Latest News
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United Airlines cancels flights in US airports due to technology issue
United Airlines grounded all flights in U.S. airports due to a technical issue on Wednesday and warned that there would be more delays later in the evening. The airline stated that "due to a technological issue, we will be holding United mainline flight at their departure airports." United's weight calculation system has failed, according to a source with knowledge of the issue. Federal Aviation Administration of the United States announced earlier that it had issued a ground-stop for United flights in several U.S. Airports. As of 9:15 pm. FlightAware data showed that, as of 9:15 p.m. ET (0115 GMT Thursday), 824 flights, or 27 percent, were delayed on Wednesday. Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Jasper Ward and Shivani Tanna from Washington; editing by Sandra Maler and Jamie Freed.
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Uber talks to banks and private equity firms about funding robotaxi expansion
Uber CEO Dara Khorsrowshahi revealed that the company is in discussions with banks and private equity firms to secure funding to develop its robotaxi business. The ride-hailing firm is betting on a massive roll-out of this nascent technology. Uber, which provides robotaxis through Alphabet's Waymo division, is strengthening its position in the industry of self-driving cabs by partnering with automakers like Volkswagen and Lucid. Tesla, meanwhile, seeks to expand their fledgling robotaxi service. Khosrowshahi, on Wednesday, positioned the tie-ups in a larger plan involving three robotaxi business model: paying partners who own such vehicles at a fixed rate; sharing revenue with fleet operators; and owning vehicles but licensing software for autonomous technology. The CEO stated that "we are talking with private equity players and we have spoken to banks." Once we can prove that these cars generate a lot of revenue per day, and have a good revenue model, there will be plenty to go around. Uber has said that it will use a "modest portion" of its annual cash flow of around $7 billion to fund deployments. It may also sell minority shares in companies to help with the expansion. Analysts say that mass robotaxi deployment can lower Uber's operating expenses and increase profitability. Waymo robotaxis are now available on the company's ride-hailing apps in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia. Uber and Volkswagen signed a deal in April to provide thousands of electric autonomous vans across the United States for the next decade. In July, it also signed a $300-million partnership that will enable it to deploy over 20,000 autonomous taxis made by Lucid, an EV startup, and powered by Nuro's self-driving technology, in six years. Tesla and Waymo are pushing to expand their robotaxi services despite strong regulatory scrutiny and doubts that the technology will be adopted widely. High costs have also forced many companies to close down. Elon Musk said this business could be worth billions of dollars. Waymo has a presence in five U.S. Cities, including San Francisco. Tesla launched a limited roboticaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, and began ride-hailing services in the Bay Area, California, last month. Uber has said that it hasn't seen any change in demand in Austin or San Francisco following the launch of Tesla services in these cities. Ken Mahoney of Mahoney Asset Management said, "To many of these companies it seems this will be an worthwhile endeavor... there are lofty projections about the robotaxi sector's total market addressable." (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni, Shinjini Ganguli and Lincoln Feast.)
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Energy Transfer: US ethane restrictions will make it harder to contract with China
Energy Transfer, a U.S. exporter, said that despite the fact that U.S. ethane restrictions have been lifted, it will be more difficult for Chinese companies to enter into contracts, even though these restrictions were already lifted. In late May and early in June, the U.S. imposed restrictions on exports to China including ethane. They did this after Beijing was accused of limiting shipments of rare Earths essential to automakers and many other industries. Last month, the restrictions were lifted. However, they caused disruptions in ethane flows and significant delays for shipments. Marshall McCrea said, "That's a bit of a black-eye on us, our industry and our country ...,", in a conference call following the earnings report. The company is a top exporter of ethane (a natural gas liquid) in the United States. McCrea said, "We think they will be more reluctant to sign contracts with Chinese crackers. Around half of the ethane extracted from shale gases in the United States is shipped to China, where it's run through crackers, producing ethylene, an important building block for plastics. Chinese petrochemical companies use ethane to feed their crackers because it's cheaper than naphtha. Meanwhile, U.S. producers of oil and gas rely on China to purchase their natural gas liquids since domestic demand exceeds supply. Last week, Enterprise Products Partners, a rival company in the oil and gas industry, warned that export restrictions compromised the US brand of reliable supply and energy safety. Enterprise Products CEO Jim Teague said that these actions often hurt their intended target, but also hurt our industry. Enterprise reported that at least one non Chinese company with whom it had been in talks about contracting naphtha decided to contract ethane instead. Energy Transfer reported an 11.5% drop in its net income, which was $1.16 billion or 32 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30. LSEG data shows that revenue of $19.24bn was well below the estimated $22bn. Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar, Houston; editing by Ni Williams
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Lyft misses quarterly revenue estimates on competition, weak US travel demand
Lyft missed its second-quarter revenue forecasts on Wednesday due to mounting competition from Uber, and a softening of travel demand in the United States. This sent its shares down by 7% after-hours. Uber Technologies, a larger rival that offers food and grocery deliveries, ride-hailing services, and other global business, beat revenue expectations and released an optimistic forecast for the third quarter earlier in the day. Travel to the U.S. is down this year. Analysts expect that trend to continue until 2025, as trade tensions, economic uncertainty and visa delays make the country less attractive to foreign visitors. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, Lyft's revenue in the second quarter was $1.59 billion. This is below estimates of $1.61 million. Visible Alpha surveyed 27 analysts and found that rides on the platform increased by 14%, reaching a new record of 234.8 millions, which is slightly less than estimates of 235.9 millions. Lyft has recently acquired European mobility platform FreeNow for nearly $200 million. It also signed a contract with China's Baidu in order to introduce robotaxis from the search engine giant. Uber, which boasts 20 global partnerships in self-driving technologies, has said that it is in discussions with banks and private equity firms to finance the deployment robotaxis. Lyft announced Wednesday a partnership with United Airlines, which will launch later this summer. This partnership allows the airline's customers earn rewards for all Lyft trips. Lyft’s entry into Europe, which includes partnerships with DoorDash and Chase, positions the company for further collaborations in international markets. Lyft expects its gross bookings for the third quarter to be between $4.65 and $4.80 Billion, which is well above expectations of $4.59 Billion. Analysts had expected 4 cents. The company reported a profit of 10 cents for the quarter ending June, which is more than twice that. Ride-hailing services are turning their attention to smaller and medium-sized cities that are dependent on cars to expand and increase revenue. Lyft reported a core adjusted earnings of $129.4 millions in the second quarter. This was above the average expectation of $124.5. It predicted current-quarter core profits of $125 to $145 millions, which is largely in line Wall Street estimates. (Reporting from Akash Sriram, Bengaluru. Editing by Sriraj Kulluvila.)
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Lyft predicts positive bookings for European expansion and new partnerships
Lyft announced on Wednesday that its current quarter gross bookings were above the market's expectations, showing a steady demand for their ride-hailing service as it expands into Europe. The company has recently completed the nearly $200 million purchase of European mobility platform FreeNow. It also signed a contract with China's Baidu for the introduction of the robotaxis from the search engine giant in the region. Lyft announced Wednesday a partnership with United Airlines, which will launch later this summer. This partnership allows the airline's customers earn rewards for all Lyft trips. Lyft’s entry into Europe, which includes partnerships with DoorDash and Chase, positions the company for further collaborations in international markets. According to LSEG data, Lyft expects gross bookings for the third quarter to range between $4.65 and $4.80 Billion, which is well above the estimated $4.59 Billion. Uber Technologies, a larger rival that offers food, grocery and ride-hailing services globally, released an optimistic forecast for the third quarter earlier in the day. This was due to its efforts to increase engagement across its unified platforms. The company said that it is in discussions with private equity firms and bankers to finance the deployment and use of robotaxis, and it has 20 partnerships for self driving technology. Ride-hailing services are shifting their attention to smaller and medium-sized cities that are dependent on cars to reach new markets and increase revenue. Lyft reported a core adjusted earnings of $129.4 millions in the second quarter. This was above the average expectation of $124.5. It predicted current-quarter core profits of $125 to $145 millions, which is largely in line Wall Street estimates. (Reporting from Akash Sriram, Bengaluru. Editing by Sriraj Kulluvila.)
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Oil loadings in western Russian ports could increase in August, despite steady Urals oil diffs
The differential between Brent and Urals crudes remained unchanged on Wednesday. However, oil loadings in Russia's western port this month could increase after two refineries reduced their output following the Ukrainian drone attacks. In August, Russia will increase oil loadings at Primorsk and Novorossiisk by nearly 2 million barrels a day, which is about 200,000 more than the previous estimate. Four industry sources say that Indian refiners await government instructions on whether they should continue to buy Russian oil, after the United States imposed new 25% tariffs on Indian products over New Delhi’s energy ties to Russia. Four industry sources said that a restart of Iraqi Kurdish oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline is not imminent. This was despite the fact that Iraq's oil ministry had been quoted as saying he anticipated a resumed soon. PLATTS WINDOW On Wednesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. * EXPLAINER: Where can India turn to for oil in place of Russian oil? Mark Porter (Reporting and Editing)
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Lenders appoint receiver for major Nigerian power firms, notice shows
An announcement in the local media stated that lenders have appointed a Nigerian receiver to KEPCO Energy Resources, its subsidiary Egbin Power and other major players in the energy sector. This has added to the financial concerns of the industry. KEPCO is 70% owner of Egbin Power - Nigeria's largest electricity generator. The announcement comes at a time when the electricity sector is facing a cash crunch estimated at $2.01 billion. A trustee appointed Kunle Ogunba as receiver/manager of KEPCO on June 19th. The companies have denied the notice, and stated that the matter is in court. According to court documents seen by, the companies asked for a court order to stop the appointment. After the privatisation of the power sector in Nigeria more than 10 years ago, many firms have struggled. This has raised concerns over the future of the private sector, particularly for upgrading the power grid in the country and adding renewable energies. After the privatisation of 2013, many companies were purchased using loans. Banks are now focusing more on recovering debts than lending money. This has led to a new debate on the viability of Nigeria’s electricity market, government support and the ability of private companies to succeed. $1 = 1,523.75 Naira (Reporting and editing by Chijioke Ahuocha, Kirsten Doovan, Sandra Maler).
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Source: VP Vance's meeting with Epstein to discuss the fallout has been cancelled.
The Vice President JDVance's home hosted a dinner for senior officials to discuss the Trump administration. handling A source with knowledge of the case said that the trial of Jeffrey Epstein has been cancelled after the news about it was leaked. CNN first reported the dinner. A Vance spokesman said that it was not planned. William Martin, Vance's spokesman, said that there was no meeting at the residence of the vice president to discuss Epstein strategies. Since weeks, the Trump administration has been trying to minimize the political fallout of the Epstein probe amid public pressure to be more transparent about its handling files related to a convicted sex criminal's case. Donald Trump promised that if he were reelected, he would make public all files related to the case of the disgraced financier. The Justice Department announced in July that the Epstein client list, which was previously touted, did not exist. This angered Trump's supporters who demanded more information. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Margueritachoy, Diane Craft, and Nandita BOSE in Washington)
Nigerian court puts major power companies in receivership and deepens sector crisis
Two major power companies in Nigeria, Ikeja Electric & KEPCO Energy, have been taken over by a Nigerian court, causing concern about the financial problems of the sector.
KEPCO is 70% owner of Egbin Power - Nigeria's largest electricity generator. The decision of the court comes at a time when the electricity sector is facing a cash crunch estimated at $2.01 billion.
Justice Akintayo Aluko directed banks and regulators in the region to freeze assets and accounts of the companies and approved Kunle Ogunba's appointment as Receiver/Manager based on an agreement from 2013.
Six of Nigeria's eleven electricity distribution companies are currently in receivership. This is a cause for concern about the future of investment in the electricity sector, particularly to upgrade the creaking grid and add renewable energy.
After the privatisation of 2013, many companies were purchased using loans. Banks are now focusing more on recovering debts than lending money.
The court's decision has ignited a new debate on how Nigeria's energy market is structured, the role of the government, and whether or not private companies are still able to succeed in this sector. $1 = 1,523.75 Naira (Reporting and editing by Chijioke Ahuocha, Kirsten Doovan)
(source: Reuters)