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Air Canada flight attendants have approved a strike order
Air Canada flight attendants voted 99.7% for strike action, their union announced on Tuesday. This could mean that they can walk off the job this month. In a statement, the Canadian Union of Public Employees announced that it may give a 72 hour strike notice as soon as 16 August after negotiations with the airline reached an impasse in July. Strike votes are a precursor to legal job actions, but they do not mean that flight attendants must go on strike. The union represents more than 10,000 flight attendants working for Air Canada, including its leisure service Air Canada Rouge. Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment immediately. Wesley Lesosky said in a press release that "Flight attendants had a chance weigh in and tell company it's now time to negotiate seriously." Flight attendants from Canada and the United States want higher pay and compensation for their entire time on the job. They are challenging contracts which only pay for the time spent in the air, but not for the time they spend arriving before boarding. Flight attendants with United Airlines rejected an agreement tentative for a new contract in late July, arguing that it didn't go far enough.
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The US tariffs on India are a response to the Russian oil purchases.
The differential between Brent and Urals oil remained stable on Tuesday. Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would raise the tariffs on Indian imports in response to the country's purchase of Russian oil. Trump's threats to India regarding its purchases of Russian crude oil began on July 31 when he announced 25% tariffs for Indian goods along with an unknown penalty. Trump announced on Tuesday that he will increase the tariffs on Indian imports by "substantially" in the next 24 hour, due to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. India is the biggest importer of Urals oil. In the meantime, Urals oil supply to India has remained mostly constant in recent days. A source in the Indian government said that India's purchases from Russia have helped stabilize global oil prices, by relieving pressure on other regions. Trump had said that if Moscow did not agree to a truce in Ukraine before the deadline of the end this week, it would be penalized for India's Russian oil imports. PLATTS WINDOW On Tuesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. According to LSEG data and other market sources, Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports dropped 5% from June to 3.26 million metric tonnes in July due to a lower production during refinery maintenance as well as strong domestic demand. Richard Chang (Reporting and Editing)
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Two Chinese nationals from California are accused of illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China
The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that two Chinese nationals had been arrested in California. They were charged with illegally shipping AI chips worth tens and millions of dollars to China, which included Nvidia's H100s. A criminal complaint alleges that Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang of El Monte, both 28 years old, export advanced Nvidia technology and chips to China between October 2022 and July 2025, without obtaining licenses required by the U.S. Commerce Department. The complaint states that Geng and Yang’s El Monte-based ALX Solutions Inc. was founded in 2022. This was shortly after the U.S. began imposing sweeping export restrictions on technology to China and started requiring licenses for the chip. Nvidia's spokesperson declined to comment. More than 20 shipments were sent by ALX Solutions to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore, Malaysia and other countries that are used to transship illegal goods into China. ALX received $1 million from a China based company in Jan 2024, and other payments in Hong Kong and China from companies and not freight forwarding companies. Nvidia H100s chips are high-performance chips that can be utilized to train large language models, as well as for other applications such developing self-driving vehicles and medical diagnosis systems. According to records, ALX Solutions purchased over 200 Nvidia® H100 chips between August 2023 and July 2024 from Super Micro Computer in San Jose, Calif., claiming that their end users were located in Singapore and Japan. Super Micro didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. The pair is accused of shipping illegally Nvidia graphics cards, known as the PNY GE Force 4090. These also require an export license to China. According to the Justice Department, Geng and Yang were in U.S. District Court at Los Angeles on Monday evening. Geng, who is a permanent resident of the United States, was released after posting a $250,000 bond. Yang, a visa overstayer, will have a hearing for detention on August 12. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell; Karen Freifeld)
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US drone regulations could affect Starbucks and Amazon deliveries
The U.S. Transportation Department has proposed new rules that will speed up the deployment of drones outside of operators' visual line of vision. This is a crucial change to help advance commercial uses such as package delivery. At a Tuesday press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated: "We will unleash American drone dominance." Under the current rules, operators must get waivers or exemptions from using drones that do not have a visual line of site. The Department said that eliminating these requirements would "significantly expand the use of drone technologies" in areas such as manufacturing, farming and energy production. The proposal contains new requirements for drone manufacturers, operators and traffic-management services in order to separate drones from airplanes and other drones. Duffy explained that drones could be used to deliver Amazon packages, or even Starbucks cups of coffee. The industry needs this rule so that they can make use of this technology, which will allow them to run their business more efficiently. Amazon began testing drone deliveries at two locations in Texas, Arizona and California earlier this year. Amazon aims to deliver 500 million packages per year by drone by 2030. According to the proposal, the Federal Aviation Administration has approved pre-designated sites where operations could take place at or below 400 feet. Operators will identify the boundaries, approximate landing areas, takeoff zones and daily flight routes. They'll also ensure that procedures are followed if drone communications fail. Drones should yield to any manned aircraft that broadcasts their position, and they shouldn't interfere with airport operations. Transportation Security Administration will require flight coordinators, among others, to get a security threat assessment and fingerprint-based criminal records check. Many state officials and lawmakers have expressed concern about the use of drones to target high-profile U.S. sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup. Michael Robbins, CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, praised the proposal for being "a crucial step towards enabling drone operations which will enhance safety, transform services and strengthen public security with drones." (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Emelia Sithole Matarise, and David Shepardson)
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Tesla and Elon Musk sued over Robotaxi claims
Elon Musk, Tesla and other companies were accused of securities fraud by investors who claimed that they had concealed the risk associated with the self-driving cars, such as the Robotaxi. The class action lawsuit was filed Monday night following Tesla's public demonstration of its robotaxis at the end of June in Austin, Texas. The test revealed vehicles that were speeding, breaking suddenly, driving on a curb or entering the wrong lane and dropping passengers in the middle multilane roads. Tesla's stock price dropped 6.1% in two days of trading after the test, wiping $68 billion from its market value. Musk and Tesla's electric vehicle maker have been accused of overstating their autonomous driving technology and its prospects, and inflating Tesla’s financial prospects. The shareholders cited Musk's assurances on a conference call on April 22 that Tesla "was laser-focused on bringing Robotaxi to Austin in the summer" and Tesla's claim on that day that it would be "scalable and safe across diverse geographies, use cases and technologies." Tesla did not respond to comments on Tuesday. Viabhav Tania and Zachary Kirkhorn, the former Chief Financial Officer of Tesla, are also named as defendants. Expanding Robotaxis is You can also find out more about the importance of this by clicking here. Tesla is facing a declining demand for its older electric vehicles, as well as a backlash against Musk's political views. Musk, the richest man in the world, wants to provide the service to the half of the U.S. by the end of the year, but he must convince regulators that his technology is safe and assure the public. Denise Morand is the lead plaintiff in Monday's federal court lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholders. The suit seeks damages between April 19, 2020 and June 22, 2025. A Florida jury found Tesla 33 percent responsible for a crash in 2019 involving its self driving software. The crash killed a woman aged 22 and injured her boyfriend. It ordered Tesla to pay $243 million to the victims. Tesla has blamed the driver for the crash and intends to appeal. This case is Morand v Tesla Inc et al., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. 25-01213. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, New York; editing by Giles Elgood
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Telecom Italia announces a 5% increase in core earnings for H1
Telecom Italia reported a 5% rise in its core earnings on Tuesday as the fast-growing Brazilian operations offset sluggish Italian growth. Piergiorgio Peluso was named CFO by the company to replace Adrian Calaza. This confirms an earlier report. Peluso was previously the CFO at TIM for seven years, until 2019. He is currently CFO of Autostrade per l'Italia. The appointment takes effect on November 6. TIM announced that Eugenio Sangata, its Chief Public Relations and Security Officer, had resigned with immediate effect. An earlier report stated that Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri was poised to name Santagata as the head of its defence division. Why it's important Poste Italiane, a financial conglomerate, replaced France's Vivendi, as the largest shareholder in TIM. It now holds a 24.8% share. TIM, having sold its landline network in a bid to reduce debt last year, is expected play a key role in the consolidation of Italy's Telecoms sector. The sector has been under intense pressure due to stiff competition for years. By the Numbers The largest Italian telecoms company reported that its EBITDA (earnings before interest and taxes) rose to 2.0 billion euros in the first six months of the year. Around 0.8 billion euro came from its Brazilian operations, an increase of 6.1% over the previous year. The domestic EBITDA, after leasing, was 1 billion euros in 2013, up 4.2% on the previous year. The total revenue for the semester was 6.6 billion Euros. As of June 30, TIM's total net debt, including leases, was 7.5 billion euro. TIM has confirmed its annual financial targets, which it announced in February. These included a return to cash-generation and a 7% increase in the group's core profits. $1 = 0.8655 euro (Reporting and editing by Matt Scuffham, Elvira pollina)
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US wants to rename UN Aviation Program over 'gender.'
As the Trump administration focuses on diversity policies in advance of a gathering of high-level aerospace regulators this fall, it wants to rename a UN Aviation Agency's "gender program" that encourages women's participation in aviation and defund it. In a paper published ahead of the U.N. agency’s triennial meeting, which begins on September 23, the U.S. suggested that the International Civil Aviation Organization's Gender Equality Programme be renamed the Empowerment Program for Women. "In order to remove ideological term 'gender ,'",," the U.S. stated. The agency also requested confirmation from the secretariat that "no regular contributions budget" will be used to fund the program with the current name. The Gender Equality Programme of ICAO aims to promote equality in a sector where, for example the vast majority pilots and aeronautical mechanics are men. The paper of July 30 states that "the United States acknowledges future personnel shortages, including future needs for highly-trained professionals" in the aviation industry. "However we do not support any programs that give preference based on gender or other characteristics, other than individual merit." In addition to the aviation industry, the Republican president's administration has now made it a priority to eliminate any policy that supports diversity. The newspaper comes at a time when Trump has nominated former Delta Air Lines pilot Jeffrey Anderson as the U.S. Ambassador to the Montreal-based organization, a move that is opposed by a large airline pilots union. Trump released an executive memo earlier this year directing his administration assess and undo diversification initiatives in aviation safety roles. The Federal Aviation Administration reinstated "Notice to Airmen", reversing a decision made by the former president Joe Biden, who renamed NOTAM to include "all aviators". The paper reported that the Trump administration wants to rename ICAO "to focus on the perspectives and needs of women." The Federal Aviation Administration sent requests for comments to the U.S. Department of State which did not respond immediately. ICAO refused to comment. The agency was formed in 1944 after the United States invited over 50 allies to create a common air navigational system. (Allison Lampert, Montreal; David Shepardson, Washington; David Holmes' editing)
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Frontier Group reports bigger than expected Q3 loss due to soft domestic demand
Frontier Group, the parent company of discount airline Frontier Airlines, announced a larger-than-expected third-quarter loss on Tuesday due to a softening domestic travel market. This caused its shares in early trading to drop 9%. In April, several major U.S. airlines, including Frontier Airlines, revised their financial projections, citing the uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs and cuts to government spending, which prompted consumers to reduce travel plans. Budget-conscious travelers are still cautious despite the fact that airline executives and analysts claim there is a stabilization in demand. This year's summer season, which is traditionally the most profitable for the industry, has been underwhelming. The low demand for economy seats forced airlines to cut fares. LSEG data shows that the carrier's third-quarter adjusted loss will be between 26 and 42 cents per share, compared to analysts' estimates of 11 cents. The executives are betting on the fact that the capacity reductions this year will improve airfare and pricing power. Frontier expects that its third quarter capacity will fall between 3% and 5% compared to the same period last year. Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Markets, said that the balance between domestic supply and demand is expected to improve over the next few months. It reported a loss of 31 cents for each share during the quarter ending in June. This compares to a profit of 14 cents per shares a year ago. Analysts predicted a loss between 27 and 30 cents. The total revenue dropped 4.5%, to $929.12 million. This was lower than the $946.12 millions expected by Wall Street. Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary from Bengaluru, and Doyinsola Oladipo from New York. Editing by Shilpa Majumdar.
The US high-grade firms are financing new M&As with less debt and more equity, but also cash.
Bankers and investors say that top-rated U.S. firms have mostly financed their acquisitions with cash and equity instead of debt in the past year. This trend could continue, even as M&A activities and expectations of interest rate reductions rise.
They said that high debt costs, and the fear of credit rating downgrades due to taking on debt, made funding acquisitions through cash and stocks with high valuations more appealing. Analysts expect that Union Pacific will finance its $85 billion deal with Norfolk Southern primarily through stock and some cash. The deal is expected to be financed by debt of $15 to $20 billion.
This deal could be the biggest buyout ever in the sector.
According to Piers Ronald, co-head, debt capital markets, at Atlanta's Truist Securities, such cash-and stock deals are becoming more popular because the gap between equity and debt costs has narrowed.
According to LSEG, stock funding accounted for $250 billion or 11% of the total M&A funding in this year. Meanwhile, 15.3% of the deal volume was financed by a combination of cash and stocks.
The data revealed that in 2024, stock funding will account for $441 billion or 14% of M&A financing, while cash and stock will make up 7%.
Ronan pointed out that equity was more attractive than debt at the moment, due to its high earnings yield.
Natalie Trevithick is the head of investment grade strategies at Los Angeles asset manager Payden & Rygel. She said that many corporations have generated healthy free cash flows and posted strong earnings. This has led to an increase in equity funding of M&A deals and a decrease in debt financing.
Companies with investment-grade ratings are also wary about adding debt in order to avoid a downgrade, which would increase their financing costs.
Moody's S&P and Fitch have warned that their ratings for Union Pacific may be downgraded in the event of a company's increased leverage due to its planned acquisition of Norfolk Southern.
Mike Sanders, the head of fixed income for Madison Investments, a Madison-based asset management firm, said that a ratings downgrade would have a significant impact on the secondary market. Sanders cited the poor performance of Warner Bros Discovery bonds after its announcement to split into two publicly-traded entities and downgraded to junk status in July.
Bankers say that if M&A-intent firms rely less on debt, the end-of-year volume of investment-grade issuance could fall below $1.5 trillion in 2024.
According to the ICE BofA U.S. Corporate Index, the average spread for investment-grade bonds is 82 basis points. This is just a few basis points below the 77-bps mark it reached in 1998.
Kyle Stegemeyer of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank's investment-grade capital markets and syndicate expects M&A related bond supply to reach $225 billion by 2025.
Stegemeyer stated that as the year progresses, it is less likely we will be able to finance large-scale transformational M&As this year in order to drive numbers higher. (Reporting and editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan & Rod Nickel; Matt Tracy)
(source: Reuters)