rise by roughly 50% in 2025, compared with 2019. Residential and commercial properties will see a similar increase while power and industry firms will face a 30% hike.
As a result of the steep rise in gas prices, many major users have tried to replace it with other power sources. This has meant, for households and businesses, electrifying heating and power systems.
In 2025, as gas prices rose, utilities increased output of cheaper coal-fired plants.
LNG EXPORTER'S IMPACT
LNG exporters are able to absorb the higher costs of domestic gas more easily than their rivals, since the price of LNG on foreign markets is multiples the local gas cost.
EIA data show that the average U.S. export price for LNG in 2025 will be around $7.87 per 1,000 cubic feet (MCF). This compares to an average Henry Hub price of $3.66.
This means that LNG exporters can easily add a $2?fee per MCF for liquefaction and another $1 per MCF for shipping fees, while still making a profit on the LNG sold overseas.
Many LNG exporters have seen their margins increase as a result of several LNG cargoes being sold on the spot markets at higher prices. This has prompted them to expand as rapidly as possible.
According to the EIA’s most recent short-term energy outlook, the total North American LNG export capability could more than double from 11.4 BCF to 24.3 by the end 2027.
PRICE RESPONSE
This steep increase in export capacity could trigger a new surge in LNG exports and tighten the gas supply for domestic consumers.
This could lead to even higher gas prices for other buyers of gas, such as households using gas for heating or power companies generating electricity.
EIA data indicates that residential consumers will face the highest gas prices in 2025. Prices are expected to average $19 per MCF.
Commercial and industrial users pay more for gas than power companies. The average commercial price was around $11.44/MCF in the past year, while the industrial price was around $5.05/MCF.
Last year, even power companies - who have access to wholesale gas pools that other consumers don't - saw their average gas prices rise sharply to $3.95/MCF.
This shows that the booming?LNG demand is putting pressure on all major gas users, who could then push back against factors that would?threaten the price of this critical resource to rise further.
This suggests that LNG exporters may be under increased scrutiny by 2026. They could face pressure to curtail their expansion plans, even if this slows down the pace of LNG sales.
These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
You like this article? Check it out
Open Interest
Follow ROI on Twitter for the latest global financial news. Follow ROI on
You can find us on LinkedIn.
Listen to the song
Morning Bid daily podcast
Spotify
Or the
. Subscribe to the podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets 7 days a weeks.
(source: Reuters)