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Senator says FAA chief failed to sell Republic shares as per ethics agreement.
According to a public letter published on Tuesday, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said he hadn't divested his shares in Republic Airways. However, he would continue not to be involved with any issues that might impact the airline’s finances while he worked to sell his holdings. Last week, Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell stated that Bryan Bedford, former CEO of Republic and FAA Administrator, had violated his ethics agreement because he hadn't completed the sale of shares within 90 days after his confirmation. Bedford informed Cantwell, in a Monday letter, that he was recused from any matters affecting Republic's financial interest and that he was selling the shares as soon as "reasonably practicable". Bedford held Republic stock worth between $6 million and 30 million dollars at the time of confirmation. Republic completed its merger with Mesa Air Group on November 25. In an email sent to the Office of Government Ethics on December 5, a Transportation Department lawyer stated that Bedford was unable complete the sale due to "significant demands" made upon his time. The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) responded on the same day, stating that they had stated in early October that being busy with his position did not constitute an "unusual hardship" and that others had been denied similar requests. Cantwell's Office said that its review of documents indicated Bedford didn't appear to have divested until early December. Even if Bedford received the 60-day extensions he requested on October 7, he still should have divested by December 6. But he did not do this. Cantwell's Office said Bedford stated that he had to wait until Republic share certificates were issued before he could divest. However, "that doesn't explain why he didn't divest within the original timeline agreed upon - which was?before merger closed. The FAA declined comment. Bedford declined to comment on the matter earlier on Tuesday, when asked. He said he would discuss it at a Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Wednesday. The Republican Senator Ted Cruz did not respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed in Washington, David Shepardson)
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FAA chief claims he still hasn't sold his shares in Republic Airways
According to a public letter published on Tuesday, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration stated that he had not divested shares in Republic Airlines but would "continue" to recuse himself from any issues which could affect the airline's financial health. Last week, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell stated that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford who was previously CEO of Republic had violated his ethics agreement because he hadn't completed the sale of shares, despite having agreed to do so within 90 days after his confirmation. Bedford informed Cantwell that he was recused from any matter which had a direct impact on Republic's interests and was working hard to sell the shares as soon as it would be reasonable. Bedford held stock in Republic worth between $6 and $30 million at the time of his confirmation. On November 25, Republic completed the merger with Mesa Air Group. Cantwell's Office said that its review of documents indicated that Bedford did not appear have taken any action to divest itself from Republic until the beginning of December. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed in Washington, David Shepardson is Washington.
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US Air Force buys two additional 747-8s to support the Presidential Fleet
The U.S. Air Force announced on Tuesday that it would be acquiring two Boeing 747-8 jumbo aircraft for $400 million in order to create a 'training and maintenance program' for its future fleet of presidential airlifters. The Air Force stated that the purchase is part of its efforts to speed up the Presidential Airlift Program as it prepares for the transition from the older 747-200 model to the larger and newer 747-8, according to a press release. The first aircraft should arrive by the end of 2026. Air Force officials said that the purchase was necessary because Boeing no longer produced the 747-8i and the aircraft differed from the 747200 currently in the presidential fleet. Officials said the two planes would be used to train crews and as a source for spare parts. In several published reports, it was suggested that the Air Force would be buying the planes directly from Lufthansa. This was one of the only passenger airlines who had purchased the 747-8, which was popular among cargo carriers, before Boeing ceased production in 2023. A spokesperson for Lufthansa declined to comment. This purchase is not related to the two 747-8i that Boeing is?currently modifying as part of the VC-25B Program, which will be the next-generation Air Force One. Air Force officials said that the first heavily?modified plane is expected to arrive in mid-2028. A?official of the Air Force, speaking in the background, stated that the two aircraft used for training were distinct from the 747-8i aircraft donated to the United States by Qatar. Air Force One has been hampered by delays and cost increases since Boeing signed a $3.9billion fixed-price contract for two modified '747-8s in 2018. The aircraft will replace the existing fleet. The Air Force announced on Friday that the first Air Force One jet from Boeing would be delayed another year, to mid-2028. (Reporting and editing by Nia Freed and Jamie Freed in Washington)
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Bloomberg News reports that Spirit and Frontier Airlines are considering a merger.
Bloomberg News reported?Tuesday that bankrupt Spirit Aviation Holdings was in talks to merge with Frontier Group Holdings. The report cited people familiar with the matter. Frontier's share price rose more than 5% after-hours. The report stated that a deal could be announced this month even though discussions are still ongoing. When contacted, both Frontier and Spirit Airlines declined to make any comments. According to the report, Frontier executives have been advocating merging both airlines for years. Both built their business on heavily discounted fares. The decision comes as ultra-low cost carriers struggle with rising costs and intense competition from larger U.S. airlines. A merger would mark a significant milestone for Spirit. In August, the company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than one year, citing declining cash reserves and mounting losses. Since then, it has cut staff, reduced flying, withdrawn from 14 airports, and reneged on more than 80 aircraft leasing commitments, as part of a wider?cost-cutting strategy. The airline secured additional emergency funding of $100 million on Monday to support its operations and restructuring while it is under bankruptcy protection. Reports of talks between Frontier and T-Mobile come a day after Frontier announced that longtime CEO Barry Biffle was stepping down. James Dempsey, an insider, has been given interim control. (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona, Shailesh Kumar and Abhinav Paramar in Bengaluru)
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US House panel votes on pay for air traffic controllers in shutdown
On Thursday, a U.S. House of Representatives Committee plans to vote on a bill?aiming??to prevent disruptions in aviation during government shutdowns. This will be done by paying air traffic controllers and key workers. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee announced Tuesday that it will vote this week on legislation requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve supersonic air transport by April 20,27. President Donald Trump ordered the FAA in June to lift the ban on supersonic flights over land. The ban was first imposed in 1973 because of the property damage and hearing losses caused by sonic blasts. Environmentalists and supporters of supersonic flights have argued that they use more fuel per passenger compared to subsonic aircraft. Major airlines have backed legislation to pay air traffic controllers, noting that last month the 43-day U.S. shutdown and flight restrictions imposed by the government disrupted 6,000,000 passengers and 50,000 flights due to an increase in air traffic controller absences. In November 7, the FAA imposed unprecedented flight reductions at 40 U.S. major airports, citing safety concerns. This led to 7,100 cancellations of flights and affected 2.3 million passengers. The FAA sent letters of investigation to major carriers who did not appear to be following the required flight reductions. In a letter sent to Congress on Tuesday, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford defended his decision to require flight reductions by saying that "data started to show a?potential risk to safety at certain airports with high impact." He also said he was "confident" that reducing operations in an uncertain and stressful period was the right choice. The committee will also vote on legislation that would?approve a move of the FBI headquarters from a building near Washington to another nearby one, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion. Maryland filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last month over the decision to cancel a Biden era plan to build new FBI headquarters outside Washington. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson, Washington)
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Port executive: Imports at the busiest US seaport fell 11.5% in November due to tariffs
Gene Seroka said that the Port of Los Angeles handled 11.5% less volume of imports in November than the same month last year. Shippers had built up early inventories to avoid President Donald Trump's new tariffs on items such as auto parts, toys and metal furniture. Imports at the Port of Los Angeles totaled 406,421 20 foot equivalent units (TEUs). He said that exports fell 8.4%, to 113.706 TEUs. This was due to the fact that retaliatory duties on U.S. agricultural and manufactured products, as well as trade agreements excluding United States, began to take hold. He said that export volume has fallen?for 11 consecutive months. Seroka expects the total volume to reach 10 million TEUs in 2025, roughly on par with 2024. It will be the third highest volume ever recorded despite the U.S. Tariff Policy. Seroka stated, "I believe the uncertainty will be here to stay for at least the next year." This is a headwind that we might have to deal with for a while. Descartes Systems Group, a provider of supply-chain technologies, said earlier this month that imports to all U.S. port fell 7.8% from the previous year in November due to a softening demand for Chinese goods and one less day in the holiday month. In the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling on the legality and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer stated earlier this month that if the justices rule in favor of the administration, Washington will turn to other laws for new tariffs. By 2026, the global?trade will continue to be threatened by tariff pressures and other factors, including Russia's conflict in Ukraine, and the fragile ceasefire that exists between Israel and Hamas?in Gaza. Constance Hunter said that large fiscal deficits could lead to austerity measures in many countries. She said that, closer to home, U.S. firms may begin?passing on more tariff costs, after absorbing them in this year. "That'll certainly put a dent in consumption." Hunter stated that?tax refunds under Trump's spending and tax bill could increase U.S. inflation and spending in the first quarter 2026. "We expect that the tax refunds will be a large part of consumer spending and close to 3% GDP by then." (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis in Los Angeles.
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Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas reports the shutdown of its liquefaction trains
According to regulatory filings, Freeport LNG, a U.S. LNG company, shut down one of its three liquefaction trains at its LNG export facility in Texas on Tuesday. The plant is?one of?the most closely monitored U.S. export facilities for LNG in the world, because in the past changes in its operation have caused price fluctuations in global gas markets. Gas prices in the U.S. typically fall when flows to Freeport decrease due to a reduced demand for the fuel produced at the export facility. Prices in Europe are usually higher due to the drop in LNG supply available on global markets. The U.S. futures prices fell by 3% on Tuesday, reaching a new six-week low due to a shutdown of the Freeport liquefaction trains. The prices in Europe meanwhile held at a low of 19 months, but not necessarily due to Freeport. Freeport informed Texas environmental regulators on Wednesday that Train 2 was shut down Tuesday because of?a problem with a compression system. Freeport officials had no further comment. Before the news of the 'train shutdown', LSEG stated that gas flows to Freeport would?remain at around 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), the same as on average?of prior seven days. Freeport's three liquefaction trains are capable of converting about 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas to LNG. A?billion cubic foot of gas can supply five million U.S. households for one day. (Reporting from Anjana Anil, Bengaluru; Scott DiSavino, New York. Editing by Chris Reese & Nick Zieminski.
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US Threatens Countermeasures After EU Fine on Musk's X
The Trump administration threatened on Tuesday a wide range of retaliatory actions against EU service providers. These could include fees or restrictions for foreign services if these firms continue to engage in what the USTR called “discriminatory” practices. In a recent post, the Office of the U.S. trade representative accused the 'EU and its member states of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits as well as?taxes fines and directives that target U.S. Services. It also said EU'service providers operate freely in the U.S. pointing out Accenture, DHL Siemens and Spotify among others. The USTR stated that "if the EU and EU member states?insist?on continuing to?restrict, limit, or deter the competition of U.S. services providers through discriminatory measures, the United States would have no choice but use every tool available to it to counter these unreasonable?measures." The USTR's threat follows a fine imposed by EU tech regulators on Elon Musk’s X social networking platform earlier this week. The USTR's office stated in a post that "should responsive measures be necessary, U.S. laws permit the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign service, among other actions." It also mentioned other EU service providers Amadeus, Capgemini Mistral, Publicis, and SAP. (Reporting and writing by Ryan Patrick Jones, editing by Costas Pitas).
The construction of the Russia-China Far Eastern Gas Route is progressing, says China's ambassador to Russia
Zhang 'Hanhui', Beijing's embassy to Moscow, told Russia's RIA News Agency that construction is proceeding on a planned Far Eastern pipeline to'supply Russian gas to China'.
The Far Eastern route is designed to send gas from Russia's Pacific coast to ?China via a new branch link connected to Russia's ?Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline system.
Exports will begin?in 2027. China is expected to import 2 billion cubic metres (bcm), initially, and then a total of 12 bcm per year.
Zhang, RIA cited as saying that "Construction is progressing steadily on the Far Eastern route of natural gas supply from Russia to China."
Russia currently supplies pipeline gas to China through the Power of Siberia Pipeline, which began deliveries in 2019. It has a design capacity of 38 bcm per year.
Energy is the driving force behind Moscow's efforts to deepen its ties with Beijing after Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 accelerated a pivot away from Europe. China increased purchases of Russian crude oil and expanded gas cooperation. (Reporting and editing by Saad sayeed in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
(source: Reuters)