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Ambipar bankruptcy filing in Brazil cites 'irregularities'
Ambipar, a Brazilian waste management firm, filed for bankruptcy late Monday night, citing signs that a former executive was engaging in irregular activities. This move added to the concerns on corporate debt markets. According to a regulatory filing made public on Tuesday, Ambipar filed its bankruptcy in Rio de Janeiro and its U.S. listed subsidiary Ambipar Emergency Response, filed for Chapter 11 in Texas. Ambipar stated that it filed the documents after "discovering evidence of irregularities of the Finance Department in contracting swap operations and the sudden resignation of the previous Chief Financial Officer." Joao De Arruda, former CFO of Ambipar, resigned from the position last month after just over a full year. Ambipar stated that during his tenure, swap contracts were "transferred from Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, then amended with a new rule which introduced a speculative component." The attorney for Arruda did not respond immediately to a comment request. Ambipar's bankruptcy adds to corporate debt problems Market rumble In recent weeks, the bankruptcy of auto parts retailer First Brands Subprime lenders Tricolor Investor sentiment is fragile, even though several analysts have characterized the cases as idiosyncratic or resulting from lapses of risk control. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said last week there were likely to be a number of changes. More "cockroaches", in the credit market In reference to auto bankruptcy, he warned that there may be more problems ahead. The central bank has maintained its benchmark interest rate at 15%, despite growing fiscal concerns. Ambipar stated that its bankruptcy protection was urgently needed after Deutsche Bank requested additional loan guarantees, prompting creditors to demand early repayment. In a Monday filing, Bank of New York Mellon (acting as trustee for bondholders) listed unsecured claims of approximately $328 million related to Ambipar's green bonds 2031 and 2033. Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon both declined to comment. The company that manages waste received an injunction to stop creditors from demanding payment sooner. As the company said, such demands could create a "financial gap of more than 10 billion reals" ($1.85billion), since one creditor requesting immediate repayment can set off a cascade effect. Due to issues with governance, Ambipar's stock, which has lost 96% of its market value this year, has been removed from the indexes at B3, the operator of Sao Paulo's stock exchange. The stock fell around 30% on Tuesday in Brazil. UBS analysts in a report published late September said that the company, which was pursuing international expansion at the time, had struggled to manage its increasing financial complexity and integrate newly acquired assets amid management turnover. UBS said that recent events had exposed the weaknesses in UBS' governance and balance sheet strength. As of 2023, according to Ambipar, 57% (or its net revenue) came from Brazil. Another 15% was from Latin America. 25% of Ambipar's revenues were from North America. Reporting by Luciana Magialhaes, in Sao Paulo; Ananya Palyekar, Manya Saini, and Tatiana Bautzer, in Bengaluru; and Hugh Lawson, Nick Zieminski, in New York.
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Police say that a mass shooting at Atlanta Airport was averted.
Police said that on Tuesday, a Georgia man was arrested at Atlanta's airport after a tip-off from his family. The tip was that the man planned to "shootup" the terminal. Billy Joe Cagle (49), of Cartersville, Georgia about 50 miles north of Atlanta, was detained shortly before 10 am on Monday after he was spotted "checking out the crowd" at a busy terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Shierbaum confirmed this. The airport is one of the busiest in the world. Cagle was stopped on his way back to the flatbed truck, where police claimed he was carrying an AR-15 assault weapon and ammunition. The truck was parked in front of the terminal. Schierbaum told a Monday press conference that "we did avoid a catastrophe". Schierbaum stated, "I believe he was heading back to his truck to get the weapon." "And it was very likely that he would use this weapon in the terminal, which is crowded." Schierbaum reported that Cagle's parents called the police on Monday morning, after he posted on Facebook that he would be heading to the airport to "shoot it up." Police said that Cagle's family had informed authorities of his mental health crisis. Cagle had already arrived at the airport, and was looking around when the police recognized him from his photo and arrested him. The suspect faces charges of making terroristic threat, criminal attempt at aggravated assault and possession of firearms during the commission or a crime. The police said that he had a prior drug conviction. Cagle was held in the Clayton County jail on Tuesday, without a bond. His first court date was set for Wednesday. There was no immediate information about whether he had an attorney.
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Starlink's rival Eutelsat suffers a first-quarter hit due to weak video sales
The French satellite operator Eutelsat announced on Tuesday that its first-quarter revenues were lower than expected, as the decline in video sales offset a strong demand for government service in Ukraine. The company's data shows that revenue from video, government and connectivity services decreased 1.2% on an annual basis, to 283 millions euros ($330) for the quarter ending in September. This was lower than the 295 million euro average forecast by analysts. Eutelsat recorded a 10.5% drop in revenue for the video business. This division provides satellite broadcasting to more than a billion people worldwide and represents around half of its total revenue. The group stated that this was due to both a decline in the market for video and the negative impact of sanctions on Russian channels. The company stated that sanctions are expected to impact the company by around 16 million Euros this year. Eutelsat operates and owns a constellation consisting of more than 600 Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEO), which provide broadband internet through its London-based subsidiary OneWeb. The European government's desire to develop satellite services at home has led them to seek out these satellites. They are currently the only LEO constellations available, aside from Elon Musk Starlink. The firm still struggles with slow sales growth due to its declining video business. The government services segment grew the fastest again this quarter. Revenues rose 18.5% compared to a year earlier, reaching 52.4 million Euros, which was in line with expectations. Eutelsat has confirmed its financial targets for the year and over the long term.
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Transnet, South Africa's infrastructure upgrader, plans to spend $7 billion
Transnet, the state-owned South African freight and logistics company, plans to invest 127 Billion Rand ($7.3 Billion) over five years into modernizing rail lines and upgrading port facilities. This was announced by its Chief executive Michelle Phillips on Tuesday. Phillips, speaking at the South Africa Tomorrow Investor Conference, said that Transnet had budgeted 25 million rands for infrastructure this year. Phillips stated that "we will go out to the market both for partners and for funding." He cited potential projects like the Richards Bay Dry-Bulk Terminal and the Pier 2 Container concession in Durban. Transnet, South Africa's key logistics player, has been challenged by an aging infrastructure that has hampered exports of commodities like coal and iron ore. Phillips announced that maintenance shutdowns were in progress, including the 10-day closure of an iron-ore line, to speed up repairs on coal, manganese and container lines. Phillips' goal was to increase reliability. Modernisation also includes port upgrades such as the installation new cranes at Durban. Transnet seeks partnerships with mining companies and exporters to boost operations. It also pursues private-sector participation programs in order to attract strategic partners who have expertise and capital. "We're currently working on a formal customer-collaboration policy that allows customers, because they've asked for it, to step in where we feel challenged," Phillips said. This included areas like funding and skills. The future plans include finalising PSPs, issuing a statement on the updated rail network for 2025/26 and granting access to approved train operating companies.
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Air T, a US airline provider, acquires Australian regional airline Rex
Air T, a U.S. aviation service provider, announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract with Regional Express Holdings' voluntary administrators to purchase the failed Australian regional airline Rex. The transaction was backed by Australia. Air T would take over Rex, the regional airline that has been struggling to compete against larger rivals Qantas or Virgin Australia. Air T stated that the deal will include a restructuring of Rex’s financial arrangements with the Australian Government and should be completed by the end the year. Air T, a company that provides air delivery for companies such as FedEx, has announced it will take Rex's operation over, providing vital air routes for local communities. Rex, a company that focused on servicing Australia's vast rural area with smaller aircraft, went into voluntary administration in the past year. It was then removed from Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in September after more than seven month of its administrators launching a sale. In February, the Australian government indicated that it would buy the airline in case no private bids were made. Catherine King, the Australian Transport Minister, said that this deal was a move to bring Rex out from administration and maintain "critical aviation connections for regional communities." (Reporting and editing by Tasim Zaid in Bengaluru, Nikita Maria Jio from Bengaluru)
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US Senate Committee votes to advance Aviation Safety Bill
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve aviation legislation following a deadly January crash involving a regional American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter which killed 67 people. The bill mandates that aircraft operators equip their fleets by 2031 with ADS-B, an advanced aircraft-tracking system. It also includes other safety reforms such as enhancing oversight of mixed jet-and-helicopter traffic and flight paths near commercial service airports. The Army Black Hawk involved in the fatal crash did not use ADS-B. Ted Cruz, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said that this bill "closes an unsafe loophole which allowed military aircraft to fly in our skies without being able to communicate their location quickly and accurately with other aviators as commercial aircraft do." The bill would mandate the use ADS-B technology by all civilian aircraft and military helicopters in close proximity to civilian aircraft. ADS-B, or automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, is an advanced surveillance technology that transmits an aircraft's location. Both Democrats and Republicans, as well as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, have questioned the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to take action for years in response to close calls with military helicopters near Washington Reagan National Airport. (Reporting and Editing by Franklin Paul and William Maclean, with David Shepardson)
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Polish and US officials discussed increasing US LNG supply to Central Europe
The Polish energy ministry reported that top Polish and U.S. officials discussed the possibility of increasing supplies of U.S. LNG via Poland into Central Europe in order to reduce Central Europe's dependency on Russian gas. It said that last week, the U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Poland's Deputy Minister of Energy Wojciech Wrochna discussed LNG supplies in Washington and the construction by Westinghouse of Poland's First Nuclear Plant. The ministry stated that "an important topic" of the discussions was the possibility of increasing supplies of American LNG via the Polish gas hub to meet domestic needs, and making Central European countries including Ukraine independent of supplies from the east. The LNG terminals that Poland has built and is building now will be able to supply its southern-eastern neighbours, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Council of the European Union announced that the energy ministers of the European Union backed on Monday the proposal to eliminate Russian gas and oil imports into the EU by January 2028. The proposal includes some flexibility for member states that are landlocked, such as Hungary and Slovakia. Orlen, a Polish company, has begun shipping U.S. natural gas to Ukraine in order to replenish Kyiv's stores before winter. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Marek Strzelecki)
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Airbus inaugurates new China assembly line while treading a tightrope in the trade
Airbus will open its second assembly line in China this week with little fanfare, just days after it secured a foothold in the United States, as it navigates a tightrope of divided trade powers. Airbus will be able to manufacture more of the popular A320neo family single-aisle aircraft in Tianjin, near Beijing, after adding a second production line just a few days ago in Mobile, Alabama. The expansion this week will be relatively low-key, with no Western media permitted. This is in contrast to the high-profile ceremony that took place 15 years ago at Tianjin, which involved 600 guests. Airbus has declined to comment. Sources in the industry said that earlier this month, the two ceremonies held back-to-back in Mobile and Tianjin had been planned to avoid a difficult trade climate between China & the United States. Airbus announced its overseas expansion plans for 2022 and 2023. Since then, Washington and Beijing are engaged in a trade war that has lasted months. Airbus and other European companies have been anxious not to offend either of these trade powers. Airbus depends on U.S. components to assemble its jets in China, Europe and the United States. Airbus is also negotiating the sale of up to 500 aircraft to China. This goal was first reported in April. According to sources, it's likely that only a portion of the order will be secured to coincide with the expansion of the Tianjin factory. Industry sources confirmed a Bloomberg report that Boeing is negotiating an agreement to buy 500 planes. However, the deal has been bogged down in back-and forth discussions about trade. Airbus will increase capacity in order to support a higher production rate of its A320neo jet family, which is expected to reach 75 aircraft per month by 2027. The industrial plan includes doubling capacity in Mobile and Tianjin. (Written by Tim Hepher, edited by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith).
Portugal's CP purchases 114 electric railcars for $871 Million
Portugal's state owned railway operator CP announced on Friday that it would purchase 117 electric self-propelled railcars for EUR746m ($871m) from the French/Portuguese consortium Alstom/DST, in its largest ever acquisition.
In a separate press release, Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz stated that the government "bets on the railroad" and that the purchase will address the long-standing delays of modernising CP’s fleet and improve service quality for the growing number of passengers.
CP stated that the deal included 118 million euro in co-financing by European funds and 212.5 millions euros from the Portuguese Environment Fund.
The first units are scheduled to be delivered in 2029. This will allow "the renewal and upgrade of a part of CP’s fleet as well as the strengthening of its supply capability," the company added.
The contract includes also the construction of an rolling stock maintenance shop in the north Portuguese city of Matosinhos.
(source: Reuters)