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Prices of oil fall due to demand concerns but are headed for a weekly gain
The oil price fell on Friday, but is expected to rise for the week. This is due to the expectation of lower demand from the U.S.A., which is the largest oil consumer in the world, and the uncertainty surrounding the Russian supply. Brent crude futures expiring on Friday fell by 50 cents (0.7%) to $68.12 while the contract that is more active for November dropped 46 cents (0.7%) to $67.52. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were down 45 cents or 0.7% at $64.15. Both benchmarks rose on Thursday. Brent is expected to gain 0.6% this week, while WTI will rise by 0.8%. Prices rose earlier this week following the Ukrainian attack on Russian oil export facilities, but dropped dramatically as the market anticipated the end to the summer driving demand in the U.S. with Labor Day on Monday. Also, as major producers began to increase their output after the voluntary production cuts ended. Hiroyuki Kikakawa, the chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment (a division of Nissan Securities), said that concerns about the U.S. driving season ending after Labour Day holiday had weighed on the markets. Investors are still hesitant to make large investments because of the uncertainty over U.S. and European sanctions on Russia after its attack on Ukraine and about possible U.S. Tariffs on India. Sources said that following the Ukrainian attack on Russia's Ust-Luga Terminal, its main export location on the Baltic Sea of its Urals crude oil, operations will be reduced by half in September, to approximately 350,000 barrels per daily, The U.S. is worried that the U.S. could respond to the Russian attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital early Thursday morning which killed 23 people. Investors will also be watching India's response after Trump increased tariffs by up to 50% on Indian imports, following his Wednesday announcement that he would no longer buy Russian oil. Traders said that despite the pressure from the United States, Russian oil exports will continue to increase to India in September. Refining sources say that Saudi Arabia, which is the world's largest oil exporter, could cut crude oil prices in October for Asian buyers due to a glut of oil and weak demand. The Druzhba Pipeline, which supplies Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba Oil Terminal, has been restored after an interruption caused by an attack on Russia by Ukraine last week. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger; Yuka Obayashi)
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Virgin Australia announces 28% increase in annual profit
Virgin Australia announced a nearly 28% increase in its underlying profit for the full year on Friday. This was its first result after relisting. The strong performance of its airline and loyalty programs segments drove this. Virgin, Australia's second largest airline in terms of market share, after Qantas Airways was delisted from the stock exchanges in 2020, after Bain Capital, a private equity firm, rescued Virgin from administration. The company Return to the Homepage The Australian Securities Exchange valued the company at A$2.32 Billion on a fully diluted base in June of this year, after it had an IPO. The company's Airlines division saw its earnings grow by more than 36% for the year ending June 30. This was due to an increase in seats filled with a better passenger mix. Velocity, the company's loyalty program, saw its earnings rise 10.5% on the back of a growing number of active members. According to the airline, its pro forma underlying profit after taxes for the year was A$331 (215.08 millions) in line with its forecast provided at the time it filed its IPO.
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Brazil updates sector trade agreements with Mexico
Geraldo Alckmin, the Brazilian Vice-President, said that Brazil and Mexico will sign complementary trade agreements in August next year. This was after a Thursday meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Alckmin, speaking at a Mexico City press conference, said that the authorities had signed preliminary agreements on agriculture, health, and biofuels. Brazil wants to export more beef to Mexico. Mexico recently surpassed the U.S.A. as the second most popular destination for Brazilian meat. Brazil is looking to ship more beef to Mexico, which recently overtook the U.S. as the No. Alckmin stated that Mexico demands "traceability" for livestock and Brazil is working to meet this requirement. Alckmin stated, "We want the sale of Brazilian goods to continue while Brazil makes its transition towards traceability. This is something we both agreed upon." Alckmin called the meeting "very good", and added that the two also discussed biofuels, and possible battery production. Alckmin stated that Sheinbaum was interested in the Brazilian biofuel mandate which requires more biofuels to be mixed with fossil fuels. He said that Mexico and Brazil can work together in order to produce electric vehicle batteries. Brazilian motor manufacturer WEG operates in Mexico. He refused to name the Brazilian companies that could be part of an agreement for Mexico to produce ethanol, but said Brazil was interested in providing technology to make it happen. Alckmin stated that the sectorial agreements would refresh deals signed two decades ago. He added that Brazil could not negotiate a free-trade agreement with Mexico outside of the Mercosur bloc. (Reporting and editing by Kylie Madry Ana Isabel Martinez, Nia Williams, Alistair Bell, and Nia William;
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US FAA to close satellite offices Washington
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to cancel the leases of its satellite offices located in the Washington, D.C. area. It will consolidate operations and move headquarters staff into the building housing the U.S. Transportation Department. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated in an email previously unseen by staff that this move would improve the collaboration. Bedford wrote, "We'll work more efficiently together than if we were spread out over six different offices." This will reduce operating costs significantly and improve collaboration. Bedford announced that the dates of the office moves will be finalized soon. USDOT announced on Tuesday that it would relocate thousands of FAA workers from its headquarters in Washington to the main office of the department. It also plans to consolidate other agency systems and IT. USDOT is a group of agencies that includes the FAA. The Department plans to relocate several thousand employees who work in the Orville and Wilbur Wright Headquarters buildings to its department headquarters located southeast Washington. The question remains as to how many FAA departments -- possibly purchasing, IT and human resources -- will be merged into USDOT, and whether the consolidation will lead to workforce reductions. Nearly 53,000 employees work for USDOT. The FAA is the largest department. This week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed employees that the department would begin retiring legacy systems in order to embrace advanced technologies and "streamline processes, consolidate administration functions, and modernize infrastructure" as part of its efforts to "modernize our infrastructure, streamline our processes, and consolidate our administrative functions." Duffy stated that the FAA building was in a serious state of disrepair. Employees were unable to drink the water. Duffy told reporters that it was important to have all the employees working together under one roof. He suggested that some FAA employees may not want to move and "become an entity unto themselves, not responsive to anyone in government." The Trump administration is consolidating office space and reducing the federal workforce. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
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Trump officials confirm that the end of US low-value packages tariff exemption is permanent.
Officials from the Trump administration said that on Friday, the U.S. tariff-free package shipment exemption will end permanently. However, there is a six month transition period during which shippers of postal services can choose to pay a flat rate of $80 - $200 per package, depending on their country of origin. After 12:01 am EDT (0401 GMT), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency will begin collecting normal duties on all parcel imports from around the world, regardless of their value. This move expands on the cancellation by the Trump administration of the de minimis exception for shipments coming from China and Hong Kong. Peter Navarro, White House trade advisor, told reporters that President Trump's closing of the deadly de minimis loophole would save thousands of American life by limiting the flow of narcotics. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler; Andrea Shalal and David Lawder)
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BNSF faces a lawsuit from the US EEOC alleging hostile treatment of women at Nebraska railroad yard
On Thursday, a federal appeals court revived an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway accusing them of allowing a severe, pervasive and hostile work environment towards women in a western Nebraska railroad yard. The 8th U.S. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Omaha, said a judge dismissed wrongly claims that BNSF sexually harassed Rena Merker, a train conductor, and other female employees at the Alliance Railyard from 2011 until 2022. The allegations include sexual advances, derogatory remarks about women's body, sexually explicit graffiti on locomotives and at the railyard, the soiling of bathrooms for unisex, and the placement of a dead bird on the toilet of a female train conductor. The EEOC accused BNSF of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sex. BNSF belongs to Warren Buffett and his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. Railroads and lawyers in Fort Worth, Texas did not respond immediately to comments. Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith, writing for a panel of three judges, said that the EEOC claims were plausible and the trial judge shouldn't have required the agency show that the same harassment was experienced by female workers at the same time. The appeals court rejected the judge’s conclusion that the sexist remarks were "sporadic", and the graffiti was excused because of its "social context", which is a railyard where there are mainly male workers, not a professional office. Smith wrote that "viewing the evidence most favorably for the EEOC," "we conclude that a jury could reasonably find that Merker had been subjected to harassment which was objectively severe, pervasive and widespread." The EEOC has not responded to comments immediately. Merker died on January 20, 2024, but the case continues. The appeals court sent it back to U.S. district judge Brian Buescher of Omaha. Berkshire wasn't a defendant and Buffett’s Omaha-based conglomerate is minimally involved in the day-today operations of its businesses. The case is EEOC v BNSF Railroad Co, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 24-2082.
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FAA: Arriving flights at Newark Airport were halted by a telecom issue
The Federal Aviation Administration halted arriving flights for over an hour at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday due to a telecom frequency issue. This is the latest technical problem to cause delays at the airport in New York City. Flightradar24 is a flight-tracking site that reports flights to Newark, the hub of United Airlines, are currently suspended. Flights already in the air are held, but the departures are unaffected. The FAA reported that delays are increasing as flights resume following a 75-minute pause. In April and May, there were two major communications failures for the air traffic controllers in Newark. This caused hundreds of flights to be disrupted. The FAA cut flights at Newark in May after a series major disruptions. Has proposed to extend these through Late October Last year, the FAA moved control of Newark's airspace from Newark to Philadelphia in order to deal with staffing issues and congestion in New York City. The FAA has since upgraded its communications technology in order to prevent similar incidents, but is still working on adding air traffic controllers. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft; David Shepardson)
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India extends IndiGo's leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines
India has allowed IndiGo, India's biggest airline, to continue leasing from Turkish Airlines two planes for another six-month period. This is a change from a May decision when New Delhi had told IndiGo that the agreement must be terminated by August 31, 2015. A source with knowledge of the situation said that the new extension will expire on February 28. IndiGo said that the extension would help it cut costs caused by geopolitical constraints. The airline was referring to a ban on airspace imposed earlier this year by Pakistan against Indian airlines, which led to longer routes as well as higher costs. IndiGo said that the extension would be subject to the conditions set by India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which was not available outside of regular business hours. IndiGo confirmed that it had requested an extension. IndiGo's spokesperson stated in a press release that "this extension will provide much-needed stability and continuity in operations." IndiGo's partnership Turkish Airlines with Turkish Airlines has been criticised in India since Turkey supported Pakistan in the recent conflict between two South Asian neighbours. In May, it was reported that rival Air India had also been irritated by the tie-up and lobbied for the Indian government's halting of the partnership. In May, the DGCA announced that it had rejected IndiGo's request to extend its contract by six months and only approved three. IndiGo's new extension comes after the airline reported a slower revenue growth in its first quarter, due to border tensions with Pakistan and an Air India crash that killed a pilot. Turkish Airlines has leased two Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft to IndiGo since 2023. The aircraft are equipped with crew and pilots. IndiGo can now carry more passengers on its narrow-body aircraft than it did before, as the aircraft are currently operating on Delhi-Istanbul or Mumbai-Istanbul routes. Reporting by Abhijith Ganahapavaram Editing Mark Potter
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)