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Saudi Wealth Fund sold its stakes on Meta, Shopify, and PayPal during Q2
Saudi Arabia's nearly $1 trillion sovereign wealth funds sold their stakes in several U.S. listed companies, including Meta, Shopify, and PayPal, in the second quarter. Securities filings published on Thursday confirm this. The 13F filings also show that the Public Investment Fund sold its stakes at Nu Holdings, FedEx and Alibaba Group during a period when U.S. stocks recovered from a drop in April tied to U.S. Tariff policies. The filings revealed that PIF had no shares remaining in Meta, Shopify PayPal, Alibaba Nu Holdings, FedEx, or Nu Holdings. The fund's last filing revealed that at the end March it held 667,996 shares of class A in Meta, 1,25 million shares of class A in Shopify and PayPal, 6,83 million shares of class A in Nu Holdings as well as 1.61 million ADS sponsored by Alibaba. PIF's exposure to U.S. stocks, including call options, which give the state investor the right to purchase an underlying asset within a certain time frame at a set price, was valued $23.8 billion by the end the second quarter compared to $25.5 billion in the first quarter. PIF, which was tasked with spearheading Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan has grown beyond its initial holdings in Saudi infrastructure and public equity. The fund has invested in global brands such as Uber, Lucid Motors and LIV Golf, and also sports ventures like Newcastle United and English soccer team Newcastle United. In its own country, it has invested billions in mega-projects like NEOM, a futuristic city by the Red Sea. It also invests in sectors such as tourism, logistics and clean energy. Devalapur Deepak, Bangalore. Hadeel al Sayegh is in Dubai. Mark Potter (Editing)
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WoodMac: US transformer shortage as demand for power surges.
Wood Mackenzie, a research firm, said that the U.S. will see a shortage of 30% of power transformers and 10% of distribution transformers in this year due to a surge in electricity consumption. According to a report by an energy research firm, the demand for transformers (pieces of equipment that increase or decrease the voltage of electricity in order to transfer it from generating plants to end-users) has more than doubled over the past year as the industry struggles with a growing number of clean energy projects. As domestic manufacturing capacity falls behind, utilities turn to imported electrical equipment to bring power projects online. Ben Boucher is senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie. He said: "This market imbalance increases costs and delays our ability to bring generation plants online to meet the surge in energy demand." Why it's important After a decade-long decline, the U.S. electricity sector saw its consumption rise 7% over the last five. U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that commercial electricity demand will grow by 3.1% in 2025, and 4.9% the following year. This is primarily due to demand from data centres. Grid operators and utilities are scrambling to meet the rising demand for power, which is also being driven by an increase in extreme weather. CONTEXT Boucher stated that utilities have been stockpiling Transformers in order to have an adequate supply. However, they are experiencing long lead times on some equipment and have to place orders up to four or three years in advance. He said that new tariffs from Trump's administration will likely exacerbate the shortage in the United States, given the increasing dependence on imported goods. According to the report, 80% of all power transformers and 50% of distribution transformers sold in the U.S. will be imported this year. Boucher stated that the "One Big Beautiful Bill" of Trump, which cuts support for renewable energy, may reduce the demand for some transformers. "However, demand will still exceed the levels of 2024 so additional capacity will be required," Boucher added. (Reporting and Editing by Margueritachoy)
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Sources: CEO of Germany's state railway operator will leave his post
Richard Lutz will be leaving the CEO position of Germany's largest rail operator Deutsche Bahn. Sources from government and company said this on Thursday. The state-owned operator has been plagued by delays and disruptions due to a decade-long underinvestment in the face of tight budgets. Lutz, the new CEO of Deutsche Bahn who took over in March 2017, said there was still much to do to bring the company out of its crisis. The company refused to comment on the reported departure of his employee. Last year, large public events such as the Euro Soccer Tournament and Taylor Swift’s Tour in Germany brought Deutsche Bahn to the forefront of international attention for its crowded and delayed trains. The company is upgrading its overhead lines and tracks. However, the initial delays and cancellations will be caused by this process. In March, Deutsche Bahn announced heavy losses for the year 2024. However, it said that cost reductions and infrastructure investments would allow them to achieve an operating profit this year. (Reporting and writing by Klaus Lauer, Markus Wacket; editing by Thomas Seythal).
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Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas is on track to resume full power by Thursday, LSEG data indicates
Freeport LNG, a U.S. liquefied gas company in Texas, was on course to receive more natural gas in Texas on Thursday. This is a sign that on Wednesday one of the company's liquefaction train exited a temporary outage. Freeport LNG is closely monitored by the global market because its operation can cause large price fluctuations. Gas prices in the U.S. typically drop when flows to Freeport decrease due to a lower demand for fuel from the export facility. Prices in Europe are usually higher due to the drop in LNG supply available from the plant to global markets. Freeport is not the only reason why prices in Europe and America have been down. Freeport informed Texas environmental regulators on August 13, that Train 2 of the three liquefaction train at its plant had shut down due to an issue with a system compressor. Freeport officials were not available to comment immediately. LSEG reported that the amount of gas flowing into Freeport is on track to increase to 2.0 billion cubic feet (bcfd), up from 1.6 bcfd Wednesday. This compares to an average of 1.9 billion cubic feet per day over the previous seven days. Three liquefaction plants at Freeport can convert about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of gas to LNG. A billion cubic feet of natural gas can supply 5 million U.S. households for one day. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Chizu Nomiyama, and Scott DiSavino)
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Ryanair confirms that summer bookings are strong and fares are holding steady
Michael O'Leary, the Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair, said that in an interview with The Telegraph on Thursday he is "reasonably confident" that it will meet its summer target. The airline's growth has been slowed by delays, and he praised Boeing for agreeing that some jets would be delivered earlier than planned. Bookings are strong during the summer peak months... "The fares are holding," O'Leary said. Bookings were 1% higher than they were last year at this point. He reiterated a July forecast that the average fare was likely to increase by close to 7 percent, depending on the close-in bookings of the remaining second quarter for the airline, which ends September 30. He added that there was no evidence of consumers altering their plans because of the heatwaves in this summer. Boeing has agreed to deliver 7 jets in August, and 7 in September ahead of a previously-agreed timetable. O'Leary spoke in Tirana where he announced the doubling of the capacity of the airport to 4 million passengers annually and the basing three aircraft there from April next year.
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Corporate earnings are mixed as most Gulf shares increase on Fed rate reduction hopes
The Gulf stock markets were mostly higher on Thursday morning, as global stocks rose, after positive U.S. inflation figures raised hopes for a Federal Reserve rate reduction, and mixed earnings reports from the region. After data released this week revealed that U.S. consumer inflation rose at a moderate rate in July, traders expect the Fed will cut rates. The U.S. monetary policy changes have a major impact on Gulf markets where the majority of currencies are pegged with the dollar. Qatar's benchmark index gained 0.8% with nearly all components advancing. Qatar National Bank gained 1.7%, while Qatar Islamic Bank rose 1.2%. Dubai's benchmark index rose 0.4% on the back of gains in the real estate, finance, industry and utilities sectors. Emaar Properties, a blue-chip developer, rose 1%. Salik, a toll operator, advanced 3.8%. Salik reported a 49.6% rise in its second-quarter net profits on Wednesday. This was a significant increase, surpassing estimates. Air Arabia's share price fell 0.8%, as the low-cost airline reported a 10% decline in its second quarter net profit. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index of stocks rose 0.1% thanks to gains in consumer staples and finance. Saudi industrial investment rose by 4.4%, and Saudi National Bank, which is the largest lender in the Kingdom according to assets, gained 0.9%. Saudi Printing and Packaging's shares soared by 8.4% following the announcement that it had signed a financing deal with Saudi Research and Media Group. The benchmark Abu Dhabi index traded within a narrow range, as gains in real estate, technology and industrial stocks were offset by losses in consumer staples and energy shares. RAK Properties rose 1.3% following the announcement of a 95% increase in net profit for the second quarter. Investcorp Capital fell 1.3% on Thursday after it reported a 22% decline in its full-year profit.
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Hapag-Lloyd reduces its 2025 earnings projection after half-year profits slip
Hapag-Lloyd, the container shipping company, reported on Thursday a decline of 3.1% in its first-half earnings and reduced the upper end of their full-year forecast. This was mainly due to geopolitical concerns and U.S. Trade Policy. The fifth-largest shipper in the world projected earnings for full-year before interest and tax between 200 million and 1.1 billion euro, as opposed to a range previously expected of breakeven up to 1.5 billion euro. The German company stated that frequent changes in U.S. Tariff Policies have led to volatility in trade patterns. In addition, the security situation at the Red Sea is also a burden. This has resulted in a 24% decrease in EBIT of 619 million Euros in six months. Houthi militants attacks on Middle Eastern ships have clouded global shipping outlook. Vessel owners are forced to sail an expensive alternative route around Africa. The net income for the first half of 2009 fell by 3.1%, to 709 millions euros ($829million). The CEO Rolf Habben Jansen praised the "solid overall note" after the company's revenues increased by 10% to 9.7 billion euro and its transport volumes rose 10.6% to 6.8 million 20-foot equivalent (TEU) container. He said that the company's operation collaboration with Maersk, known as Gemini, got off to a great start but costs had to be optimized. Germini is a global network of 340 vessels operating on seven trade routes.
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India's JSW Cement makes a 4% gain in its debut, with a valuation of $2.38 billion
JSW Cement shares debuted at 4% higher than their previous price on Thursday, valuing it at $2.38 Billion. Investors looked past the broader market turmoil to support the company's expansion plans for capacity and its push into new markets. The stock was listed on the National Stock Exchange at 153.50 Rupees, just over its target of $2.3 billion and above its original issue price of 147 Rupees. As of 10:21 am IST, it was up 2.7% to 151.06 rupies. India is the second largest cement producer in the world. The government's push for infrastructure and housing will drive demand growth over the next decade. Prices are also expected to rebound from the multi-year lows they hit during the last fiscal year. JSW Cement is a smaller player than other companies in the industry, such as Aditya Birla's UltraTech Cement or Gautam Adani's Ambuja Cement. In its prospectus, the company stated that it would use the proceeds of the IPO to build a factory in Rajasthan, a state rich in limestone. Ventura Securities stated that JSW Cement’s capacity ramp-up would expand its reach, boost profits and offer brand strength. Its ties to JSW Group also provide easy access to raw material like slag, power and steel via group companies such as energy, marine infrastructure and steel. JSW Group owns a stake of nearly 70% in the cement manufacturer. This week, the $413 million initial offering was nearly eight times oversubscribed. Institutional investors' bids were almost 16 times higher than their quota.
Air Canada will cancel 500 flights before Friday due to a looming strike
Air Canada announced on Thursday that it will cancel several dozen flights before the day's end, and 500 by Friday evening. This is in anticipation of a strike planned for Saturday by its unionized pilots.
Mark Nasr is the chief operating officer of Air Canada. He said that the carrier, which has over 250 aircraft and flights to more than 65 countries, must begin to wind down its service immediately due to the complexity of their network.
The carrier has asked the government to take action against a strike that would affect the tourism sector in the middle of the summer.
to intervene
Arbitration is a good way to resolve disputes.
Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada carry around 130,000 passengers per day. Air Canada has the most flights into the U.S.
United Airlines (a code-share partner of Air Canada) has announced a waiver for customers to manage their travel plans.
Nasr, a Toronto-based reporter, said that resuming Air Canada operations would require a week.
He said, "This is not the type of system we can start and stop with the press of a single button." "In order to wind down in a safe, orderly manner, we must begin by going down."
FlightAware shows that Air Canada had cancelled four flights by Thursday.
Patty Hajdu, Canadian Jobs Minister, urged earlier in the day the country's biggest carrier and union to come back to the table for a deal to avoid disruptions.
Air Canada negotiators, according to a spokesperson from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants at the carrier, are not in a bargaining mode and have not responded positively to an earlier proposal made by the union.
We believe that the company is asking the federal government for help.
CUPE has said that it is opposed to binding arbitration.
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler is the chief human resources officer of Air Canada. She said that the airline never left the negotiating table.
She said, "We're still open to bargaining at any time as long as the negotiations are substantive."
Air Canada's executives spoke at a conference which was abruptly ended by protests from union members wearing placards.
The dispute revolves around the compensation paid to flight attendants by airlines. The majority of airlines pay attendants only while planes are moving.
In their most recent contract negotiations, North American flight attendants have asked for compensation for the hours they worked. This includes tasks such as boarding passengers or waiting at airports before and after flights.
Air Canada has offered to compensate flight attendants at only 50% of their hourly wage for certain unpaid work, according to the union.
The airline stated that it offered flight attendants a 38% total increase in compensation over four years. A 25% raise was given in the first year. (Reporting from Allison Lampert, Montreal; and David Ljunggren, Ottawa. Rajesh Kumar Singh and Kyaw-Soe OO contributed additional reporting from Chicago and Toronto. Editing was done by Marguerita Choy.
(source: Reuters)