North America

Google, owned by Alphabet, is likely to face a fine from EU antitrust regulators in the coming year because it has not done enough to adhere to EU rules that prohibit favouring its own products and services when displaying search results. The United States will be furious at a penalty against Google. They have criticized a number of landmark EU laws for being aimed at U.S. technology companies, despite EU denials. In March, the European Commission charged Google with favoring its own products such as "Google Shopping", "Google Hotels" and "Google Flights" over those of competitors. Google is pitted against...

A?U.S. A?U.S. travel association, a leading Democrat and potential travelers from Europe, Australia and elsewhere are displeased with President?Donald Trump’s new plan that requires Europeans and others using the visa waiver to?provide their social media handles over the last five years. This change was announced by the U.S. Government this week, and will take effect on February 8. Travelers from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program would be required to submit their social media data. Since 2019, applicants for non-immigrant and immigrant visas are required to provide this information. The Trump administration took a number of steps to improve...

Canada's Transport regulator is re-examining its regulations in order to reduce pilot fatigue, due to concerns from the industry that they are too complicated. This is just one of many countries who struggle with rules designed to improve safety. India's aviation regulator has granted IndiGo, its largest airline, a "one-time" exemption from the new rules on pilot night duty, as well as other regulations. This was after IndiGo's poor planning resulted in 2,000 cancellations of flights this month. Transport Canada said on Tuesday that it had been "diligently" reviewing the regulations governing pilots' duty hours and flight times in consultation...

A?U.S. A?U.S. The U.S. district judge in Sacramento, Dale Drozd, rejected the Justice Department's argument that the lawsuit filed by the California High-Speed-Rail authority in July was filed in the wrong venue and should have gone to the?U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The state agency that is responsible for the development of the high-speed railway system filed a lawsuit challenging the cancellation of the grant as "arbitrary and capricious". After cancelling $4 billion of federal grants, the Transportation Department in August canceled an additional $175 million for projects that are part of California's high speed rail project. The department did...

Bipartisan senators, including the National Transportation Safety Board's chairperson, criticized the provisions in the annual defense bill released this week that dealt with military helicopter safety. Jennifer Homendy, Chair of the NTSB, said that the proposal would "make" the skies less safe. She called it an "unacceptable risk" to the flying public as well as to crews on commercial and military aircraft and residents in the area. This is a major, significant safety setback." The Washington aviation safety has been questioned after the collision on January 29, between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, which...

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index in Britain edged higher on Wednesday as a result of gains made by?banking? stocks, while investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce its interest rate decision. The FTSE 100 index closed at 0.1% while the domestically focused FTSE 250 index fell 0.4%, to a new two-week low. Lenders HSBC & Standard Chartered rose by 3.2% & 2.2% respectively following the bullish'recommendations' of BofA Global Research. The FTSE 350 Banks index rose by 1.8%, leading all sectors. There is a general consensus that the Fed will cut interest rates next year by 25 basis...

Air India's?investigation of why one of their Airbus planes flew eight commercial flights with no airworthiness certificate found "systemic failings", and the airline admitted that it needed to improve on compliance. According to the document, an Airbus A320 carried passengers from New Delhi to Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad between November 24 and 25 without the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), a permit that is issued by the regulator annually after a plane has passed safety and compliance tests. Air India said that engineers and pilots failed to check aircraft documents. It also stated that it was necessary to improve compliance...

Investors resisted placing large bets in advance of the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision. The benchmark FTSE 100 index rose by 0.1% at 1103 GMT. Meanwhile, the midcap FTSE '250 index fell by 0.1%. This reflects a general caution in European markets as they prepare for the widely anticipated 25-basis point rate cut from the Fed. London-listed lenders HSBC (London) and Standard Chartered (London) both rose by about 2% apiece after BofA Global Research upgraded the shares of each to "buy" or "neutral". After J.P. Morgan named them as its top picks for the media sector and said that...

Air India's investigation into the reasons why one of its Airbus aircraft flew eight commercial flights with no airworthiness certificate revealed "systemic failings", according to a document from the company. This put?the lives and safety of hundreds of passengers in danger. 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 discovered that engineers and pilots failed to check documents for the aircraft and that compliance protocols...

Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus, conceded that Boeing was likely to win the annual order competition against Airbus?on? Wednesday, saying that it is possible Boeing could win for the very first time in 6 years, thanks to settlements in U.S. Tariff disputes. Faury, speaking to France Inter, said that Airbus is ahead of its U.S. competitor in terms of deliveries and outstanding orders. Boeing, buoyed by the strong demand for its long-haul 787 jet, posted 908 net orders on Wednesday after cancellations from January to November. Airbus, on the other hand, only had 700. Faury, a French radio host,...

USDOT said Tuesday that it will waive $16.7 Million in fines issued to American Airlines under then-President Joe Biden, in 2024. The fines were issued as part of an agreement over the airline's treatment towards?disabled customers. This included failing to provide them with adequate assistance and mishandling their wheelchairs. USDOT stated that it will require American Airlines to spend $16.8million to benefit passengers with disabilities. This includes requiring American to buy 119 wheelchair lifts in three high-volume airports, as well as mobile phones and software upgrades to allow American to track wheelchairs and record them point-by-point as they move throughout...

The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday that airlines who delayed or cancelled U.S. flights due to a government emergency directive to update software on 'Airbus A320 aircraft last'month were not required by law to provide hotel accommodations, meals, or other benefits to affected passengers. Major airlines have agreed to offer such benefits if a cancellation or a significant delay occurs due to circumstances that are within their control. USDOT stated that the Airbus A320 problem -- which was a Federal Aviation Administration requirement for immediate action -- did not trigger this requirement. After a JetBlue A320 was involved in an...

During the pandemic, warehouse construction boomed. The 'Indirect Source Rules' are gaining renewed interest Local pollution can be addressed by ISRs By Carey L. Biron She said that since the pandemic everyone has started to order more, referring the boom in online retail. "We started seeing more trucks arrive and these warehouses start to rise." Jenkins stated that there are now half a dozen e-commerce stores in the densely-populated neighborhoods of Red Hook, including across the street from schools and parks. "These warehouses were built without consultation with residents" "They just appeared overnight", said Jenkins, the communications manager of Red...

Argentina, a global food supplier, is planning to boost its grain and mineral exports through privatization, and a modernization program of its railway network. Industry leaders claim that this will reduce freight costs in regions located far from ports by half. The first tender will be for the Belgrano Cargas, which runs the three biggest freight train lines in the country. The initiative, which will be launched in early 2019, could increase production of global commodities like soybeans and corn. It also includes copper and lithium. The project could also help transport sand from Vaca Muerta in Argentina's Southwest. The...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, which is the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings...

Yellow Corp. has settled with 14 pension funds that sought more than $7,4 billion in compensation from the trucking company. According to settlement documents filed in Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday, the pension plans have agreed to accept a reduced payment. This will put an end to years of litigation regarding Yellow's claims that it cannot pay. It will also allow Yellow's junior creditor to receive up to $7.4million from proceeds from its bankruptcy sales. Yellow closed in 2023 after a dispute between its employees and the union that represented them. It sold its assets, which included its truck fleet,...

Two people with knowledge of the matter say that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman plans to raise $5 billion to launch a closed-end U.S. fund at the same time as he plans on listing his hedge fund company, Pershing Square Capital Management. The billionaire investor who has cemented his reputation of an activist investor through his advocacy for companies such as Chipotle Mexican Restaurant and the railroad Canadian Pacific, now known as Canadian Pacific Kansas City is starting his new fund after years. He plans to give investors a share in his hedge fund. The closed-end funds, which were first...

Two people familiar with the situation said that the Russian government is looking at different options to support Russian Railways. The company, the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion). The state-owned Russian Railways employs 700,000 workers and has seen its revenues fall amid the sharp slowdown of Russia's wartime economy. Meanwhile, debt costs are on the rise, driven by interest rates that have reached their highest levels in 20 years. Two people, who requested anonymity because the subject was sensitive, said that Moscow had been discussing ways to help the railways...

The U.S. Comex exchange has approved warehouses that have copper inventories exceeding 400,000 short tonnes for the first. A favorable price arbitrage is continuing to attract metal into the United States. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) copper prices are around $10,760 for a metric ton. Comex copper prices, however, are 5 cents a pound, or about $11,023 metric tons. This means arbitrage shipments into the United States can be profitable. Comex copper stocks As of November 21, data from the exchange showed that there were 402,876 short tonnes (365,483 tons metric) - a record breaking number. The previous record was...

The U.S. Comex exchange has approved warehouses that have copper inventories exceeding 400,000 short tonnes for the first. A favorable price arbitrage is continuing to attract metal into the United States. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) copper prices are around $10,760 for a metric tonne, while Comex prices are 5 cents per lb or about $11,023 metric tons. This means arbitrage shipments into the United States can be profitable. Comex copper stocks As of November 21, data from the exchange showed that short tons were 402,876 (365,483 tons) compared to 399,458 in January 2003. This is a record-breaking increase after...

China Gas Holdings, a privately-controlled city gas distributor, has hired an ex-senior trader of the Chinese utility GCL Group as its head of global natural gas sales. Xiong Xin was the head of gas trading for GCL New Energy Holdings (a unit of GCL Holdings), a solar power company, until early 2024. He joined China Gas in Oct. Xiong has nearly a decade's worth of experience in trading at the state oil giant CNOOC, and privately owned Chinese gas company ENN, before he joined GCL. He now heads China Gas’ growing liquefied gas trading business, as well as liquefied petrol...

Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail company, said Tuesday that it had set records for revenue and ridership in a single year. It also cut its losses by 15 percent to $598 millions and is aiming for profitability by 2028. Amtrak is a major effort in rehabilitating the infrastructure of the Northeast corridor between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington. It is expanding service throughout the United States by purchasing new Acela trains with higher speeds and replacing regional trains from next year. Amtrak reported that in the twelve months ending September 30, it had 34,5 million trips made by customers, an increase...

The State Department announced on Monday that the United States will impose visa restrictions on those in Nicaragua who are responsible for facilitating illegal immigration into the country. This includes the owners of travel agencies, tour operators, and transportation companies. According to a non-specific statement, the State Department has taken action to revoke some visas. The Department of Homeland Security said that "investigations show the entities represented by these individuals facilitated travel to Nicaragua. This was enabled by the Nicaraguan dictatorship’s migration policies, which are permissive and designed this way. These policies destabilize the area and encourage illegal immigration into...

The Swedish autonomous trucking firm Einride announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to become public in the U.S. via a merger between Legato Merger Corp III and a blank-check company. This deal valued the company at approximately $1.8 billion. Listing comes after a surge of electric-vehicle startup companies went public during pandemic boom SPAC with the goal of capitalizing on huge demand for clean energy vehicles and government incentives to purchase battery-powered automobiles. Some of these firms, including Nikola, Lordstown Motors, and Proterra, have since gone bankrupt due to high costs, strong competition and operational challenges that eroded cash...