Latest News
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Pakistan delays bidding for national airline to Oct 31, sources state
The bidding for Pakistan's. national airline has been delayed to Oct. 31, two. federal government officials at the ministry of privatisation said on. Tuesday. A Pakistani parliamentary committee of privatisation had. previously been notified that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). would go under the hammer on Tuesday. The authorities, however, stated the bidding had actually been delayed. another month at the request of the bidders who desired more time. to prepare for the auction. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not. authorised to divulge the information before an official. statement about the hold-up. A spokesman for the privatisation ministry did not respond. to a request for a remark. 6 parties have been pre-qualified for the bidding, which. included Fly Jinnah, Airblue Ltd, a consortium led by Pak. Ethanol (Pvt) Ltd, a consortium led by YB Holdings (Pvt) Ltd,. Arif Habib Corporation Ltd and Blue World City. Pakistan's federal government has previously stated it would sell. in between 51-100% of the loss-making airline as part of reforms. urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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Maguire: UK's final coal plant shut down bodes well for US Liquefied Natural Gas exports
The United States exporters who are involved in the liquefied gas industry (LNG) will likely be pleased with the closure of the United Kingdom's last coal-fired plant, since this move secures the long-term demand for gas by the world’s sixth largest economy. The UK has made significant progress in achieving its energy transition and pollution targets by closing the coal-fired plant of 2,000 megawatts (MW) in Nottinghamshire. The UK will need to increase gas imports in the future, even though power companies continue to deploy renewables and other forms clean power output. It's great news for LNG exporters from the U.S. They are the largest suppliers in the world of super-chilled fuel, and they are aiming to grow into European markets that are more accessible and less expensive than distant Asian buyers. GAS DEFICIT According to the 2024 Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, UK gas consumption is higher than domestic gas production. The UK will have a gas shortage of just over 29 billion cubic metres in 2023. This is the same as the gas production of Kazakhstan which was the world's 24th largest producer last year. According to UK government statistics, Norway has historically provided a majority (41%) of UK gas imports via pipeline. Over the last decade, however, a combination of pipeline capacity limitations and a desire to improve UK energy safety has led to a steady increase in UK LNG imports. Importing LNG allows power firms to store more gas in the UK and act as a hedge for price and supply volatility caused by a heavy reliance on a small number of pipeline suppliers. According to the Energy Institute, UK LNG imports will increase by 171% between 2018 and 2023 from 7.2 billion cubic metres (BCM) up to 19.4 BCM. This growth was greater than that of Europe overall over this period. In volume terms, the United Kingdom ranked second only behind France as an LNG importer in Europe between 2018 and 2023. US BOOM The surge in UK LNG demand coincided with the efforts of U.S. exporters to expand their LNG sales outside Asia. In the period 2008-2018, around 64% (or 63%) of U.S. exports of LNG was shipped to Asian countries such as Japan and China. These countries are regarded as long-term markets for growth in natural gas and are therefore natural targets for all LNG suppliers. Due to the longer travel times, U.S. sellers have a serious competitive disadvantage when it comes to serving Asian markets compared to Australia or Qatar. According to LSEG, a trip from the U.S. East Coast down to Southern China can take up to 35 days. This is almost four times as long as the route from Australia, and two times longer from Qatar. The U.S. vessels will be stranded on these routes for much longer than their competitors. On European routes, the freight economics has flipped. The journey time from Cove Point, on the U.S. East Coast, to Grain LNG's import terminal in the U.K. is approximately 11 days. This is compared to the nearly 20-day delivery time from Qatar, and the 30-day delivery time from Australia. U.S. LNG ships can therefore offer more rapid schedules for deliveries and lower freight rates than their competitors. In 2022 and 2023, when Europe's energy markets were booming after Russia's invasion in Ukraine, many buyers were willing to pay top dollar to ensure regular and fast LNG deliveries to avoid power outages. CAPTIVE U.S. Exporters have taken full advantage of the surge in European LNG demand in 2022-2023. They more than doubled shipments in 2022, reaching a record-breaking 52.5 million metric tonnes, and increased sales by an additional 8 percent in 2023. Kpler data show that the pace of sales into Europe in 2024 has decreased by 22%. This is a blow for the short-haul routes from the U.S. The sales to the United Kingdom have fallen by approximately 60% this year, the lowest level since 2021. The U.S. LNG industry is fortunate that a 43% increase in LNG imports out of Asia has compensated for the volume lost to Europe and has driven overall LNG exports up to a record high this year. The increased shipments to Asia are accompanied by longer journeys and longer turnarounds before ships can be reloaded. The U.S. exporters of LNG will now be looking forward to a recovery in UK LNG demand. This could help avoid any power supply problems following the closure of the coal plant, and also fuel new growth in one the most lucrative U.S. trade routes for LNG.
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Wall Street Journal - Oct 1
The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not validated these stories and does not guarantee their precision. - CVS Health is performing a tactical review of alternatives for the business, including a possible separation of the industry giant. - Members of the International Longshoremen's Association strolled off their jobs at dozens of ports from Maine to Texas at midnight, introducing a strike at cargo terminals that handle more than half of American import and export volumes as the contract with port companies ended. - TD Securities will pay more than $28 million to fix three separate cases of spoofing, a type of deceptive trading that involves flooding the market with fake orders in an effort to press a stock rate up or down. - PepsiCo is in innovative talks to obtain tortilla-chip maker Siete Foods for more than $1 billion. - Rescuers raced to reach isolated neighborhoods cut off by ravaging floods in the wake of Hurricane Helene, as the death toll surpassed 100 throughout 6 states in the Southeastern U.S. - The Biden administration is moving military forces to discourage an Iranian reaction following Israel's stepped-up air project versus Hezbollah and the start of a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
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US East, Gulf Coast port workers go on strike, threatening international supply
Dockworkers at 36 ports on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico started striking on Tuesday, halting container traffic in a blockage that might cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. The labor contract between the International Longshoremen's. Association (ILA), representing 45,000 port workers, and the. United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group ended on. Sept. 30, as settlements stalled due to differences over pay. The affected ports process over half of U.S. ocean. trade, and a prevalent work stoppage would upend transport. schedules, delay goods across a broad swath of markets and. send shipping expenses greater. All of that might suggest shortages and. greater expenses for consumers. Here's a brief rundown of crucial events related to the strike: May 13, 2024 The ILA and the USMX say they will start bargaining after. May 17 with the goal of forging a new deal before the existing. six-year agreement expires on Sept. 30. June 10, 2024 The ILA halts settlements in the middle of disputes connected to. automation, after discovering that operator APM's terminals and. container shipping company Maersk Line were utilizing an Automobile Gate. system that processes trucks without labor. June 11, 2024 The USMX states some problems will need further conversation. between the local celebrations, adding that it looks forward to. re-engage with the bargaining committee. July 12, 2024 Harold Daggett, ILA's president and chief negotiator, says. the threat of an Oct. 1 strike is growing after the offense of. its agreement by some USMX members, which triggered it to cancel. negotiations previously. Aug. 23, 2024 The USMX says it has been unable to secure a meeting with. the ILA to resume negotiations. Sept. 5, 2024 Almost 300 ILA delegates end their two-day wage scale. conferences with unanimous support for President Daggett's call for. an Oct. 1 strike if an arrangement is not reached. Sept. 23, 2024 The ILA says it has held several discussions with the. USMX in current weeks and includes that a stalemate remains over. earnings, with the employer group continuing to provide an. inappropriate wage boost package. Sept. 24, 2024 The White Home states it will not attempt to broker a deal. between the two parties. Sept. 25, 2024 Farming groups advise the White House to act to avoid the. potential strike. Sept. 26, 2024 The USMX files an unjust labor practice charge with the. National Labor Relations Board to bring ILA back to the. bargaining table. Sept. 29, 2024 President Joe Biden states he did not plan to step in to. avoid a port strike. Sept. 30, 2024 The USMX says it raised its deal which would increase wages. by almost 50%, triple company contributions to employee. retirement strategies and reinforce USMX's healthcare choices. USMX also requests an extension of the existing master. agreement to continue bargaining. Oct. 1, 2024 The ILA begins strike at ports up and down the U.S. East. Coast.
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United States East Coast dockworkers head towards strike after offer deadline passes
Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast were anticipated to strike on Tuesday morning after a midnight deadline passed without any indication of a new contract deal with port owners. The strike is forecast to stop about half the nation's ocean shipping. The strike will block whatever from food to auto deliveries across lots of ports from Maine to Texas, in a. disruption experts alerted will cost the economy billions of. dollars a day, threaten jobs, and stoke inflation. The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union. representing 45,000 port employees had actually been negotiating with the. United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a brand-new. six-year contract ahead of a midnight Sept. 30 deadline. But the ILA's fiery leader, Harold Daggett, stated companies. like container ship operator Maersk and its APM. Terminals North America had actually not offered suitable wage. boosts or consented to demands to stop port automation jobs. The USMX stated in a statement on Monday it had actually used to hike. salaries by nearly 50%. The ILA said in declarations on Sunday and Monday that a port. strike would go on, starting on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. ET. The strike, the ILA's very first considering that 1977, is fretting. organizations throughout the economy that count on ocean shipping to. export their wares or protected vital imports. The strike affects. 36 ports that deal with a range of containerized items from bananas. to clothing to vehicles. The union is holding the whole country over a barrel,. stated Steve Hughes, CEO of HCS International, which specializes. in vehicle sourcing and shipping. I'm actually scared that it. is going to be ugly. The disagreement is likewise wedging labor-friendly U.S. President. Joe Biden into a virtual no-win position as Vice President. Kamala Harris runs a razor-tight election race versus. Republican former President Donald Trump. Biden administration officials had actually met with both USMX and. ILA ahead of the strike to encourage a deal. But Biden's. administration has repeatedly dismissed making use of federal. powers to break a strike in case of a deadlock. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark advised Biden. on Monday to reevaluate, saying it would be unconscionable to. enable a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our. economy. Merchants accounting for about half of all container. shipping volume have been busily executing backup strategies as. they head into their necessary winter season vacation sales season. Many of the huge players entered Halloween and Christmas. product early to avoid any strike-related disturbances,. incurring additional expenses to ship and store those goods. Retail behemoth Walmart, the largest U.S. container. shipper, and subscription storage facility club operator Costco. state they are doing everything they can to alleviate any effect. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday the state. expects no instant effect on food providers or necessary. items.
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Taiwan refiners brace for super Tropical storm Krathon as ports shut ahead of landfall
Taiwan oil refiners are bracing for heavy rain and winds ahead of extremely Hurricane Krathon's expected landfall, with the storm likely to postpone some fuel shipments and prolong upkeeps, while essential ports are shut, industry sources said. Krathon has actually strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 4 typhoon and is anticipated to cross the densely populated west coast to strike the major port city of Kaohsiung early on Wednesday afternoon. State-owned Taiwanese refiners CPC Corp and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) closed their respective ports in Kaohsiung and Mailiao since Tuesday as a. precautionary step, industry sources informed Reuters. Refineries on the island operated as typical on Tuesday,. though cargo shipments and any continuous maintenance completion. are expected to be postponed by a couple of days due to the tropical storm,. stated sources. Our RDS (residue desulphurisation) unit is presently under. a set up shutdown and is expected to reboot in early. November, though the tropical storm is most likely to lengthen the. turnaround time by a few days, said FPCC spokesperson KY Lin. Our RFCC (residual fluid catalytic breaking) unit has been. under unintended maintenance considering that Sept. 23, originally anticipated. to take about 22 days for it to restart, Lin included. Meanwhile, refinery operations at CPC remained unaffected so. far, though its Kaohsiung port operations were halted as of. Monday afternoon, market sources said. CPC operates a 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery at Taoyuan in. northern Taiwan and a 450,000-bpd refinery at Talin in southwest. Taiwan. Its representative might not be immediately grabbed a. comment.
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Taiwan warns of storm surge from effective Typhoon Krathon, mobilises troops
Taiwan mobilised almost 40,000 soldiers on Tuesday to bolster rescue efforts as the powerful Tropical cyclone Krathon approaching its populated southwest coast is expected to bring a storm surge and the coast guard raced to find 19 sailors who abandoned ship. Taiwan regularly gets hit by tropical storms but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but this one will make landfall on the island's flat western plain. Krathon is forecast to strike the significant port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then work its way throughout the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and cross out into the East China Sea, the Central Weather Condition Administration (CWA) stated. Kaohsiung, home to some 2.7 million people, stated a. holiday and told people to remain at home as Krathon approached. and is expected to strike as a category 4 storm according to. Tropical Storm Risk. Li Meng-hsiang, a forecaster for Taiwan's Central Weather condition. Administration, stated the storm has actually reached its maximum strength. and could compromise slightly as it moves closer to Taiwan, caution. of gusts of more than 150 kph (93 mph) for the southwest. The storm surge may bring tides inland, Li stated. If. it's raining greatly it will make it difficult to release. waters and as an outcome coastal areas will go through. flooding. Taiwan's defence ministry said it had put more than 38,000. troops on standby, as Kaohsiung citizens made their own. preparations. It's going to strike us straight. We need to be completely. prepared, said fisherman Chen Ming-huang, as he tightened ropes. on his boat in Kaohsiung harbour. In the worst case circumstance. the ropes might snap and my boat might wander away. Off the southeast coast, Taiwan's coast guard dispatched a. boat to rescue 19 sailors from the freight vessel Blue Lagoon who. were forced to desert ship as it took on water in its engine. room, with a rescue helicopter needing to turn back due to the. wind and rain. The coast guard stated the crew included seven Ukrainians,. nine Egyptians and 3 Russians, which had actually set off from. China's Caofeidian port for Singapore. The transportation ministry stated 85 domestic flights and nine. international ones had actually been cancelled for Wednesday, with boats. to outlying islands also stopped. In Kaohsiung, many shops and restaurants pulled down their. doors and shutters, and conventional damp markets shut with. streets primarily deserted. Chen Mei-ling, who lives near the harbour, stated in past. hurricanes high tides reached just a couple of metres (feet) from her. home's main door and she had actually made preparations. We've got torches and emergency situation food supplies, Chen said. It's a strong tropical cyclone and we are worried..
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Taiwan mobilizes troops as it warns of storm surge caused by Typhoon Krathon
Taiwan mobilised almost 40,000 troops to boost rescue efforts on Tuesday as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approached its populous southwest coastline and is expected to bring with it a storm surge. The coast guard also raced to find 19 sailors who had abandoned ship. Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, which usually land on the sparsely-populated and mountainous east coast of the island facing the Pacific. This one will land on the island's western plain. Central Weather Administration (CWA), a government agency, said that a krathon storm is expected to hit Kaohsiung, taiwan's largest port, on Wednesday. It will then move across Taiwan, heading northeast, and eventually cross into the East China Sea. Kaohsiung - home to 2.7 million residents - declared a holiday, and asked people to stay home, as Krathon was approaching. According to Tropical Storm Risk, Krathon is expected to strike as a Category 4 storm. Li Menghsiang is a forecaster at Taiwan's Central Weather Administration. He said that the storm had reached its maximum intensity, and it could become weaker as it approaches Taiwan. The forecaster warned of gusts exceeding 150 kph 93 mph for the southwest. Li stated that the storm surge could bring tides to land. If it rains heavily, it will make it hard to discharge water and coastal areas may be affected by flooding. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said that it has put more than 38, 000 troops on standby as Kaohsiung locals make their own preparations. It's going directly to hit us. "We must be prepared," said Chen Ming Huang as he tightened the ropes of his boat at Kaohsiung Harbour. In the worst-case scenario, the ropes could snap and my vessel could drift away. Taiwan's Coast Guard dispatched a vessel to rescue 19 sailors who had been forced to abandon the Blue Lagoon cargo ship after it began to take on water in the engine room. A rescue helicopter was forced to turn back because of the wind and rain. The Coast Guard said that the crew was made up of seven Ukrainians (seven Ukrainians), nine Egyptians (nine Egyptians) and three Russians. They had left China's Caofeidian Port for Singapore. Kaohsiung's traditional wet market closed, with most streets deserted. Most shops and restaurants had their shutters and doors down. Chen Mei-ling lives near the harbor and said that in previous typhoons, high tides were only a few meters (feet), from her main door. She had prepared for this. Chen stated that they had torches, and emergency food. We are concerned because it's a powerful typhoon. Reporting by Yimou Le; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam
Financial Times - Oct 1
The following are the leading stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their precision.
Headings
- Simon Case steps down as UK cabinet secretary
- EY selects Anna Anthony as UK employer after three-way race
- Roche prepares to launch drugs and slash advancement expenses
- LVMH offers Off-White streetwear brand name established by Virgil Abloh
- Qatar Airways accepts buy 25% stake in Virgin Australia
Summary
Simon Case, Britain's a lot of senior civil servant, has revealed he is stepping down as cabinet secretary at the end of the year as he gets treatment for a neurological. condition.
EY has selected monetary services employer Anna Anthony as its. new UK managing partner after a three-way race to lead the Big. 4 accounting company's British and Irish companies.
Roche is planning to introduce 20 medicines by the end. of the years and cut research study expenses for new drugs by a 5th,. according to a technique upgrade.
French high-end group LVMH has offered the streetwear. brand Off-White established by the late designer Virgil Abloh to a. brand management company.
Qatar Airways has actually agreed on an offer to purchase stake in. Australia's second-largest carrier Virgin Australia, the most recent. in a variety of international acquisitions by the Gulf airline company.
(source: Reuters)