North America

After New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit to contest the decision, the Trump administration released $30 million from the $205 million in federal funding that had been frozen for the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project?in New York. Two states sought an urgent hearing because they were concerned that the U.S. Department of Transportation would not commit to releasing the funds. The U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to overturn a lower court's order that required the funding. It had been frozen since October, and the project was forced to stop construction last week. The Gateway Development Commission...

Four sources told us that Venezuela's PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, has refused to sell to companies who do not have individual U.S. licences. This is limiting the exports of oil and stopping the country from draining its brimming tanks more quickly. Washington granted a "general license" that allows oil exports in general, as well as individual licenses for Trafigura and Vitol to export oil valued at billions of dollars. The permits came after a limited U.S. licence granted to Chevron in 2013 to export Venezuelan oil to the U.S. Venezuela relies on the oil export revenues and needs them...

British International Investment, the UK's development investment agency, welcomed DP World’s new chief executive on?Friday and said it would resume investments with the Dubai-based port operator. A spokesperson for BII stated, "We are pleased with today's DP 'World decision and look forward to advancing our 'partnership' to develop key African trading 'ports in order to unlock the 'continent's global 'trading potential." BII stopped new investments with DP World earlier this week due to alleged ties between Jeffrey Epstein and former Chief Executive Sultan bin Sulayem. La Caisse, Canada's second largest pension fund which halted new investments with DP World due...

A confidential order shows that India's civil aviation watchdog fined Air India $103,350 for flying an Airbus plane without a permit eight times. The watchdog said the lapse had further eroded public confidence in 'the country's second-largest airline'. On November 24 and 25, an Airbus A320 carried passengers from New Delhi to Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad without the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), a permit issued by the regulator annually after a plane passes safety and compliance tests. Air India's internal investigation, which was?reported on in December, revealed "systemic failings" with the airline. It also acknowledged that there was a?urgent...

A confidential order shows that India's civil Aviation Watchdog fined Air India $110 350 for flying an Airbus plane eight times without an Airworthiness Permit. The lapse, the watchdog said, had 'further undermined the public's trust in the country's second-largest airline. On November 24 and 25, an Airbus A320 carried passengers from New Delhi to Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad without the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), a permit issued by the regulator annually after a plane has passed safety and compliance tests. Air India's internal investigation of the incident, published in December, revealed "systemic failings" with the airline. The report...

After a U.S. court of appeals refused to overturn a lower court's order, the commission in charge of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project in New York said it would soon receive $205 million in federal funding that had been frozen. Last week, the funding freeze caused construction to be halted and 1,000 workers were out of work. U.S. district judge Jeannette Vargas issued a preliminary order last week that ordered the federal government release funds to a project that would overhaul critical rail infrastructures in New York and New Jersey, which had been frozen since October 1 by President...

Public Storage, an investment trust in real estate, forecast its core funds from operations for 2026 below Wall Street expectations on Thursday. This was due to a softer demand for their'self-storage' units and the departure of its CEO. The Glendale-based company is expecting core FFO for the full year to be in the range between $16.35 and $17.00 per common share. According to data compiled by LSEG, the midpoint of this forecast is lower than analysts'?average estimates of $16.91 a share. Joe Russell, the president and CEO of Self-Storage World's largest self-storage facility, will also step down on March 31,...

Ryanair warned Thursday that Dublin Airport could be forced to?cut capacity? by more than 15%, and Aer Lingus flight to New York may be stopped after an advisor to Europe's highest court supported the basis for a passenger limit at Ireland's major airport. The Court of Justice of the European Union has suspended the imposition of a 32 million passenger-per-year limit pending its ruling. However, on Thursday Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona of the court indicated that there was no need to overturn the cap. In the next few months, the court will make a decision. It follows non-binding opinions on...

Italian high-speed train operator 'Italo' announced on Thursday that it will introduce SpaceX Starlink across its fleet, becoming the first major train company in the world to use the satellite connectivity service from low-Earth orbit. Elon Musk’s Starlink is gaining popularity among airlines that want to provide Internet access to their passengers. Other rail operators have also begun testing the system, but they are not yet ready to adopt it. Last year, the Italian state railway - Ferrovie dello Stato - ran a trial with two providers including Starlink. ScotRail, a Scottish rail company, also conducted a Starlink six-week trial...

Sources said that the Federal Aviation Administration made the decision to temporarily close El Paso Airport due to safety concerns regarding testing of a laser-based 'counter-drone' technology at nearby U.S. Army Fort Bliss. This was not the first incident where the problem affected flights. The FAA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that in March, when the U.S. Secret Service tested counter-drone tech near Reagan Washington National Airport, it led to faulty alerts for aircraft potentially close by. Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee revealed at an hearing last year that the government...

Bombardier Canada announced on Wednesday that Dubai's Vista Global, a?private jet provider based in Dubai, has placed an order for 40 Challenger 3500 business jets worth $1.18 billion. Bombardier stated that the order includes a?option for an additional 120 aircraft, which would bring a total value of 160 planes to approximately $4.72 billion. The deal is part of a sustained 'demand for private flying', which has swollen the?order books of business jet manufacturers. The Challenger 3500, an upscaled version of Bombardier's Challenger 350 Business Jet that seats up to ten passengers, is a variant of the Challenger 350. Bombardier is...

A court in India has sentenced an Indian journalist to a year's imprisonment for his posts on social media about the Adani Group. The court said that the posts were?unverified, defamatory, and painted the group in a negative light. Adani Enterprises led by billionaire Gautam Adani filed a case against India journalist Ravi Nair at a Gujarat district court in 2021, accusing him for making statements that suggested "political.. patronage... financial irregularities and unethical.. conduct", according to an order.. seen on Tuesday. The court's order stated that "no documentary material, official records, or verified data have been produced" to support...

Wall Street is 'in the grip of AI disruption fears. Investors began by selling shares in software companies, but quickly spread to other sectors that were seen as susceptible to automation. This led to sharp losses this week for U.S. stock prices. AI-related scare tactics have affected even industries such as legal services, private credit, data analytics and insurance. Anthropic's legal AI plug in caused a drop in global?tech stocks. Investor unease grew after a series of AI model updates and new releases. Emmanual Cau, equity strategist at Barclays, said that fear is driving the market's sentiment. Investors are still...

Stocks in trucking and logistic companies fell on Thursday, as investors feared that AI technology would increase competition for firms that rely on software. Landstar System, C.H. Robinson fell by more than 14 percent, while Dow Jones Transportation Average dropped 4%. Investors are concerned that the steep fall in logistics shares follows a recent drop in software stocks. They fear future AI products will cause fierce competition among established businesses, eroding their profit margins. These fears contrast with the optimism that has driven Wall Street to record-breaking highs over the past few years. Jeffrey Favuzza, a trader at Jefferies, wrote...

Three sources who are directly familiar with the matter have confirmed that CME Group will approve Taiwan and Hong Kong to be warehouse locations for aluminum. This is as the U.S. commodity exchange intensifies its competition against the London Metal Exchange (LME) Asia. The new locations planned would be a major expansion for CME, as the region accounted last year for two thirds of the global production of metals used in packaging and transportation. CME's Asian warehouse footprint is currently limited to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. C. Steinweg and Pacorini Global Services, warehouse operators in Taiwan's port of Kaohsiung...

David Armellini, owner of a Florida trucking firm, is paying an extra 20% for each additional driver he hires to transport fresh-cut Valentine's Day Flowers to wholesale florists and grocery distribution centers across the country. If sellers pass on the increased cost, it could result in a slight increase in price for a bouquet at this weekend. Armellini believes that it could be an indication of the end of the U.S.'s longest and deepest trucking slump. Shippers across the United States are paying more to truck flowers, ?fresh ?produce, and other temperature-sensitive cargo, after deep cold this winter hiked demand...

The White House announced that President Donald Trump will unveil "TrumpRx.gov" on Thursday night. This website is intended to give consumers discounted access to prescription drugs and to be a key part of his efforts to reduce drug prices in the U.S. Sixteen of the biggest drug manufacturers in the world have joined forces to create a new global alliance. Deals with "most-favorable nation" In exchange for exemptions from U.S. Tariffs,?the Trump Administration will lower drug prices in the United States. These agreements will lower the?prices for Medicaid and cash-paying customers via TrumpRX. Those deals include Agreements with obesity drug...

Available copper inventories The London Metal Exchange has seen its trading volume increase by 11 months, as traders from the U.S.A. and Asia have increasingly turned to the exchange for metal storage. After more than 20,000 tonnes of copper were delivered to New Orleans and Baltimore over the last three weeks as well as similar inflows into South Korea and Taiwan, the amount of copper available in LME warehouses reached 160,625 tons on Wednesday. This is the highest since late February of last year. Copper was shipped in large volumes to the United States before possible import tariffs. Higher?prices at...

The companies announced on Wednesday that Union Pacific, a railroad operator, and Wabtec - a locomotive parts manufacturer - had signed a $1.2 billion agreement to modernize the AC4400 locomotives of the railway. The companies describe the agreement as "the largest locomotive investment in rail history." It is expected to begin deliveries by 2027. U.S. rail fleet replacement has been accelerated under the Biden administration, with infrastructure investments. Operators are replacing aging locomotives by more fuel-efficient and digitally enabled models. According to the companies, the fleet upgrade will reduce fuel consumption by more than 5% and increase locomotives' tractive efforts...

Penny, the 4-year-old Doberman Pinscher, was named Best in Show on Tuesday at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, earning the United States' most prestigious dog competition?prize?. Penny made a magnificent stance during the final round of the judging when the finalists from seven groups competed in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The working group champion beat over 3,000 dogs representing all 50 states as well as 17 different countries who competed at the 150th anniversary event. Each group's winner will advance to the finals. Andy Linton handled Penny, the Doberman that won Best in Show in 1989, when...

Old Dominion Freight Line announced a decline in profit and revenue for the fourth quarter on Wednesday. It was 'hurt' by lower volumes, as it navigates through a 'challenging environment. After the e-commerce boom of 2022, the U.S. trucking industry remains in a prolonged slowdown. U.S. carriers continue to be affected by low shipment volumes, excess capacities and weak domestic production. According to the Institute for Supply Management, U.S. Manufacturing PMI, which is a gauge for economic activity, recorded its tenth consecutive month of contraction when it reached?47.9 in December. The readings below 50 indicate shrinking activity. CEO Marty Freeman...

Analysts said that the near 9% decline in copper prices over the past two days is a return to "reality" for a market, whose recent surge of record highs was 'ahead of?the fundamentals. More losses are likely. They say that weak demand, increasing stockpiles and the possibility of increased supplies made it clear that copper's record-breaking rally last Thursday to $14,527.50 per metric ton was not sustainable. Alice Fox, Macquarie's analyst, said that prices had risen far beyond the fundamentals. "Investors were rushing into the market and pushing up prices", she added. "We believe the market was in a global...

Futures tied to Canada's major stock index rose Thursday as precious metals continued their rally,?oil climbed on geopolitical worries, and investors assessed the Big?Tech reports from the U.S. As of 6:05 a.m., March futures based on Toronto's TSX Composite Index (S&P/TSX) were up 0.3%. ET. Gold spot gained 1.4% and briefly hovered near $5,600 an ounce. This was due to the demand for safe havens amid continued geopolitical unrest and concern over the autonomy of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The U.S. Dollar's decline?slowed on Thursday but it remained near multi-year lows. Silver prices remained stable, but copper and other metals...

Norfolk Southern announced a higher profit for the fourth quarter on Thursday due to cost control. This was despite uneven freight demand, and a persistent macroeconomic stress. The results come after the U.S. Surface?Transportation?Board earlier this month returned Union Pacific's $85 billion merger proposal with the company to be revised. Surface Transportation Board has deemed Union Pacific's December merger application incomplete. However, Jim Vena, the CEO of Union Pacific, said that the request was routine and the deal is still on schedule to close in the first half of 2027. Norfolk stated in October that it anticipated future top-line fluctuations...