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Some private investors are unsure of what shares they have purchased in the SpaceX IPO
Tejpaul Bhatia, an entrepreneur from India, is certain that he has a piece of Elon Musk?s 'SpaceX. He can't be sure. SpaceX, which was valued at $75 billion when the former Google executive joined the industry in 2021 had already become one of the most sought-after private firms. Early backers and institutions associated with Musk held the majority of shares. Bhatia was unable to buy shares directly so he turned towards the secondary market, where a loose group of brokers trades privately held company shares. Bhatia's shares, which were purchased through brokers, are difficult to verify. Bhatia said, "I hope I wasn't duped," the former CEO of Axiom space. "I'm not sure, but there's still no way to tell." He refused to reveal the amount of his investment or the name of the broker. Many are willing to pay more for the chance to own SpaceX shares prior its public offering. They will also live with any uncertainty. He said, "This is the hottest IPO in history." Bhatia has joined a growing number of investors who are pouring money into SpaceX via the opaque market that exists for private company shares. These deals are often made through special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which do not own shares of the company. Investors pool their money to buy rights to purchase shares at a future date. Mitchell Littman is a New York attorney who advises SPV managers, secondary market investors and other parties involved in the transactions. He said, "Everytime there is a lot of hype about these types of things, fraudsters will come out because they see an opportunity." SpaceX, Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment. TECH GIANTS ARE GETTING A HUGE HIT WITH THEIR APPETITE SpaceX, as well as other private companies such OpenAI that are gaining traction, have reshaped how initial public offerings work. Many of the most valuable companies in the world are still private, building their brand and creating intense investor demand. This is unlike years ago when fast-growing technology companies were more likely to go public. Investors who don't want to miss out on the IPO have flocked to secondary markets where shares are traded before the IPO. The use of multiple investment vehicles has also increased as demand has risen. According to two brokers, shares can go through up to five intermediaries with their own layers of fees. Namek Zu'bi said, "It is getting a bit loosey-goosey," who manages an asset fund of more than $500,000,000. He claimed he declined requests from his investors to invest in SpaceX because he was concerned about fraud. Zu'bi stated that "a lot of people will make a lot money." "But there will also be a lot people who are shocked or surprised" to find out that they do not own any shares. Investors can only see the SPV directly above them in many deals. They cannot tell if the shares on top are real. One senior executive from the secondary market industry said, "That is not enough to ensure that the shares are real." The increased layering of costs can reduce the profit margins for the IPO and the upside potential for investors. The greater dangers are paying too much and adding multiple layers of fees, said Jay Ritter. He is a University of Florida professor emeritus, who studies IPOs. Ritter added that investors have limited upside when starting with a high valuation. History shows that even companies that have a large revenue multiple tend to lag behind the market. FEAR OF FRAUD GROWING Some investors are worried that they may only have paper when SpaceX goes public. SPVs are under closer scrutiny in recent years after a series of high-profile 'pre-IPO fraud cases. Giovanni Pennetta, a financier from New York, was arrested in December at the JFK Airport on charges that he had set up a phony investment vehicle for the sale of non-existent shares in Anduril. Pennetta pleaded to charges of wire fraud earlier this month. A financier in 2023 was sentenced eight years in prison for defrauding over 50 investors, who gave him $6 million in order to purchase pre-IPO shares of multiple companies including SpaceX. Since then, the Department of Justice did not announce a pre-IPO case involving SpaceX. Investors and executives in the industry said that the company's popularity had increased risks. The Fear of Missing Out Fuels Risk-Taking Peter Wright, a broker who acts for Emirati Sheikhs, received a message via text last month from another broker. The sheikh wanted to buy a large amount of SpaceX. The message read: "We are looking for a buyer of SpaceX shares. We have a family-owned business interested in buying $1.2 billion worth of stock. Even an offer that large did not "open the door" to a possible deal. Wright and the broker for the sheikh told the client that he couldn't purchase shares directly. The transaction did not close. Wright stated that his firm will not work on deals where there are more than one intermediary. He cited the difficulty in determining ownership. He said that diligence was impossible at this point. Zu'bi says that fear of missing out is more important than the fundamentals when it comes to driving demand. They want to tell their yacht friend: "Hey, I am in SpaceX." "Are you also in SpaceX?" he asked. (Reporting and editing by Joe Brock and Dawn Kopecki in Washington and Echo Wang in New York; and Joey Roulette and David Jeans, in New York)
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Cheniere CEO: Maximum capacity already reached as Asia demands more LNG
Jack Fusco, CEO of U.S.-based LNG exporter Cheniere Energy, said that the company's Asian customers have asked for more liquefied gas due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has caused Qatari supplies to be cut. He also stated that the company was already operating at full capacity. Fusco hopes that Cheniere will be able to start commercial operations on its Train?5 expansion in Corpus Christi (Louisiana) by Friday, so as to send more cargoes from Asia. QatarEnergy used to?produce 20% of the world’s LNG. However, its plants were shut down as a result of?the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. They also sustained damage due to airstrikes. The company warned that it could lose up to 17% of current?supply in the next five years. Fusco stated that the last cargo from QatarEnergy had arrived in Asia and it was unclear when Qatar would resume its operations. Qatar is the second largest LNG exporter in the world. Meanwhile, customers are looking for more supplies in the U.S. "We're doing everything we can to help." We are looking closely at our maintenance schedules, but ultimately, we must be reliable and safe. Fusco stated that they would not sacrifice anything in order to remove the last "drop". Fusco stated that Europe is still the preferred market for Cheniere. 1,600 cargoes have been landed on the continent, since the beginning of Russia's invasion in Ukraine, 2022. However, Fusco expects LNG to grow primarily from Asia. Fusco added that the recent conflict has emphasized the need for a diverse supply. Cheniere is America's largest LNG exporter. The company expects to sell 52 million tons of supercooled gas by 2026. Curtis Williams reported; Nathan Crooks and Nia Williams edited in Houston.
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Libyan coast guards tow away damaged Russian LNG tanker from its shores
The Government of National Unity in Tripoli (GNU), said that Libya's coast guard has started towing a damaged liquefied gas?tanker, which several Mediterranean countries had warned posed a?risk? for the environment after drifting without manned for weeks. The Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz has been drifting since early March when the Russian Transport Ministry claimed that it had been hit by Ukrainian drones. It drifted near the coast of Zuwara, a western Libyan port. Last week, Italy, France and Spain, as well as six other EU southern members, wrote to the European Commission warning that the tanker presented "an imminent and severe risk of a serious ecological disaster". In a video, GNU Transport Minister Mohamed Al-Shahoubi stated that the National Oil Corporation of Libya has been given the task of unloading cargo from the Russian tanker. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with Russian and Maltese officials to ensure the safety of the maritime navigation on the Mediterranean Basin. The Tripoli-based GNU’s Hakomitna platform posted a video on Tuesday showing a frigate pulling a tanker through the water with a thick cord. Omar Mohamed Omar Al-Tuwair is the commander of the central sector for?the coastguard and ports security. He said in the video that the abandoned tanker had been towed from Zuwara shores. Tuwair said: "We assure the people of Libya, in general, and in the western coastal regions, in particular, namely Zuwara and Sabratha that the relevant authorities will do everything possible to address the situation." The authorities haven't yet revealed the final destination for the?tanker. According to the Russian Transport ministry, the drones which hit the tanker were launched by Libya. The incident has not been commented upon by either Ukraine or Libya. (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean, Ahmed Elumami)
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Trans Mountain begins bidding for capacity expansion
Trans Mountain, a Canadian company, launched a?bidding process? on Wednesday to secure firm transportation contracts for its pipeline system. The "Open Season", a process to gauge interest from the commercial community in possible projects to increase system capacity, runs from April 7 through June 2. The company stated that the Open Season will result in 80 to 90 percent of its 890 000?barrels a day (bpd), pipeline system, being contracted. This includes shipments between Edmonton, Alberta, and delivery locations in British Columbia. The Canadian government owns the 'Trans Mountain Pipeline,' which transports oil from Alberta to British Columbia on the west coast. From there, it can be exported to other markets, including China. The company plans to submit an application with the Canada Energy Regulator in order to obtain the necessary approvals. Trans Mountain plans to implement a number of similar projects over the coming year. These 'future' projects are expected to boost throughput by 90,000 bpd in early 2027. The company said that its 'Mainline Optimization Project' is expected to add 210,000 bpd before the end of 2028. Trans Mountain stated that the projects would increase?total capacity of pipelines to?about?1,190,000 BPD from approximately 890,000 BPD currently.
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As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights
The global air travel industry is still severely affected. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after the Iran War forced the closures of major Middle Eastern hubs including?Dubai Doha and Abu Dhabi. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece's biggest carrier has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until April 22 and Erbil and Baghdad till May 24. Flights from Dubai to Riyadh have been canceled until April 19. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled up until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24, AIR CANADA All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until the end of March. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai. KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Tel Aviv up until April 11 and until May 17. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has cancelled all flights to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In order to meet the increased demand for flights to Europe, it will be operating three additional return flights from Paris to Zurich and adding seats to 13 existing London flights in April. DELTA AIR LINES U.S. airline has extended the suspension of flights from New York and Atlanta to Tel Aviv until September 5. It had previously canceled its New York-Tel Aviv flight until May 31, as well as Tel Aviv - New York flights until June 1. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv service, which was originally scheduled for October, has been postponed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES The Israeli carrier will only operate 15 flights outbound per day. Each flight is limited to 50 passengers. It will also fly to a few key destinations. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would be reducing its flight schedule in response to a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and a few select destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all Dubai flights until 29 March and Doha flights until 2 July, while continuing to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran and Syria. FLYNAS Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah and Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha to Tokyo flights until April 1; All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai were cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut until April 30, as well as to Riyadh from March 31 through April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has suspended its flights to Dubai, Tel Aviv, Abu?Dhabi and Amman until May 31. The airlines have also suspended their flights to Beirut, Dammam and Riyadh. They will continue to operate to Erbil, Muscat, Muscat, and Tehran through October 24. Lufthansa Cargo also implemented similar suspensions. However, its Tel Aviv flights are still suspended until?April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv through April 30, and to Dubai Abu Dhabi, Amman and Erbil until October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from Doha to April 15th. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services from April 1, to April 4 respectively. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman and Beirut. They have also cancelled flights to Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha Dammam, Dubai Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Dammam. Pegasus Airlines has cancelled flights to Riyadh until April 1. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March. SINGAPORE Airlines In order to meet the increased demand, the carrier has extended its suspension of Singapore-Dubai flights through April 30. It also added services for Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (late March-October 24). TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.
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As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights
The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has cancelled flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Flights to Baghdad and Erbil will be suspended until May 24. Dubai flights have been cancelled until April 19, and Riyadh flights are on hold until April 18. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24, AIR CANADA All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until May 2. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai. KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Tel Aviv up until April 11 and until May 17. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has canceled all passenger flights from Hong Kong to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In order to meet the increased demand for flights to Europe, Hong Kong Airlines will be operating three additional return flights from Paris and Zurich and adding seats to 13 existing London flights in April. The U.S. carrier cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and pushed back the start of Atlanta-Tel Aviv until September 5. Boston-Tel Aviv service is being delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Customers who planned to leave Israel by April 4 have had their flights, and return flights as well, cancelled. The airline operates a limited number flights to key destinations. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would operate a reduced schedule after a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and selected destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 29, and Doha until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran and Syria. FLYNAS Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah, Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 10, and Doha to Tokyo until April 11. All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai and Dubai to Tel Aviv have been cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut between March 31 and April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP ITA Airways, Edelweiss, ITA Airways, Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi until May 31. Flights to Amman, Beirut and Dammam are also on hold until October 24, as well as to Abu Dhabi, Amman and Beirut. Lufthansa Cargo will be the same except for Tel Aviv, which is suspended until April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through April 30, and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi through October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from Doha to April 15th. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services and Beirut flights to June 15th, respectively. They were originally scheduled for April 1st and April 4th. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Amman, Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah until April 13th. Pegasus Airlines, a Turkish airline, has cancelled flights to Riyadh until April 1. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights through April 30 and added services on the Singapore - London -Gatwick route as well as the Singapore - Melbourne routes from late March up until October 24. TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.
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Sunexpress will charge a 10 euro surcharge on fuel starting May 1, due to rising costs
SunExpress is a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and 'Lufthansa. It announced on Wednesday it would start imposing an extra fuel surcharge of $10 per passenger as a result of the rising costs for fuel due to the Iran war. Calculations based on data show that crude oil prices rose from $72.5 per barrel to $120 per barrel during the war and now trade at $100. This represents a 38% rise. Jet fuel prices are often even more expensive than crude oil. SunExpress said that it would introduce a temporary fuel charge of 10 euros per passenger, per flight segment between Turkiye (Turkey) and continental Europe. The statement said that the measures "would apply to all bookings made after April 1, 2026 for departures after May 1, 2026." $1 = 0.8628 Euros (Reporting and Writing by Tuvan?Gumrukcu, Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Fastweb cancels INWIT, sparking a telecoms tower dispute in Italy
Swisscom's Italian subsidiary Fastweb terminated a long-term contract on Wednesday with INWIT. This escalated a dispute with the top telecom towers provider in the country. Fastweb, who inherited the INWIT contract through its acquisition last year of Vodafone Italy, was pushing for a renegotiation, something that the tower company had refused to do. Fastweb announced last week that it would form a joint venture to build up 6,000 telecoms masts in Italy with Telecom Italia, INWIT's 'other main customer. Sources said that TIM will follow Fastweb in terminating its deal with INWIT. The decision is expected to be made at a weekend board meeting. Fastweb stated that the decision to end the master service contract was due to INWIT's tower cost being above market levels and its refusal of formal negotiations in order to align with standard market conditions. INWIT's shares dropped as much as 10 percent on Wednesday, and they were down 5.7% at 1245 GMT. The company said Fastweb’s move was illegal, and that it would file an urgent application to a Milan Court to block it. The contracts that INWIT has signed with the two telecom operators to host their antennas on its 25,000 masts in Italy, which are owned by the tower company, account for the majority of its revenue of 1 billion euros ($1.16billion). INWIT, which was born as a'spin-off' of TIM's mobile 'tower' assets, merged with Vodafone's 'Italian mast' business in 2020. Vantage Towers and infrastructure fund Ardian are its two largest investors.
Carney criticizes Air Canada CEO's English-only comments after crash
Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, criticized Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau on Wednesday for not expressing his condolences in French after a fatal crash. Carney told reporters he thought?Rousseau showed a 'lack of judgment' and that the airline board would make a statement. Air Canada's jet crashed into a firetruck on Sunday evening as it was landing at New York LaGuardia Airport, killing the two pilots.
Air Canada is bilingual but?Rousseau, an English native speaker, released a 4-minute video with only two words in French. The language committee of Parliament voted to summon him on Tuesday to Ottawa to talk about the issue.
Carney stated, "I am?very dissatisfied - as are others, and rightly so – by this unilingual statement of Air Canada's CEO... it (shows) a loss of judgment, lack of compassion."
He continued, "I will follow closely his remarks (to the?committee), and any comments that I expect from the board in due time."
Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment immediately.
The issue of language is sensitive in Canada, especially in Quebec, which has the largest population and speaks a majority French.
In the 1970s, the Parti Quebecois was born out of discontent with the dominance of English. The party now has a strong lead in polls ahead of an upcoming provincial election. If it wins, the party has promised to hold another referendum on independence. The PQ government held two similar votes in 1995 and 1980. Rousseau is not the first to have a problem with language. Canada's government told him to improve his French in 2021 as part of the?his board review. He vowed to do better. Ottawa acquired a 6% stake of the airline as part of the COVID-19 pandemic rescue package in 2021. The holding was sold in December last year. David Ljunggren, Paul Simao and David Ljunggren (Reporting)
(source: Reuters)