Transport Infrastructure

The Financial Times reported that U.S. railroad customers groups had demanded that regulators block the merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern or impose onerous conditions. The report stated that seven associations of shippers expressed concerns about the proposed deal, stating it would increase the power of a merged railroad in raising prices or reducing service standards. Union Pacific reported that it spoke with over 100 customers regarding "low-cost rail options", adding that they would include all the details in their Surface Transportation Board application. Union Pacific announced last month that it would purchase smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85...

The Financial Times reported that U.S. railroad customers groups had demanded that regulators block the merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern or impose onerous conditions. The report stated that seven associations of shippers expressed concerns about the proposed deal, stating it would increase the power of merged railroads to raise prices and reduce service standards. Union Pacific announced last month that it would purchase smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85 billion. This will create the U.S.'s first coast-to-coast rail freight operator, and transform the movement of goods across the nation from grains to automobiles. According to the companies, it...

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that it had written down its Kraft Heinz stake by $3.76 billion during the second quarter. This is an admission that the investment, which dates back a decade, has not worked out. Berkshire reported a 4 percent decline in operating profit for the quarter as premiums on insurance underwriting fell. Overall net income dropped by 59% due to the write-downs and lower gains on common stocks. Buffett's company signaled that it is still cautious about the market valuations amid uncertainty over tariffs and economic growth. For the 11th consecutive quarter, it reported a...

Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, wrote down $3.76 billion on its Kraft Heinz stake on Saturday, an admission that the investment, which dates back a decade, hasn't paid off. The company also reported a lower operating profit for the quarter as insurance premiums fell. Berkshire reported a 59% drop in its quarterly net income due to the writedown and lower investment gains on its common stock. Operating income for the second quarter fell by 4% to $11.16 billion or $7,760 each Class A share from $11.6 billion in the year prior. Net income dropped to $12.37 from $30.35. Cash...

After the mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter on January 29, which killed 67 people, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it plans to change helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Nick Fuller, FAA official, said during a National Transportation Safety Board investigation hearing that a work group of the agency is planning to make changes on a major helicopter route near Reagan. This comes after the agency imposed permanent restrictions in March on non-essential operations and further restricted their operating areas in June. NTSB officials expressed concern about the "disconnect"...

A Florida jury found Tesla responsible for the fatal 2019 crash of a Model S equipped with Autopilot and ordered Elon Musk’s automaker, to pay $329 Million to the family and survivor of the deceased woman. The jury in Miami ordered Tesla to pay Naibel Benavides León and her ex-boyfriend Dillon Angulo $129 million as compensatory damages, and $200 million as punitive damages. The lawyers for the plaintiffs claimed that this was the first trial involving wrongful death resulting from Autopilot. Plaintiffs sought $345million. Tesla has been involved in many lawsuits involving its self-driving vehicles, but most have been settled...

A Florida jury found Tesla responsible for the fatal 2019 crash of a Model S equipped with Autopilot. Elon Musk ordered his automaker to pay the $329 million in damages to the families of the deceased woman and the injured survivor. The settlement includes $129 Million in compensatory damages as well as $200 Million in punitive damages. Tesla was sued in court by Naibel Benavides León's estate and her ex-boyfriend Dillon Angulo. The lawsuit relates to an incident that occurred on April 25, 2019, when George McGee drove a 2019 Model S, at 62 mph (10 kph), through an intersection...

Chevron's CEO stated on Friday that the company expects to resume its Venezuelan crude exports to the United States this month. This follows a limited license issued by the Treasury Department this week to operate within the sanctioned nation and to do oil swaps. In a conference call to announce the company's quarter-end results, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said that exports would begin with "a limited amount" and that he did not expect that flows will have a significant impact on the third-quarter results. Chevron has suspended its exports of Venezuelan crude oil since April when the state-owned PDVSA cancelled...

The U.S. Government announced on Friday that it had cancelled the environmental review for a long-delayed high-speed rail proposal between Washington and Baltimore and scrapped 26 million dollars in grants. This effectively ended the project. The U.S. Transportation Department announced that it would rescind funds for the proposed $20 billion Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation project, or MAGLEV, "after nearly a decade's worth of poor planning, community opposition and cost overruns." The proposal was to operate trains at speeds of up to 311mph (500kph) using magnetic forces, either underground or on elevated viaducts. The sponsor of the project did not respond...

Bloomberg News reported Thursday that railroad operator CSX was working with Goldman Sachs in order to explore possible strategic options after a merger of its two main rivals. The report was based on people who were familiar with the situation. Union Pacific announced on Tuesday that it will buy the smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85 billion. This deal will create the United States' first coast-to-coast rail freight operator, and transform the movement of goods across the nation from grains to automobiles. reported Last week, CSX announced that it was in discussions to hire financial advisors. CSX CEO Joe Hirichs...

Chuck Schumer, Senate Democratic Leader on Thursday, criticized Union Pacific’s plan to buy Norfolk Southern for $85 billion. This would create the United States’ first coast-to-coast rail freight operator. Schumer claimed that the deal would "push us even further down a dangerous road of consolidation and monopoly... This is an aggressive takeover of America’s infrastructure." He added that "decades of railroad consolidations have resulted in worse service, safety, and working conditions for shippers, which has led to higher costs for them - ultimately leading to higher prices for the consumers." When asked about Schumer’s remarks, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern...

Coordinadora Campesina por la Vida, which represents farmers in Panama, said that communities affected by a $1.6billion project to build a new massive water reservoir by the Panama Canal on Thursday filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court to declare the project as unconstitutional. The canal, an important global freight route, said that the project to build the reservoir in Rio Indio was essential to expand operations and manage water resources after recent droughts in 2023-2024 forced them to limit transits. Santander Tristan said, "We want to make it clear that the Canal did not do things correctly, and that...

The manager of the vessel in Greece that sank earlier this month after it was attacked by Houthi militants near Yemen expressed his relief after watching a video which showed 11 crew members still alive. The Houthis, allied with Iran, released the six-minute video on Monday. They claimed to have rescued seafarers aboard the Eternity C cargo vessel flying the Liberian flag. The Athens based ship management company issued a statement saying that efforts are being made to ensure "safe and rapid return of the sailors to their families". The company said that it was "deeply relieved" to see the...

Houthis, who are Iran-aligned and live in Yemen, said on Monday that they had rescued ten seafarers off the Greek cargo ship EternityC which they had attacked and sunk earlier this month in the Red Sea. Eternity C, flying the Liberian flag, was the second vessel to sink in Yemen this month following repeated attacks from Houthi militants using sea drones and rocket propelled grenades. The Magic Seas was another Greek-operated ship that had been lost days before. The Houthis have been resuming their attacks on ships, having hit over 100 vessels between November 2023 to December 2024 as a...

The Investigative Committee of Russia announced on Friday that 135 Russians were sentenced to long prison terms in connection with an anti-Israel mass protest held in October 2023 in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan Region. In the North Caucasus, hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators stormed the airport of Makhachkala where a plane just arrived from Tel Aviv. The unrest was caused by Israel's conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Investigators have said that they have collected evidence against 142 individuals and finished investigations into the involvement of 139. Investigators have put the three others on Russia's most wanted list. They are...

A senior executive at DP World, a Dubai-owned port and logistics company, said that the shipping time between Romania and Turkey had been cut in half. The company is expanding its Black Sea operations along the eastern border of the European Union. DP World has more than doubled the capacity of its container shipping at Romania's biggest Black Sea port, Constanta, last year. This was achieved by adding a Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) Terminal and a logistic hub in western Romania. This year, a new integrated European logistic service was launched in Romania, offering services by road, rail, sea and air, initially...

SANA, the Syrian state news agency, reported that Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports signed a $800-million agreement on Sunday with UAE's DP World in order to improve port infrastructure and logistical support for Syria. The agreement is a follow-up to a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties in May. The agreement with DP World (a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates' investment company Dubai World) focuses on the development of a multipurpose terminal in Tartous, on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, and on cooperation for setting up industrial zones and free trade areas. At the signing ceremony, Syrian...

Israel's military announced early Monday that it had attacked Houthi targets at three Yemeni ports, as well as a power station. This was the first Israeli strike on Yemen for almost a whole month. The military said that the strikes on Hodeidah and other ports such as Ras Isa, Salif, and Ras Qantib were a result of repeated Houthi attacks against Israel. Israel also destroyed the Galaxy Leader in Ras Isa, a ship that was captured by Houthis at the end of 2023. The military reported that "the Houthi terrorists regime's forces have installed a Radar system on the vessel...

The mining giant BHP Group announced on Wednesday that it had signed contracts with China’s COSCO Shipping to charter two Newcastlemax bulkers powered by ammonia and dual fuel. Two vessels will be delivered in 2028, and chartered for five years. The vessels will be primarily used to transport ore from Western Australia into Northeast Asia. These vessels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent and up to 95 per cent on a per-voyage basis compared to a conventionally-fuelled voyage, if they run on lower or low-to-zero GHG emissions ammonia, according to BHP. As part of its...

Air taxis could soon be available for Dubai commuters to avoid traffic. Joby Aviation has conducted its first test flight in the emirate of its fully electric air taxi this week. This is a significant milestone in the efforts by the city to integrate airborne transportation into existing mobility networks, as early as next. Joby is hoping that its air-taxis can ease the pressure on Dubai's existing ground transportation system and provide travelers with a faster alternative, as Dubai continues to experience increasing congestion. Anthony Khoury said, "We want people to commute differently." The company estimates that a journey from...

The major Gulf stock markets traded mixed on Monday morning, with the Saudi index falling on profit-taking while the Dubai exchange reached its highest level for seventeen years. Dubai's main stock index rose 0.7% to its highest level since May 2008. Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties also gained 0.8%. National Central Cooling Co. (Tabreed), meanwhile, grew by 2.1%. Tabreed, a private equity firm, and CVC DIF's infrastructure strategy division, CVC DIF plan to buy Multiply Group, based in Abu Dhabi,'s district cooling company. CVC DIF has entered into a partnership with Tabreed to purchase PAL Cooling Holding for a value of...

The Gulf stock markets rose early on Thursday. They extended gains from previous sessions, amid rising oil costs and a perceived ceasefire between Israel & Iran. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, praised the rapid end of the air war between Iran & Israel. He said Washington will likely ask Tehran to commit to ending its nuclear ambitions during next week's talks with Iranian officials. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.2% in a fourth consecutive session. Most sectors were also up. Saudi Aramco, the oil major, added 0.3%. Red Sea International rose 3%. Red Sea, a modular house manufacturer in Saudi...

Iranian TV reported on Sunday that the top security authority in Iran must decide whether or not to close the Strait of Hormuz. The measure was reportedly approved by parliament as a response to U.S. attacks on Tehran's nuclear facilities. Iran has threatened to close the Strait in the past, but never taken action. This would have restricted trade and affected global oil prices. Here are some details on the Strait. What is the STRAIT of HORMUZ? The Strait is located between Oman, Iran and the Gulf of Oman. It connects the Gulf of Oman in the north with the...

Maersk, a container shipping company, announced on Friday that it has temporarily suspended vessel calls to Israel's Haifa Port due to the country's escalated conflict with Iran. The Danish company stated that it has not encountered any other disruptions in its planned operations in the area. Haifa Port, which will be privatized by India's Adani Ports in 2022, has 70% of its ownership held by Adani Ports, while 30% belongs to Israel's Gadot Group. Adani Ports, the port-operating arm of Adani Group led by billionaire Gautam Adani, is part of Adani Group. The company has four ports, including Haifa Port....