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Air T, a US airline provider, acquires Australian regional airline Rex
Air T, a U.S. aviation service provider, announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract with Regional Express Holdings' voluntary administrators to purchase the failed Australian regional airline Rex. The transaction was backed by Australia. Air T would take over Rex, the regional airline that has been struggling to compete against larger rivals Qantas or Virgin Australia. Air T stated that the deal will include a restructuring of Rex’s financial arrangements with the Australian Government and should be completed by the end the year. Air T, a company that provides air delivery for companies such as FedEx, has announced it will take Rex's operation over, providing vital air routes for local communities. Rex, a company that focused on servicing Australia's vast rural area with smaller aircraft, went into voluntary administration in the past year. It was then removed from Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in September after more than seven month of its administrators launching a sale. In February, the Australian government indicated that it would buy the airline in case no private bids were made. Catherine King, the Australian Transport Minister, said that this deal was a move to bring Rex out from administration and maintain "critical aviation connections for regional communities." (Reporting and editing by Tasim Zaid in Bengaluru, Nikita Maria Jio from Bengaluru)
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US Senate Committee votes to advance Aviation Safety Bill
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve aviation legislation following a deadly January crash involving a regional American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter which killed 67 people. The bill mandates that aircraft operators equip their fleets by 2031 with ADS-B, an advanced aircraft-tracking system. It also includes other safety reforms such as enhancing oversight of mixed jet-and-helicopter traffic and flight paths near commercial service airports. The Army Black Hawk involved in the fatal crash did not use ADS-B. Ted Cruz, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said that this bill "closes an unsafe loophole which allowed military aircraft to fly in our skies without being able to communicate their location quickly and accurately with other aviators as commercial aircraft do." The bill would mandate the use ADS-B technology by all civilian aircraft and military helicopters in close proximity to civilian aircraft. ADS-B, or automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, is an advanced surveillance technology that transmits an aircraft's location. Both Democrats and Republicans, as well as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, have questioned the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to take action for years in response to close calls with military helicopters near Washington Reagan National Airport. (Reporting and Editing by Franklin Paul and William Maclean, with David Shepardson)
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Polish and US officials discussed increasing US LNG supply to Central Europe
The Polish energy ministry reported that top Polish and U.S. officials discussed the possibility of increasing supplies of U.S. LNG via Poland into Central Europe in order to reduce Central Europe's dependency on Russian gas. It said that last week, the U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Poland's Deputy Minister of Energy Wojciech Wrochna discussed LNG supplies in Washington and the construction by Westinghouse of Poland's First Nuclear Plant. The ministry stated that "an important topic" of the discussions was the possibility of increasing supplies of American LNG via the Polish gas hub to meet domestic needs, and making Central European countries including Ukraine independent of supplies from the east. The LNG terminals that Poland has built and is building now will be able to supply its southern-eastern neighbours, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Council of the European Union announced that the energy ministers of the European Union backed on Monday the proposal to eliminate Russian gas and oil imports into the EU by January 2028. The proposal includes some flexibility for member states that are landlocked, such as Hungary and Slovakia. Orlen, a Polish company, has begun shipping U.S. natural gas to Ukraine in order to replenish Kyiv's stores before winter. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Marek Strzelecki)
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Airbus inaugurates new China assembly line while treading a tightrope in the trade
Airbus will open its second assembly line in China this week with little fanfare, just days after it secured a foothold in the United States, as it navigates a tightrope of divided trade powers. Airbus will be able to manufacture more of the popular A320neo family single-aisle aircraft in Tianjin, near Beijing, after adding a second production line just a few days ago in Mobile, Alabama. The expansion this week will be relatively low-key, with no Western media permitted. This is in contrast to the high-profile ceremony that took place 15 years ago at Tianjin, which involved 600 guests. Airbus has declined to comment. Sources in the industry said that earlier this month, the two ceremonies held back-to-back in Mobile and Tianjin had been planned to avoid a difficult trade climate between China & the United States. Airbus announced its overseas expansion plans for 2022 and 2023. Since then, Washington and Beijing are engaged in a trade war that has lasted months. Airbus and other European companies have been anxious not to offend either of these trade powers. Airbus depends on U.S. components to assemble its jets in China, Europe and the United States. Airbus is also negotiating the sale of up to 500 aircraft to China. This goal was first reported in April. According to sources, it's likely that only a portion of the order will be secured to coincide with the expansion of the Tianjin factory. Industry sources confirmed a Bloomberg report that Boeing is negotiating an agreement to buy 500 planes. However, the deal has been bogged down in back-and forth discussions about trade. Airbus will increase capacity in order to support a higher production rate of its A320neo jet family, which is expected to reach 75 aircraft per month by 2027. The industrial plan includes doubling capacity in Mobile and Tianjin. (Written by Tim Hepher, edited by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith).
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Citi to withdraw lead from LME Singapore Warehouses
Four industry sources have confirmed that Citigroup plans to remove large quantities of lead from London Metal Exchange approved warehouses in Singapore as it seeks other rent-sharing agreements. Citi declined to make a comment. In March of this year, the U.S. Bank placed a large amount of lead in LME's warehouses on warrants - title documents that confer ownership. These were put there for lease deals or agreements which allow warehouses and companies to share their rental income with each other. Metal for Rent companies do not need to own the metal. Instead, they receive a portion of the rent paid by new owners as long as it remains in the warehouse. The daily rent for lead at the LME Singapore warehouses is 51 U.S. Cents per ton. Exchange data shows that Singapore had all but 2,000 tons of the 247 300 tons of refined led - used primarily in lead-acid battery for vehicles – stored in the LME System as of Monday. . The number of metals that were earmarked to be removed from Singapore's warehouses, or cancelled warrants, had risen from 49,025 tonnes on October 9 (0#MPBSTX-LOC>) to 170.750 tons by Friday. Nearly 70% of the lead in Singapore's LME is stored in cancelled warrants. A local registration document shows that three of the sources claimed Citi was looking to remove the metal from the Singapore warehouses of Grafton, which had been recently purchased by commodity trader Trafigura. The document didn't give a specific date when the transaction had been completed. Grafton and Trafigura refused to comment. Macquarie has also cancelled certain LME lead warrants, according to two sources. Macquarie has declined to comment. Sources declined to identify themselves as they were not authorized to speak with the media. Reporting by Tom Daly, Pratima Dasai and Louise Heavens
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Russian management claims that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant will have external power restored by Saturday.
The Russian-installed management has said that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeast Ukraine will be able to receive external power by Saturday. Since September 2022, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Europe - Europe's biggest with six reactors -- has been using external power to cool down nuclear material and prevent an accident. The plant was taken over by Russia in the first weeks of the conflict with Ukraine. Both sides have accused each other of shelling the facility at different times. The plant has relied on diesel emergency generators since almost a full month, after the external power supply was cut off due to fighting. Evgenia Yashina, a spokeswoman of the Russian-installed administration, said that the repair work on the Dneprovskaya electricity line which was severed began October 18 and is continuing "intensively" until Saturday. She said that inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency were monitoring the work progress and the situation was under control at the plant. Rafael Grossi, Director general of the IAEA, said that restoring off-site electricity is essential for nuclear safety and security. Grossi stated that the work started after local zones of ceasefire were established in order to allow for repairs to be carried out. Interfax reported that the ceasefire is still in effect. The plant has frequently been disconnected from the grid since 2022, but this is the longest outage. Reporting by Lucy Papachristou, Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing and proofreading by Mark Trevelyan
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Azerbaijan removes restrictions on cargo transit from Armenia as a sign of peace
Azerbaijan has lifted all restrictions on cargo transit into Armenia, President Ilham Alyev announced on Tuesday. This is a sign that relations between the two countries are warming after nearly four decades of conflict. Aliyev informed Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev during a meeting held in Astana, that the shipment of grain from Kazakhstan via Azerbaijan was the first of its kind since the transit was stopped in the last years of the Soviet Union when the war broke out between both neighbours. Azerbaijani media quoted Aliyev as saying, "I believe this is also a sign that peace between Azerbaijan & Armenia is not only on paper but is now in practice." Hikmet Hajiyev is Aliyev’s foreign policy adviser. He said that cargo shipments will travel via Georgia to Armenia, calling this transit "an economic advantage of peace". A spokeswoman of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomed Aliyev’s move, calling it "a step of great importance" for opening up regional communications, strengthening trust between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and institutionalising peace. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter conflict since the late 1980s, over Nagorno Karabakh. This mountainous region in Azerbaijan enjoyed de facto autonomy for 30 years until Baku regained full control in 2023. Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia amend its constitution. The South Caucasus is an oil and gas rich region, and it's a vital transit route between Asia and Europe. It has become more prominent since the Ukraine war largely closed down trade routes through Russia to European markets. The United States will be the only ones to develop a strategic transit corridor. This is expected to increase energy exports as well as bilateral economic ties.
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Falling freight rates have an impact on European logistics companies
Analysts have trimmed their profit forecasts for the third quarter to reflect lower freight rates and weaker consumer demand. Ocean container rates are at their lowest level since January 2024 due to an oversupply in the industry and weaker demand after new U.S. Tariffs. This is threatening carrier profit. Analysts say that Maersk, the Danish shipping company, is relatively protected from the challenges of today's market, in part due to its long-term contracts, which are fixed at higher rates, with customers. Bernstein analysts stated in a research report that although container volumes increased 4% between January and August, this was mainly due to front-loading, which occurred during the U.S. tariff pause. This only provides temporary rate support. Bernstein reported that demand remained subdued in the third quarter. This is usually the carrier's peak season, but it was subdued. The broker said that rates will remain low as supply increases. Bank of America's analysts expect logistic companies to "present a cautious outlook". BEARISH WIND BLOWS THROUGH SECTOR Analysts predict that companies will either lower their third-quarter forecasts or announce weaker results due to the softening of sea and air freight rates. BofA Securities predicts that Denmark's DSV will shave 1 billion Danish crowns (156 million dollars) off the top of their guidance range for its operating profit before special items, bringing it down to between 19,5 billion and 20,5 billion crowns. HSBC, on the other hand, expects Swiss Kuehne + Nagel to see a drop in quarterly operating profits by a third. Jefferies attributes DSV's higher profitability to its fellow freight forwarder K+N's loss of lower margin business after the merger with Schenker. HSBC predicts that DHL, the German logistics giant, will report a 4% drop in its operating profit for the quarter due to weakness in the express and forwarding segment. MAERSK KEEPS ANALYSTS BULLIENT Analysts expect Maersk will report strong results for the third quarter and increase its full-year forecast, citing an upward trend in freight rates up to mid-August, which likely increased both revenue and volume. Rico Luman is a senior economist at ING Research, specializing in transport, logistics & automobile. He said that for Maersk, the majority of container rates are fixed by term contracts. He added that these contracts usually last up to one year, which allows Maersk the opportunity to benefit from rates previously high. Luman stated that Maersk Ocean's segment would eventually be under pressure due to contract renewals, but the decline would be slower than other container lines.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific states revenue drops 15%, declares interim dividend
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways declared on Wednesday an interim dividend, citing strong performance, even as firsthalf profit dropped 15% from a. year ago.
Our strong efficiency for the first six months of the year. was mainly driven by the continuous robust demand for travel,. and the solid efficiency of our freight business, Chair Patrick. Healy stated in a declaration.
Nevertheless, the group's load aspect, or share of seats offered on. flights, fell to 82.4% from 87.2% in the first half of 2023.
Passenger yield, a step of flight success,. decreased by 11% to HK68.9 cents, the company stated.
Cathay, that made heavy losses and layoffs during the. COVID-19 pandemic, reported its first yearly earnings in four. years in March, and paid its first dividend given that 2019.
(source: Reuters)