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As the shutdown continues, staffing issues are causing delays at US airports.
Staffing issues caused delays at Newark and Denver airports on Monday. This comes just hours after the U.S. Transportation Secretary said that the number of air traffic controllers who called in sick has increased since the shutdown began. The shutdown will not affect the 13,000 air traffic control officers and the 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents who must continue to work. The controllers will miss their first pay on October 14 because they are not paid. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said that the staffing of air traffic has sometimes been reduced by 50% since last week's shutdown. According to the FAA, staffing problems at air traffic control are affecting flights in many airports, including Newark and Phoenix. Also, Denver, Las Vegas, Burbank, and Las Vegas have been affected. FlightAware reported that more than 4,00 U.S. flights were delayed on Monday, including 29% of arriving flights in Denver, 19% at Newark, and 15% at Las Vegas. Flights are also affected by weather issues. Donald Trump made transportation the focal point of a battle between him and the Democrats over a government shut down. He cut off $28 billion in aid to climate programs, subways and tunnels, and mass transit, in states that lean Democratic, including New York and Illinois. Duffy added that the reduction in staffing will cause delays. If sick calls rise, air traffic will flow at a pace that maintains safety. Duffy and the President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association addressed a press event at Newark Liberty International Airport in order to discuss the impact of the shutdown. This airport, one of three in the heavily Democratic New York metro area, is also a major hub for United Airlines. Duffy said controllers are concerned. Duffy noted that controllers are worried. The union reminded employees on Monday that "participating" in a protest could lead to removal from federal employment and is illegal. The union reminded its members that it was more important than ever to continue providing the high level of service and consistency we offer every day. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to avoid actions that may reflect badly on you, your union or our professions. The number of controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers absent during the 35-day shutdown in 2019 increased as employees missed paychecks. This led to longer waits at checkpoints. The authorities were forced to reduce air traffic in New York to put pressure on legislators to end the standoff. Nancy Pelosi (a Democrat who was then the Speaker of the House) said that the shutdown "pushed our airspace to breaking point." Airlines for America, the airline trade group that represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, has warned of the possibility that, during a funding gap, "the system could slow down and reduce efficiency", which would impact travelers. Flights are being delayed due to a persistent shortage of controllers. Many are also working six-day work weeks and mandatory overtime. About 3,500 air traffic control positions are not enough to meet the FAA's target staffing level. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski; Chris Reese, Lincoln Feast, Lincoln Feast, Chris Reese, Lincoln Feast, Lincoln Feast, Lincoln Feast, Lincoln Feast, Nick Zieminski.
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Turkish Airlines expects Pratt engine problems to last until mid-2027
Turkish Airlines (THY), its chief financial officer said on Monday, expects the bottlenecks that have caused dozens of Airbus jets to be grounded for months or longer will continue another two years. Due to Pratt & Whitney's unusually long repair wait times, the Turkish state carrier expects 45 Airbus aircraft will be grounded by 2025. The Turkish state carrier started the year with only 35 jets idle. "Next year it will be the same," Murat Seker, CFO of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading told a European Aircraft Conference hosted by ISTAT. He added that, in the last year, an average of 40 Airbus A320neo family jets were grounded because of maintenance backlogs. I think this will last at least until mid-2027. "We will have to ground a large number of aircraft." THY is not the only carrier affected by longer than usual repair turnaround times. Wizz Air in Hungary has also been affected. Seker stated that the average turnaround time was 200 days. He added that THY received "reasonable compensation" from Pratt & Whitney (part of U.S. aerospace company RTX Corp.). RTX didn't immediately respond to a comment request. RTX Corp's CEO Chris Calio said at a September conference that the number of aircraft grounded due to Pratt engine problems has stabilized and is expected to decrease, but "clearly, we have more to do". The company expects its maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to increase 30% over last year. According to industry sources, the jet shortages are causing a rise in air fares and prices for engine spares, which has led to difficult negotiations on maintenance contracts. Last month, THY announced a deal to buy 225 Boeing jets, including 150 of the 737 MAX. However, it said that this deal was contingent on a deal involving engines from French-US CFM. (Additional reporting from Allison Lampert, editing by Edward Tobin.)
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Urals differs stable, OPEC+ opts for modest production increase
Urals crude differentials remained unchanged on Monday after OPEC+’s planned production increases for November appeared to be less modest than expected. OPEC+ said that it will increase oil production by 137,000 barrels a day (bpd) from November, opting for a similar modest monthly rise as in October amid persistent concerns about a looming glut of supply. The oil price rose about $1 on Sunday, easing some supply concerns, but a weak outlook for the near term is likely to limit gains. Two industry sources reported on Monday that the Kirishi oil refining plant, one of Russia’s largest, had halted its most productive crude distillation unit (CDU-6), following a drone strike and fire on October 4. The unit’s recovery is expected to take a little over a month. A government official said on Monday that there is sufficient supply of Russian crude oil on the market for Indian refiners, as Ukraine's attack on Russia's energy infrastructure has reduced its refining capability and made more crude readily available. PLATTS WINDOW On Monday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. Authorities in the region said that a drone from Ukraine targeted the Rosneft controlled Tuapse refinery, located in southern Russia's Krasnodar Region, overnight. The drones caused a fire to break out at a building used by security personnel, but it was quickly put out. (Reporting and Editing by Matthew Lewis).
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Citigroup prefers Banamex's IPO plan despite new offer from Grupo Mexico
Citigroup said it still intends to pursue an IPO of its Mexican retail division, despite receiving a fresh offer from mining and transportation conglomerate Grupo México. Citi Last month, Banamex sold a 25% stake to Fernando Chico Pardo - a local billionaire who is the chairman of airport operator ASUR - for 0.8 times its book value. The bank stated that "we remain committed to realizing Banamex's full value for our shareholders and that the agreement with Fernando Chico Pardo, as well as the proposed IPO, continues to be our preferred way to achieve this outcome." "We will, of course, review Grupo Mexico’s offer responsibly and take into account, among other factors, the ability to receive required regulatory approvals, and the certainty that a proposed transaction can be closed." Citi will also be contacting top Mexican investors over the next few months. Buy minority stakes It said that its size was smaller than Pardo’s last month. German Larrea's Grupo Mexico has offered to purchase Citi's retail division more than two years since it scrapped its previous plans. Larrea retracted the offer at the time due to tensions between the administrations of Andres Lopez Obrador and the then-president. Grupo Mexico said that under its offer it would buy 25% of Banamex for 0.85x its book value and the remaining 75% for 0.80x its book value. This would be a slightly higher price than the Pardo offer. In late morning trading, Grupo Mexico's shares dropped more than 15 percent. According to a source familiar with previous negotiations who declined to identify themselves, even before the tensions with government, Larrea's talks had been delayed repeatedly. Source: Citi is aiming for a higher IPO than the valuation set by Pardo. This is seen as a minimum price of the shares. The slightly higher price offered Grupo Mexico will not be a deciding element. Citi paid $12.5 Billion for Banamex back in 2001. Bradesco analyst Rodolfo RAMOS wrote in a Bradesco report that the offer could spark a bidding battle. Ramos writes that "Larrea’s size of wallet reduces the likelihood Chico will have to counter-offer, perhaps with other business groups. But Citi's next step will likely determine how we move forward from here." The media perception of the two billionaires has been clear. Both have avoided public scrutiny and were less visible. However, Larrea never gave up a legal battle, while Chico is only known to those who closely follow Mexico's aviation industry. Ramos said that if Larrea increases its bid for Grupo Mexico, the shares could become volatile. (Reporting and editing by Lananh Nguyen, Nick Zieminski, Diego Ore, Mexico City)
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Embraer completes sale of military cargo aircraft to Sweden as part of NATO's latest push
The Brazilian planemaker Embraer signed a deal with Sweden on Monday for the sale of four military cargo aircraft to replace Sweden's aged aircraft. This is the latest in a program to procure planes jointly with other countries from the region. Sweden has decided to purchase Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft, after choosing the model in 2011. The Netherlands is leading the agreement as the agent and representative of the other countries involved in the strategic partnership. Bosco da Costa junior, Embraer's head of defense, said in an exclusive interview: "Under this contract the Netherlands added seven additional aircraft for allies." "This government-to-government process speeds up the purchasing process here in Europe." The shares of the Brazilian planemaker rose by around 3% during the afternoon trade, making it among the top gainers in Brazil's Bovespa Index. Analysts at BTG Pactual called the Swedish order a "positive shock" because it included an option to purchase seven more aircraft. Brazil, meanwhile, is increasing its fleet of Gripen jet fighters made by Swedish planemaker Saab. Since 2023, Saab has been working with Embraer to produce Gripens in Brazil. Costa said that the first made in Brazil Gripen will be delivered early next year. Embraer is working to expand the defense market abroad, mostly through C-390 sales. Costa stated that he hoped to make new announcements very soon. Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Mucio suggested that Finland and Turkey may purchase Embraer aircraft. Costa commented, "Minister Mucio says always wise things." "I hope that he's right again this time." U.S. INTENTIONS Embraer is longing to break into the U.S. Market, but tariffs on its planes imports could derail those plans. Although U.S. president Donald Trump exempted Brazilian aircraft from a tariff of 50%, the 10% previously imposed on them still stands. The planemaker lobbied for tariff relief after a U.S. and European Union aircraft deal. Embraer, as part of its bid to be exempted from the tax, has proposed building a $500 million U.S. Assembly Line for the KC-390 if the country decides to buy the military jet. The KC-390 is in direct competition with the C-130 Hercules, which is manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Costa stated that "we have been very vocal in expressing our interest in assembling and manufacturing the KC-390 here in the U.S." Northrop Grumman has the ability to assist Embraer in developing the aircraft here in the U.S., as the executive previously stated. Maybe we can announce the partner to the market before the end of the calendar year. Costa stated that this is what they are working towards. (Reporting and Additional Reporting by Isabel Teles, Writing by Kylie Madry, Editing by Richard Chang).
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US announces that subsidies for rural airlines service will expire on Sunday
A partial government shutdown is causing the Trump administration to announce that funding for a U.S. Government program that subsidises commercial air service at rural airports will expire on Sunday. The U.S. Transportation Department has said that the subsidies under the Essential Air Service Program are set to expire on Sunday, after it transferred funding unrelated from the Federal Aviation Administration in advance. The Department is currently in the process to notify carriers of the shortfall, and alert communities of potential impacts. About $350 million is allocated to the government annually. In May, the White House cut funding for Essential Air Service by $308 millions. This service is very popular among Republican legislators because it offers services in rural areas, which are largely Republican. The White House had proposed to kill the Essential Air Service Program during the first Trump Administration, but Congress chose to increase funding. The program usually subsidises two round-trips a day on aircraft with 30 to 50 seats, or more frequent flights with smaller aircraft. According to the department, under the program, approximately 65 Alaskan communities receive service as well as 112 other communities in the 49 states and Puerto Rico who would not otherwise receive airline service. At a recent press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that "every state in the nation will be affected." He also noted bipartisan support. "We do not have the funds to continue this program." (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
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Petrobras, Brazil's gas importer, purchases natural gas for the first-time from Argentina
Petrobras, Brazil's state controlled oil company, announced on Monday that it had imported its first non-conventional gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta Reserve in the Neuquen Basin. The firm said in a press release that the gas, which was produced by POSA and Pluspetrol, its subsidiaries in Argentina, was transported via pipelines on Friday. This initiative is in line with the Brazilian President Luiz-Inacio Lula Da Silva's aspirations. He has been pressing Petrobras for years to increase domestic natural gas supply, to lower prices for consumers. This solution is a logistical and commercial one that opens up a new option for importing gas to Brazil. It reflects Petrobras commitment to increase supply and sustainable development of the gas market. The company stated that under an agreement signed between the two companies, Petrobras can import natural gas up to 2,000,000 cubic meters on a discontinuous basis. Over the last year, the transportation of natural gases from Argentina to Bolivia involved extensive negotiations that included the governments of both countries. Petrobras is not the only Brazilian company to import goods. TotalEnergies imported a similar product in April. Gas from Vaca Muerta is piped to Matrix Energia, in Sao Paulo. This transaction involved a daily average of 500,000 cubic metres over a 10 day period. Reporting by Isabel Teles, Marta Nogueira and Fernando Cardoso; writing by Fernando Cardoso and editing by Franklin Paul and Chris Reese
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FedEx completes the leadership team for its upcoming freight division with the appointment of CFO
FedEx announced on Monday that it had appointed Marshall Witt, a former executive of the company, as finance chief for its freight trucking division. Witt will take up his new position effective October 15. This completes the leadership team in the division which is due to be spun off in 2026. The parcel carrier announced that Brad Martin, an insider, would be the new chairman of its less-than truckload division and veteran executive John Smith will serve as its CEO. The appointment completes soon-to-be-independent FedEx Freight's leadership lineup. Analysts have said that the segment has been undervalued by FedEx despite its dominance of the U.S. LTL market. Witt was CFO at TD Synnex, a technology company for 12 years. He managed the spin-off 2020 of Concentrix. He held a variety of roles at FedEx for more than 15 years, mostly in the freight finance division. FedEx is attempting to streamline its operations in order to focus more on its core parcels and express business. FedEx Freight is a service that caters to businesses in manufacturing, retail, and distribution. Citi analysts estimate its value at between $30 billion and 35 billion dollars. The unit consolidates multiple shipments of different customers heading to similar destinations on a single truck and generated $8.89 Billion in revenue in FY25. FedEx Freight employs approximately 40,000 people in North America and operates 355 service centres. It handles nearly 90,000 shipments per day. (Reporting from Abhinav in Bengaluru, editing by Vijay Kishore.)
US judge inspects Boeing plea deal in fatal crashes
A federal judge on Friday pushed U.S. Justice Department authorities to justify the terms of Boeing's arrangement to plead guilty to fraud in the wake of 2 deadly 737 MAX crashes but stopped short of ruling on whether to accept the deal.
Attorneys for Boeing and federal district attorneys argued to U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas that he must accept the plea deal, while attorneys for relatives of the crash victims advised him to reject it. The U.S. planemaker concurred in July to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud regulators.
Judge O'Connor stated on Friday that he would issue a. ruling as quickly as possible.
The judge has actually fielded numerous pages of legal briefs from. the celebrations over the past numerous weeks. In the courtroom on. Friday, Paul Cassell, one of the lawyers representing the. households of the 346 people who perished in the aircraft crashes,. which took place in 2018 and 2019, said there are 8 reasons. to decline this rotten plea offer. They included his contention. that the arrangement enables a cash-flush corporation to dictate. its punishments before sentencing, and that the offer failed to. go far enough in holding Boeing or its executives accountable. for the deaths of the households' liked ones.
Sean Tonolli, the Justice Department's senior deputy. chief of the criminal division's fraud section, safeguarded the. contract as fair and just, and stated that the federal government. customized its technique to the plea contract to take into consideration. the households' concerns.
Prosecutors came to the plea agreement after an extensive. investigation and a series of conferences with the families,. prosecutors said. Yet in the end, the prosecutors said in an. August court filing, DOJ officials have not found the one thing. that underlies the families' most enthusiastic objections to the. proposed resolution: evidence that might show beyond a. affordable doubt that Boeing's fraud caused the deaths of their. enjoyed ones.
Boeing is sorry for the unspeakable losses suffered by the. households, Mark Filip, an attorney representing Boeing, told the. judge. He argued the judge should accept the plea agreement. The. business previously stated in a court filing that it was prepared. to plead guilty and consequently accept ultimate obligation for. the crime of conspiring to defraud regulators. The planemaker. has actually significantly reinforced, and increased financial investment in, its. safety and compliance practices, Boeing said.
During the hearing, Judge O'Connor pushed Tonolli to. describe why the Justice Department was seeking a binding plea. arrangement that restricts his ability to impose punishments during. sentencing that surpass the offer's current terms and. suggestions.
QUESTIONING THE PLEA OFFER
Boeing in July finalized the contract with prosecutors. needing the planemaker to plead guilty to fraud in connection. with the two fatal airplane crashes.
The planemaker accepted pay up to a $487.2 million fine and. invest at least $455 million on improving safety and compliance. practices over three years of court-supervised probation as part. of the plea deal. The arrangement enables the judge to cut the fine. in half by crediting Boeing for cash it formerly paid in the. case.
Justice Department authorities pressed Boeing to take the plea. offer after finding the business had broken the regards to a 2021. contract that had protected it from prosecution over the. crashes, which effectively resumed the case.
That finding followed a separate January in-flight blowout. that exposed continuous security and quality concerns at Boeing. A. panel blew off a new Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet throughout a Jan. 5 Alaska. Airlines flight, just 2 days before the 2021 contract. protecting Boeing from prosecution over the previous fatal. crashes ended.
In the criminal case over the fatal crashes, prosecutors. compete they have actually extracted an agreement from Boeing to plead. guilty to the most severe charge they could prove, along with. payment of the optimum legally permitted charge.
The two crashes at the center of the criminal case versus. Boeing happened in Indonesia and Ethiopia over a five-month. period.
A guilty plea, must the judge accept it, would brand. Boeing a founded guilty felon for conspiring to defraud the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about bothersome software. affecting the flight-control systems in the airplanes.
On top of the plea deal's monetary ramifications, the. arrangement likewise imposes a display to examine Boeing's safety and. compliance efforts and enables the judge at sentencing to force. the company to pay extra compensation to households whose. relatives passed away in the crashes.
Judge O'Connor, thought about among the most conservative. judges in the country, also questioned federal prosecutors about. a stipulation in the plea arrangement that said the display would be. picked in keeping with the Justice Department's diversity and. addition commitments.
Tonolli responded that the arrangement doesn't mean in. practice that we choose less competent screens.
Victims' family members desire Boeing and its executives charged. with criminal activities holding them accountable for the deaths of their. loved ones and any evidence of misbehavior presented in a public. trial. They have also argued Boeing must have to pay up to. $ 24.78 billion in connection with the crashes.
Polish nationwide airline company LOT likewise opposes the plea deal. and has actually argued it needs to have the exact same rights as the crash. victims' families.
Judge O'Connor has actually formerly expressed strong sympathy for. the families of the 737 MAX crash victims and called the Boeing. case the most dangerous business crime in U.S. history..
(source: Reuters)