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The US Court of Appeals allows Trump's EPA the ability to revoke climate grants
A U.S. Federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump can terminate more than 16 billion dollars in grants given to non-profit organizations to combat climate change. The grants were awarded as a result of the signature 2022 Inflation Reduction Act signed by Biden, Trump's predecessor. They were aimed at reducing greenhouse gases emissions. Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency sought to cancel the grants. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, ruled by a 2-1 margin that a lower court judge lacked the jurisdiction to hear a case brought forth by five of the eight non-profits which had received a total of $20 billion in grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Program. A request for comments was not immediately responded to by either the EPA or an attorney for the plaintiffs. Under administrator Lee Zeldin, the EPA maintained that the program was not in line with agency priorities and cited potential fraud, abuse and waste. Under Trump, the FBI and Justice Department also investigated this program. Citibank held the grant funds and awarded them to Climate United Fund Inclusiv, Power Forward Communities and Justice Climate Fund. After their collective funding of over $16 billion dollars was frozen, they sued. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a preliminary order in Washington in April. She held that the actions of the Trump administration were illegal and required Citibank to release the funds. The appeals court put the ruling on hold while it reviewed the case. On Tuesday, the majority of the three judge panel concluded Chutkan had abused her discretion in issuing this order. The two judges who made up the majority were both appointed by Trump. U.S. The majority opinion of Circuit Judge Neomi Rao stated that the case of the grant recipients was contractual in nature and that it belonged to a court that deals with monetary claims made against the government. This is the Court of Federal Claims. Rao said that while Chutkan had jurisdiction to hear a complaint that the EPA did not follow Congress' funding decisions under the Inflation Reduction Act because it did not comply with them, the agency did nothing of the sort, since the law did limit Zeldin’s discretion in denying or terminating grants. (Reporting and editing by Howard Goller; Nate Raymond)
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Zhejiang Expressway to absorb Zhejiang Oceanking, valuing it at $900 million
Zhejiang Expressway, listed in Hong Kong, announced on Tuesday that it would absorb Zhejiang Oceanking Development through a share exchange deal. The firm will be valued at approximately 6.44 billion Yuan ($900.33 millions). Shareholders of Zhejiang Oceanking will receive 1,08 Zhejiang Expressway share for every Oceanking share they hold. Zhejiang Expressway issuing A-shares for 13.50 Yuan each, translating to a 14.58 Yuan conversion price per share of Oceanking. Oceanking's conversion price represents a discount in the region of 4.6% on its last closing date, August 19. The trading of shares in the company was halted due to an asset restructuring that could be major. It hasn't resumed since. Both firms are controlled by the state-owned Zhejiang Communications Investment Group. Its holds 67.69% in Zhejiang Expressway, and 54.72% in Zhejiang Oceanking Development. In its statement, Zhejiang Expressway said that "Oceanking Development will delist and deregister as a legal person upon completion of the merger." Oceanking Development specializes in research, development, production and sales of products related to chloralkali. ($1 = 7.1529 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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Yemen's Houthis claim to have attacked a ship in the northern Red Sea
Houthis, who are Iran-aligned in Yemen, said Tuesday they attacked a ship with two drones as well as a missile on the northern Red Sea because it was connected to Israel. The group has not stated when the attack took place. The attack was not confirmed immediately by maritime sources. The spokesperson for the group said that "the Yemeni armed force carried out a combined military operation against the ship... because it violated the (Houthi's) decision to prohibit entry into the ports of occupied Palestine." In a rare attack, the Houthis attacked the Israeli tanker Scarlet Ray on Sunday near the Saudi Arabian port city of Yanbu at the Red Sea. Israel last Thursday The Prime Minister was killed In a raid on Sanaa's capital, Yemen's Houthi government and other ministers were killed. This was the first time that senior officials had been killed in such an attack. Since 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked vessels in Red Sea that they believe are linked to Israel. They claim this is in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's Gaza war. Reporting by Jaidaa Taka, Menna Alaya El-Din, and Jonathan Saul. Editing by Kevin Liffey.
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Poland signs a $1.6 billion deal for 46 radars with PGZ Narew
The Polish Minister of Defence announced on Tuesday that Poland had signed a contract with the PGZ/Narew consortium worth 5,8 billion zlotys (about $1,6 billion) for 46 passive location radars used in short-range antiaircraft and antimissile systems. Poland is spending a lot on defense due to the threat that it perceives from Russia. It plans to spend 4,8% of its gross domestic product on defence by 2026. The radar contract is an important investment not only in the security of Poland, but in our economy as well. These radars will increase the security of our aerospace. "This is a top priority for us", said Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ. According to the Ministry of Defence, radars will allow for continuous space surveillance and effective anti-aircraft missile defense. PGZ-Narew, a consortium of Polish defense companies led by state-controlled Polish Armaments Group(PGZ), is implementing a joint programme to build the Polish air and missile defence system Narew. The contract was signed during the International Defence Industry Exhibition held in Kielce, a city located in central Poland.
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Fico, the Prime Minister, says that Slovakia wants to normalise its relations with Russia by increasing gas imports.
Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, told Vladimir Putin that Russia wants to normalise relations with Slovakia and will increase imports of Russian natural gas via TurkStream. These comments were in direct conflict with the European Union's position, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian energy to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine 2022. They also come at a crucial time in the efforts to end this conflict. Both Slovakia and Hungary, both EU member states, are led by populists who have maintained political ties with Russia which supplies most of their oil requirements. Fico told Putin during their meeting in Beijing, on the sidelines China's World War Two Anniversary celebrations. He added, "Let us get back to the old ways of countries in terms of economic cooperation." The EU has pledged to end decades-old relations with Moscow, its former largest gas supplier. It aims to eliminate all Russian energy imports before the end of 2027. Hungary and Slovakia oppose this plan. They claim that switching to alternative energy sources would raise the price of energy. Fico thanked Putin for the regular and safe gas supply that the two of them receive via TurkStream. TurkStream is the only pipeline that carries Russian gas into Europe, after blasts stopped the Nord Stream 1 pipelines from exporting in September 2022. Transit via Ukraine has also been halted since January 1, 2019. According to data provided by the Slovak transit firm EUstream, Slovakia imported approximately 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas this year through Hungary. This is its closest link to TurkStream. The project is underway to increase the capacity of the gas flow between Hungary and Slovakia, which includes gas from the Turkstream pipe, from 3.5 to 4.4 billion cubic meters per year. Fico said Slovakia has resumed the issuing of visas to Russians, a service which was suspended after Russia's invasion in Ukraine. He also said that Slovakia is interested in Russian firms potentially participating in the new nuclear power plants, which the government hopes to award to U.S. company Westinghouse. Fico is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Uzhhorod on Friday, according to the official. This meeting was originally scheduled to be held in eastern Slovakia. The Prime Minister said that he would raise the recent Ukrainian attacks which temporarily stopped Russian Oil flowing through the Druzhba Pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary during the past two weeks.
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Source: Kazakhstan's oil production rose by 2% in August
A source familiar with these data said on Tuesday that the daily crude oil production of Kazakhstan, excluding gas-condensate (a type light oil), rose from 1.84 to 1.88 millions barrels per day in August. According to calculations, the daily crude oil production in Kazakhstan increased by 2% compared to July. The level exceeded Kazakhstan's quota for August of 1,53 million bpd under an agreement with oil producer group OPEC+. Kazakhstan has been exceeding its quotas for several months, set by OPEC+. This grouping includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The Kazakhstan Energy Ministry has not responded to a request for comment. (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean).
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Plains buys stake in EPIC Crude for $1.6 billion in oil pipeline deal
Plains All American Pipeline, Plains GP Holdings and Diamondback Energy announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to purchase a 55% share in the pipeline operator EPIC Crude Holdings. The deal is valued at $1.57 billion including debt. Sources familiar with the situation said that the owners were seeking a buyer for the pipeline in August. EPIC Crude, one of the largest pipelines in the United States, transports oil from the Permian shale and Eagle Ford basins of Texas. The facility has a daily capacity of 600,000. It can be expanded to 1,000,000 bpd. There are also around 7 million barrels in operational storage. The transaction should be completed in early 2026. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru, Katha Kalia and Sumit Saha from Bengaluru)
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Air Lease accepts Sumitomo's $7.4 billion offer to buy out the group, backed by SMBC
A group of investors led Sumitomo Corp. and SMBC Aviation Capital announced on Tuesday they would purchase Air Lease Corp. for $7.4 billion in cash, in an attempt to create the largest aircraft leasing company worldwide. The combined company will be able to compete with AerCap as the leading lessor of aircraft in the industry. The combined company's headquarters will be in Dublin. This is the real global hub of the aircraft leasing industry. It finances over half of new passenger aircraft deliveries. Air Lease will pay $65 for every Class A Common Share it holds. This is a 7.9% increase over the last closing price of the company. Air Lease shares were up 6% or so in premarket trading. The aircraft lessor will be valued at approximately $28,2 billion including debt. The deal will combine Air Lease's global network with SMBC Aviation’s financial power, and expand Sumitomo’s aircraft leasing business by scale and profitability. SMBC Aviation Capital was the second largest aircraft lessor in the world. It traded under RBS Aviation Capital until it was purchased by a Japanese consortium consisting of SMFG and Sumitomo Corp. Steven Udvar Hazy, unofficial godfather of the industry, founded Air Lease Corp in 2010 after he had left ILFC. At the time, ILFC was the largest aircraft lessor in the world. Hazy sold ILFC in 1990 to AIG, but continued running it until the global economic crisis, which impacted ILFC's borrowing and purchasing of aircraft. Hazy stepped aside from Air Lease after an unsuccessful attempt to buy ILFC. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities are advising SMBC Aviation Capital. (Reporting and editing by Shreya Biwas, Shinjini Gauli, Shreya Parmar and Anshuman Tripathy. Additional reporting and editing by Nathan Gomes and Padraic Humphries.
Frontier soars after rival Spirit's second bankruptcies stokes hopes for market share
Frontier Group shares rose 15% on Tuesday as investors bet the ultra-low cost carrier would gain more market share after main rival Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy for the second time in six months and announced plans to cut routes.
The stock is on track to have its best day for more than five month, underscoring the expectation that the turmoil in the U.S. low-cost airline industry could reshape it and give Frontier a competitive advantage.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank believe that Frontier is best placed to profit from Spirit's bankruptcy due to the overlap in their networks. The brokerage upgraded its rating from "hold" to "buy".
Spirit filed for bankruptcy on Friday, the second time within a year. A previous reorganization had failed to improve its financial standing.
The Florida-based carrier, which emerged from bankruptcy in March, plans to fly but has said that it will reduce its footprint in certain markets and its fleet in order to reduce debt and leasing obligations.
In a Raymond James note, Savanthi Syth stated that "generally, some portion of Spirit’s capacity will be removed. This will ease pressure on the domestic markets, especially main cabins, at a period when domestic demand has also improved from the sharp drop earlier in the year."
Frontier and Spirit have the most seats in common, but questions remain as to whether ultra-low cost carriers can maintain their business model when costs increase.
The airline has announced new routes and offers to build loyalty and attract passengers from competitors.
Analysts have stated that full-service carriers like United Airlines and Delta Air, are better equipped to adapt to the changing U.S. market. Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru and AnshumanTripathy; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shilpa Majumdar
(source: Reuters)