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Adani Group shares rise after SEBI dismisses certain Hindenburg allegations
Adani Group shares rose between 1% to 10% on Friday after India's stock market regulator Hindenburg Research, a short seller, has made allegations of stock manipulation against Gautam Adani's conglomerate and billionaire Gautam. The Securities and Exchange Board of India cleared two charges against Adani Group firms. However, 22 more orders are still pending. Adani Total Gas, the flagship company, rose 10%. Adani Enterprises, Adani's flagship company, grew 4.3%. Morgan Stanley began coverage of the power producer, Adani Power with an "overweight" ratings. SEBI began its investigation in 2023, after the US-based Hindenburg accused Adani Group using tax havens to hide related-party transactions. The conglomerate denied the charges and the market value of the group dropped by $150 billion at the time. However, most stocks have recovered since then. "SEBI reaffirmed our position, that the Hindenburg allegations were unfounded. Adani Group has always been defined by transparency and integrity," Gautam Adani said on Thursday, late, in a post to social media platform X. Adani Ports grew by 2% while Adani Green, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Energy Solutions each rose by nearly 4%.
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Report: Trump's policies could threaten US clean-energy jobs engine
According to a report published on Friday, jobs in solar, wind, and other clean energy sectors grew three-times faster than the rest of U.S. workers last year. However, the study warns that some of these jobs could be lost due to Trump's efforts to stop renewables. According to the environmental advocacy group E2, who has published a study on clean energy jobs over the past decade, in 2024 there will be 100,000 new jobs created by the clean energy industry. Idaho, Oklahoma Texas, Florida, and New Jersey were the states that saw the largest growth in jobs related to clean energy over all last year. The study revealed that more than 80% (or all the new jobs) in energy in 2024 will be in clean energy. Bob Keefe, E2's Executive Director, said that the numbers showed this to be one of the most exciting and promising job sectors for the country by the year 2024. Clean energy job growth and our economy are now in serious danger. The study examines the employment of industries such as renewable electricity generation, biofuels and electric vehicles. It also analyzes energy efficiency, battery storage, grid modernization, and grid modernization. The analysis fails to take into account the changes in U.S. policies since Donald Trump assumed office in January. Since then, the Trump administration has taken several measures to dismantle federal funding for wind and solar energy projects, which were supported by his predecessor Joe Biden and promoted fossil fuels instead. According to E2, the number of Americans working in clean energy is three times greater than those who work for oil, gas, and coal. According to the report, the states with the highest number of jobs in wind and sun include California, Texas Florida, New York, and Massachusetts. Nearly 2.4 million people are employed in the energy efficiency sector, including installing efficient heating, lighting, and cooling systems, and manufacturing certified appliances. (Reporting and editing by Sonali Paul; Nichola Groom)
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US Senate confirms top car safety official who will oversee Tesla investigations
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to confirm dozens of nominees including those in charge of highways and pipelines. The Senate confirmed Jonathan Morrison as the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, along with 47 other nominees. This is the first time in three years that the NHTSA had a permanent director. Morrison, a lawyer who worked for Apple before joining the NHTSA in the first term of President Donald Trump, will supervise a number of safety investigations at the NHTSA. This includes an investigation launched this week on 174,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles from the model year 2021, based on reports that the electronic door handles could become non-functional and trap children. Morrison stated that the NHTSA cannot wait and see if problems arise, but it must show strong leadership. The NHTSA announced last month that it would be launching a new website. It would investigate Tesla Delays in reporting crashes involving self-driving cars or advanced driver assistance systems. Since October last year, the NHTSA been investigating Tesla has 2.4 million vehicles with self-driving capabilities after four collisions reported, including one fatal accident in 2023. Separately, the agency opened An investigation in January The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into 2.6 Million Tesla Vehicles after reports of accidents involving a feature which allows users to remotely move their vehicles. Tesla has not responded to our request for comment. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary has promised to take action Speed up the deployment of autonomous vehicles . This month, the NHTSA announced that it would be revising several regulations based on the assumption that a human is at control. August is the month of the NHTSA certifies Amazon's self-driving vehicle Zoox demonstration vehicles were delivered and a review was conducted to determine if they met federal requirements. Automakers, Safety advocates and lawmakers The NHTSA has been criticized on several fronts including its slow response to regulations Or, it can impede progress. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (which represents major automakers) said: "The auto industry wants and needs a strong NHTSA. We are committed to a collaboration that achieves our common goals: saving life, reducing accidents and deploying cleanest, safer and smartest cars ever." (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Leslie Adler, and David Shepardson)
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US legislator wants Trump to restrict Chinese flight over rare earths access
The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on China called on the Trump Administration to restrict or suspend Chinese airlines landing rights in the U.S. until Beijing restored full access to magnets and rare earths. John Moolenaar (a Republican) said that the U.S. export control policy should be reviewed to ensure the sale of parts, commercial aircraft and maintenance services in China is compliant. "These steps will send a clear signal to Beijing that they cannot cut off vital supplies to our defence industries without consequences for their own strategic sectors," Moolenaar stated. The rare earths group is made up of 17 different elements that are used in a variety of products, from military equipment and lasers to consumer electronics and wind turbines. China is concerned about rare earths, and it wants to control the supply. In April, in response to U.S. tariff increases, China added several rare earth products and magnets on its export restrictions list. U.S. Airlines are only allowed to fly a small percentage of the flights they can operate to China due to low demand between both nations. China may be considering a nuclear power plant, according to reports. As part of the trade negotiations with the U.S., China is buying up to 500 Boeing aircrafts. The U.S. Transportation Department granted another extension of six months on Wednesday. This allows United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines only 48 flights per week to China, out of the 119 that were approved. Chinese carriers fly the same number of flights to the U.S. A group representing U.S. carriers declined comment. The Chinese Embassy at Washington declined to comment immediately. Major U.S. Airlines and Aviation Unions successfully asked former President Joe Biden to stop approving additional flights between China & the U.S. last year. They cited the "anti-competitive" policies of the Chinese Government. Flights between China, the U.S. and Canada were at the center of controversy during the COVID-19 epidemic. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and David Shepardson)
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Lyft has paid New Jersey $19.4 Million for driver misclassification.
Officials from New Jersey announced on Thursday that Lyft had paid New Jersey $19.4 millions after an audit revealed the ride-sharing firm incorrectly classified over 100,000 drivers as independent contractors. Lyft, according to officials including the state attorney general Matthew Platkin, made the payment only after it retracted its request for an hearing to contest a New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development audit of its records and books from 2014 to 2017. New Jersey's audit revealed that Lyft had not contributed to the state fund for these years on behalf drivers. This deprived them of benefits such as unemployment compensation and temporary disability benefits. Lyft owed more than $10,8 million in unpaid contributions plus $8.5 million in penalties and interest. It paid $10.8 million in order to stop the interest running and the remaining amount after it ended its challenge. In June 2024, the San Francisco-based firm reached a settlement of $27 million with Massachusetts. Lyft stated that it believes it has classified drivers correctly under New Jersey law and that most drivers prefer to work on their terms, rather than as an employee. We will not challenge the NJDOL assessment further, even though we disagree with its findings. Over the past few years, many regulators have said that Uber and Lyft's alleged misclassifications deprive drivers other benefits such as a minimum wage and overtime pay. Robert Asaro Angelo, New Jersey's Labor Commissioner, said that there is no reason why temporary and on-demand workers, who work flexible hours or minutes at a given time, cannot be treated the same as other employees. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese in New York, Jonathan Stempel from New York)
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Oneworld Alliance looks to India as a partner in its expansion.
Oneworld Alliance, a 15-member airline group that includes American Airlines, Qantas Airways and other airlines, is looking at a possible Indian airline partner, as the Indian market continues to grow. "India is a marketplace that we all have an interest in finding someone," Nat Pieper, CEO of the company, said on Thursday at a meeting in New York with aviation executives and analysts. Piper stated that adding a new team member is "always difficult" as it must work for both the entire group and each of its 15 members. He added that, given the fact that many of the alliance's members serve India, they are also looking at ways to leverage the joint presence. For example, through a loyalty program or joint lounge initiative. "We have 10 employees who serve in India, so it's a market that is growing at a rapid pace." Hawaiian Airlines will join the alliance by 2026. Alaska Air acquired the airline in 2024. (Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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Panama Canal begins process to select companies to build and operate LPG pipeline
After meeting with interested companies, the Panama Canal Authority announced on Thursday that it had begun a competition to select a company to design, build, and operate a pipeline for transporting liquefied petrol gas (LPG). The project is expected to cost between $4 billion to $8 billion. It will be part of the move by the waterway to increase its services, including trans-shipment, and to generate additional revenue. This follows the Supreme Court's decision last year to expand the area of the waterway. The 2 million-barrel-per-day pipeline alone is forecast to contribute between $1 billion and $1.2 billion to the waterway's annual income, Ricaurte Vasquez, head of the canal, told in an interview after the meetings. The project will move U.S. LPG bound to Asia from the one side to the other of the canal. As part of the plan, a power transmission line will also be built. The canal released a statement saying that Exxon Mobil and Phillips 66 were among the companies who met with the authorities to discuss the pipeline. Other companies included Puma Energy (Puma Energy), SK Energy (SK Energy), Vitol, Mitsubishi Itochu, Sumitomo, Vitol Energy, Energy Transfer Puma Energy. Vasquez, who attended the meeting said that there were many people interested in the project. He added that the next step will be a prequalification process. He said that the winner of the competition will be chosen in the fourth quarter of 2026. A parallel project, to build and operate new ports near the canal, will begin between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Vasquez stated that the canal expects to make a profit of $3.5 billion in the fiscal year which ends in September. This is in line with last year's result. The canal expects to counteract a decrease in traffic at the end of the fiscal year by consolidating cargo tonnage through the reception of larger vessels. He said, "This year we have seen a change in seasonality, as more cargo is being shipped to the United States, now instead of October-December." (Reporting and editing by Gabriel Araujo, Marguerita Choy and Elida Parraga)
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FedEx's quarterly profits rise, but US tariffs dent 2026 earnings forecast
FedEx posted a higher profit for the quarter, but projected 2026 earnings per shares that were largely below analyst's estimates. This is because it expects to take a hit due to U.S. tariffs ending on low-value direct-to consumer shipments. In extended trading, shares of the company rose by about 6% on Thursday. On May 2, the U.S. government ended the "de minimis exemptions" that allowed packages valued below $800 to be imported duty-free from China and Hong Kong. These shipments represented about three quarters of the roughly 1.4 billion packages which entered the United States every year under this program. On August 29, the U.S. removed "de minimis exemptions" for all countries. FedEx is expected to see the impact of this in its results for the next few quarters. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, Memphis-based package-delivery company expects adjusted earnings for the full year in a range between $17.20 and $19.00 per share. The mid-point is slightly below analyst estimates of $18.21. FedEx has reported an adjusted profit for the first quarter ending August 31 of $0.91 billion or $3.83 a share. This is up from $0.89billion or $3.60 a share in the year before. Since 2023, the company has been working to reduce operating costs by billions of dollars. This was achieved through parking planes and closing facilities. The company has a plan to save $1 billion in the fiscal year ending May 2026. It reported first quarter revenue of $22.2billion, an increase from $21.6billion a year ago. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein from Los Angeles, and Abhinav Paramar from Bengaluru. Editing by Shinjini Ganuli.
Uganda's $5 bln EACOP pipeline faces tough financial obligation talks
Partners establishing the $5. billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) are injecting. more cash into the project to prevent it stalling as financial obligation. financing shows elusive, Uganda's energy minister told Reuters.
Minister Ruth Nankabirwa recently travelled to Beijing to. consult with prospective Chinese funders seen as important for the. success of East African Petroleum Pipeline (EACOP) after 6. Western banks, including BNP Paribas, Société Generale and. Barclays, vowed not to finance the pipeline under pressure. from climate activists.
Connecting oilfields in Uganda to Tanga port in Tanzania,. EACOP is part of a wider $15 billion energy strategy by. TotalEnergies, China's CNOOC and other partners to. establish the Kingfisher and Tilenga discoveries close to Lake. Albert.
With a final decision on debt financing expected before the. year-end, Nankabirwa stated securing funds has actually required extra. lobbying of banks and reorganizing the package to consist of more. stakeholder equity than debt-- departing from a preliminary plan to. have 60% covered by bank loans and 40% by equity.
Nankabirwa said TotalEnergies has agreed to inject. another $400 million, Uganda devoted $45 million more and. Tanzania will be asked for to match that.
Now equity is surpassing debt, from 40% to now almost 52%,. so you see how investors are devoted to look for the cash. to ensure the project does not stall, she said.
As you try to find cash to put in, that means the financial obligation, the. external tranche, decreases, Nankabirwa stated.
EACOP was slated to be funded through $3 billion financial obligation and $2. billion from shareholders.
Leading pipeline shareholder TotalEnergies, with a 62% stake,. stated it does not comment on task funding. Uganda's National. Oil Company and Tanzania's TPDC each hold 15% while CNOOC has. 8%. CNOOC did not reply to ask for comment.
The first Chinese-made pipelines for what could end up being the. world's biggest heated unrefined pipeline are presently being put in. location, officials stated, and specialists need to be paid.
Nankabirwa said throughout her Beijing go to in June she met. with several banks, including the Export-Import Bank of China. She asked to fast-track their financial obligation funding decisions.
Practically a dozen European banks, which she decreased to. name, were likewise thinking about supporting EACOP, regardless of pushback. from activists, Nankabirwa added.
(source: Reuters)