Latest News
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Wizz Air anticipates 15-20% growth in passenger volume next year
Wizz Air anticipates 1520% growth in guest volume next year, its chief executive informed Reuters on Monday, with new lowcost paths to the Middle East, such as from Europe to the United Arab Emirates, adding an additional boost. Internationally, we are expecting 15-20% (development), but I believe Abu Dhabi is going to grow beyond this, Jozsef Varadi said. Hungary-based Wizz Air, which brought a record 62 million travelers throughout the year ended in March 2024, set up operations in the UAE in 2019 as a joint endeavor with Abu Dhabi's third greatest sovereign wealth fund ADQ. In the Middle East, where issues of a broader flare of the war in Gaza have actually prompted global airline companies to suspend flights or avoid air area, Wizz Air is keeping an eye on every advancement, Varadi said. He added that Wizz Air wants to develop Saudi Arabia as an incoming market rather than establishing a regional provider there. The airline, which flies an all-Airbus fleet, recently revealed it would release its very first A321XLR, a single-aisle aircraft that will enable it to cover longer distances, to run a path between London's Gatwick airport and Saudi Arabia's Jeddah beginning with March 2025. Another A321XLR airplane will run a day-to-day flight between Milan Malpensa airport and Abu Dhabi beginning with June next year. Certainly we are extremely excited about Jeddah, Varadi said. We are seeing that more European operations might be flown incoming to Saudi in the future. He added, nevertheless, that all new routes went through regulatory approvals and capacity restrictions due to troubles with Pratt & & Whitney engines, which required Wizz Air to ground part of its fleet, adding to a 44% drop in first-quarter operating earnings.
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France's CFDT union might take strike action over Exxon task cuts
France's CFDT trade union stated on Monday that it might sign up with a continuous strike by the CGT union at ExxonMobil's Port Jerome refinery as talks with the company near a due date. Up until now, the strike action has actually been limited to chemical employees after Exxon stated it would shut down its steam cracker and close chemical production at the site this year. Exxon has 2 refineries in France that represent about 30% of the country's capability. A representative said the strikes have actually not impacted its refining, regardless of a blockade in late June. The closures at the facility will indicate 608 workers losing their tasks from 2025, the Exxon spokesperson informed Reuters. The end of info and assessment duration for the labor force assistance plan is Sept. 20, so Exxon and the unions need to reach an arrangement by the end of the week, they added. CFDT, one of France's largest unions, stated in a declaration it was worried that working conditions would be considerably deteriorated by the proposed modifications. The CFDT currently does not dismiss any action, including legal action, to defend the interests of all staff members, but chooses to return to the negotiating table, it stated. The CFDT participated in strikes last year at French refineries over President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms, which saw disruptions to fuel supplies throughout the country.
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Ariane 6 set for brand-new launch this year after software application defect identified
Space launch company Arianespace on Monday declared plans to stage the second objective of Europe's Ariane 6 launcher before the end of the year after a glitch that spoiled the inaugural launch was traced to an quickly fixable software fault. Following prolonged delays, Europe's most recent uncrewed rocket blasted off on July 9 and successfully performed a series of trials. However the mission ended with the launcher cruising in orbit without releasing its last batch of payloads. Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel said the failure to phase a. third shooting of the upper-stage Vinci engine, which led to. the final releases being curtailed, had been traced to a. software application flaw that would be fixed before the next launch. In a separate statement, a task force of federal government companies. and companies supervising the introduction of Ariane 6, consisting of. the European Space Agency and Arianespace moms and dad ArianeGroup,. said there were no showstoppers to the next flight. Ariane 6 was established at an estimated cost of 4 billion.
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Aramco to up stake in EIG's MidOcean to 49%, fund brand-new stake in Peru LNG
Saudi Aramco will increase its stake in melted gas company MidOcean Energy to 49%. and fund its acquisition of a new 15% stake in Peru LNG from. Hunt Oil Business, MidOcean said on Monday. The Saudi oil giant agreed to buy a minority stake in. MidOcean from EIG for $500 million in 2015, its very first foray. into LNG abroad, without divulging the stake's size. Aramco is looking for to reinforce its position in the LNG. market, which is set to grow by 50% worldwide by 2030, particularly. in the United States where LNG capacity is set to nearly double. over the next four years. MidOcean did not disclose just how much it is spending for the. stake in Peru LNG (PLNG) or the value of Aramco's financing. Aramco, agents for EIG and Hunt did not instantly. react to emailed ask for remark. MidOcean and Hunt will each hold a 35% stake in PLNG when. the offer closes, MidOcean said in its statement. Aramco's more investment in MidOcean reinforces. MidOcean and Aramco's position in the global LNG market and will. supply both parties with further exposure to the only LNG. export project in South America, MidOcean said. Aramco will hold an indirect stake of 17.2% in PLNG. Hunt. continues to hold a 25.2% holding in the Camisea upstream. task in Peru, where it has been invested since 2000, MidOcean. said.
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TSX touches record high on bets of larger Fed rate cut
Canada's primary stock index edged up to an alltime high up on Monday, driven by gains in health care shares, while investors bank on a heftier U.S. interestrate cut later on this week. The Toronto Stock market's S&P/ TSX composite index was up 54.98 points, or 0.23%, at 23,623.63. It had notched record-high closing levels in the past 2 sessions. A minimum of 9 sectors acquired, led by a near 1% rise in health care. Bausch Health Companies leapt 6.7% after reports of unit Bausch + Lomb exploring sale alternatives. The domestic index pared initial gains, however, taking hints from Wall Street after the tech-heavy Nasdaq signed up an over 1% decline. Chances of a 50-basis-point rate cut at the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day conference on Wednesday have actually increased to 63%, from 30% recently, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. It's most likely the very first cut of many to come and that supercharges the resource-heavy Canadian market for a number of reasons, stated Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. Zero-yield gold and other dollar-denominated commodities tend to take advantage of lower U.S. rate of interest. Crude oil and gold are among Canada's leading exports. The Bank of Canada has currently cut its interest rates three successive times this year, bringing the policy rates down from a two-decade high of 5% to 4.25%. On the information front, Canadian factory sales grew by 1.4% in June from May on greater sales of petroleum and coal products, as well as chemical products. The TSX's financials sector climbed up 0.4%, while energy stocks increased 0.35%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased 2.51%. and Brent crude gained 1.98%. The TSX has actually added 12.7% for the year.
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Postal Service chief 'completely dedicated' to prompt US ballot deliveries
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said on Monday he is personally completely devoted to guaranteeing all 2024 governmental election tallies are delivered in a timely style and vowed to react to concerns raised by state and regional officials. A group of about 3 dozen election authorities from the National Association of State Election Directors and other groups on Wednesday raised major concerns about USPS's capability to deliver millions of tallies for the 2024 presidential election, pointing out concerns about processing center operations, lost or postponed election mail, and front-line training shortages affecting USPS's ability to deliver election mail in a prompt and accurate manner. DeJoy stated in a letter launched on Monday that he would hold a call with state officials to address particular concerns. The authorities stated that, despite duplicated conferences with USPS election staff, we have actually not seen improvement or collective efforts to remediate our issues. DeJoy stated the USPS Office of Inspector General is auditing its plants and delivery units and will report any election mail problems they find and we will address those issues expeditiously. Starting Oct. 1, USPS will deploy ballot monitors and others in processing, retail and shipment units to reinforce and magnify our policies and procedures on the ground USPS said typically it is currently delivering mail in 2.7 days however continues to recommend as a sensible procedure that citizens need to mail their completed ballot before Election Day, and a minimum of one week prior to their state's deadline. The inspector general has said 46% of votes were cast by mail in the November 2020 presidential election, compared with 21% in the 2016 election. USPS said in the 2020 general election, it provided 99.89%. of ballots from voters to election authorities within seven days. Voting by mail in some states is set to begin in the coming. weeks.
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Libyan crude exports rose dramatically recently, shipping data show
Libyan crude exports reached about 550,000 barrels each day recently, a threefold increase on the previous week, according to information from analytics firm Kpler and a shipping representative. Tankers bring unrefined including Flavin, Pacific Pearl, Ghibli, and Delta Atlantica set sail to European destinations from numerous Libyan ports in the week beginning Sept. 9, the information show. This comes as the OPEC manufacturer remains in the throes of a. political stand-off that has actually hampered its oil production. The standoff started last month when western Libyan. factions transferred to oust central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir,. prompting eastern factions to declare a shutdown to all oil. output. Kabir intends to be renewed as governor through. U.N.-backed negotiations between your home of Representatives. parliament in eastern Libya and the High State Council based in. Tripoli in the west to deal with the crisis. The nation's National Oil Corporation, which manages. Libya's fossil fuel resources, has not stated force majeure on. all port loadings and has actually so far chosen to use the procedure on. specific cargoes. It stated force majeure on all crude production at El Feel. oilfield on Sept. 2 and on exports from the Sharara field on. Aug. 7, before the crisis over the reserve bank started. The corporation stated on Aug. 28 that oil production had. dropped by more than half from common levels to about 590,000. bpd, however has actually not made public any new production figures because.
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AirBaltic is in pre-IPO talks with one tactical partner, says CEO
Latvian provider airBaltic is in preIPO talks with one strategic financier at the minute, President Martin Gauss told Reuters on Monday, decreasing to discuss reports that the airline remained in conversations with Lufthansa relating to an investment. In our case, we are speaking with one strategic pre-IPO financier, Gauss stated in an interview in London, including that in the IPO preparation stage, the provider could talk to other anchor and foundation investors. Gauss had formerly said that he sees airBaltic one day belonging to a larger airline group like Lufthansa, however on Monday he reiterated that he does not see that happening in the next five years. Executives, analysts and investors say the European airline sector needs more debt consolidation to prosper as numerous smaller national carriers continue to struggle. Gauss stated airBaltic's distinct wet lease service - whereby it rents out some of its airplane to other airlines on a. temporary basis to plug capability spaces - offered it a benefit. ahead of its going public as airline companies around the. world dealt with jet shortages and shipment delays. The IPO on Nasdaq. Riga is set for either the 2nd half of this year or early in. 2025. Recent occasions such as the machinists' strike at Boeing. , which might worsen delivery hold-ups for the airplane. manufacturer, might even more help airBaltic's service, he stated. Last week, Lufthansa stated it was extending its damp lease. collaboration with airBaltic for another three years past the. summertime of 2025. Gauss said airBaltic was also in talks with capacity. clients for its damp lease business in Saudi Arabia, India and. central Africa. He declined to talk about the specific timing of the IPO. There is a ... general opinion that around the
Businesses sell in Russia
Some Western companies sold their Russian assets to comply with the sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, and to respond to the Kremlin's threats that it could seize foreign assets.
The following companies have sold their business in Russia. They are grouped by sector.
Continental sold its Russian tire plant to holding company S8 Capital by May 2023.
Renault sold Avtovaz's majority stake to the Russian government in 2022. The price was reportedly only one rouble, but there was a six-year buyback option.
Volkswagen sold its Kaluga production facility and local subsidiaries to Volkswagen in May 2023.
BANKS AND INSURANCE
HSBC said that it had transferred its Russian unit, owned by Expobank, to the bank for an undisclosed amount in May.
In May 2022, Societe Generale will sell its Rosbank division to Interros Capital. The loss is 3.1 billion euros ($3.4 billion).
ENERGY
Shell sold its Russian retail business and lubricants to Lukoil by 2022. Food & Beverages, Consumer Goods
Belgian brewer AB InBev has agreed to sell its share in the joint venture (JV), AB InBev Efes, in April 2022. This will result in a $1.1billion impairment.
Danone sold its Essential Dairy and plant-based business to Vamin R LLC, a company based in Russia. The sale cost 1.2 billion euro.
Heineken left Russia in August 2023 after selling its Russian operations to Arnest Group at a symbolic price of one euro.
The RBC daily reported that Unilever had received approval from Moscow to sell its Russian assets. These assets are reportedly worth between $393 million and $449 million. Unilever declined comment.
FORESTRY AND PACKAGING
International Paper sold its 50 percent stake in a joint venture to Russian shareholders in 2023. Mondi, a British company, sold three packaging converting businesses to Gotek Group in September 2023 for 1.6 billion roubles. It also agreed to sell the largest plant it has in Russia to Sezar Invest at 80 billion roubles.
Finnish packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki sold its Russian operations last year for 151 millions euros. Forestry firm Stora Enso also sold their three corrugated packing plants to local management.
RESTAURANTS & RETAIL
AmRest sold its KFC business to Smart Service in Russia for 100 million Euros in May 2023.
Gazprombank Group purchased 14 MEGA shopping centers in Russia from an Ingka Group unit, which operates IKEA stores. The price was not disclosed.
Hugo Boss announced on August 5 that it had sold its Russian business for an undisclosed amount to Stockmann, a wholesale partner.
Moscow has approved the sale of Inditex's Russian operations to an UAE-based buyer by April 2023.
LPP sold its Russian businesses in June 2022, to a Chinese group and the former CEO of Russian firm Re Trading. The stores were sold for $135.5m plus 1.2billion zlotys (about $311m) for inventory. LPP reported a loss of 600 million zlotys on the sale on March 18th.
McDonald's closed its Russian business in 2022 and took a $1.28 billion charge. TOBACCO
British American Tobacco announced in September 2023 that it would sell the Russian and Belarusian operations to a consortium headed by its Russian management. The amount of this sale was not disclosed.
Imperial Brands sold its Russian business in April 2022 to Russian investors.
EMBRACER
In March, the Swedish gaming company announced that it had ceased its operations in Russia. It did this by selling selected assets of its Saber Interactive subsidiary to a third party for $247 millions.
POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL
The precious metals company announced in March that it had sold its Russian operations to a Siberian miner for $3.69 billion, which included the net debt of $2.21 billion.
In October 2023, the telecom operator announced that it had completed its exit from Russia by selling Vimpelcom in Russia to the senior management of the local team.
XEROX HOLDINGS
In October 2023, Xerox Holdings, a printer maker, announced that it had sold the Russian operations of its company to local management at an undisclosed price.
YANDEX NV
Yandex is a Dutch company that runs an internet search engine. In July, a Russian investor consortium bought the majority of its business in a deal valued at around $5 billion. ($1 = 0.9025 euros) ($1 = 84.9000 roubles) ($1 = 3.8568 zlotys)
(source: Reuters)