Western Europe

Alstom, a French train manufacturer, raised its organic sales forecast for 2025 after reporting a half-year revenue that was above expectations. This was due to strong demand for high-speed trains. Alstom, the manufacturer of trains and signalling for urban and regional railway networks, expects its organic sales to rise over 5% in comparison with previous guidance between 3% and 5%. "Strong growth in sales across all product lines shows our ability to accelerate delivery of backlog and achieve growth for the full year above our initial expectations." Henri Poupart Lafarge, chief executive of Henri Poupart Lafarge. Organically, revenue grew 8%...

Alstom, a French train manufacturer, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a contract worth 6.9 billion zlotys ($1.9 billion), to supply and maintain trains for Poland’s national long distance rail operator PKP. Alstom shares rose by more than 3% early in the afternoon following publication. The agreement includes the delivery and maintenance of 42 Coradia Max electric double-deck multiple units. This train is capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 km/h. It also includes 30 years of full service maintenance, as well as an option to purchase 30 more trains. In a press release, PKP Intercity CEO Janusz...

U.S. president Donald Trump has targeted China as his top economic rival with a cascade on tariffs that are worth billions of dollar. He is trying to reduce a trade surplus, bring back lost manufacturing and cripple fentanyl traffic. In reverse chronological order, here are the key events of this year in U.S. China trade war: China has announced that it will continue to expand access to and investment opportunities for U.S. firms, especially in the services sector. On November 10, China suspends for a full year the port fees it charges vessels with ties to the United States, as...

Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, reported on Tuesday a 22.6% increase in its core earnings for the third quarter. This was largely due to a reduction in personnel costs resulting from a pension refund. Jefferies, a financial research firm, reported that the German company's quarterly earnings were 593.1 millions euros ($691.7) - well above the analysts' consensus estimate of 533million euros. Fraport has confirmed its financial forecast for the year. However, it expects 63 million passengers will fly via Frankfurt by 2025. This is down 1 million from the previous estimate. The company reported that the number of passengers...

Belgian officials have enlisted foreign forces to help them track or seize drones that are making incursions near its airports and military bases, as well as a nuclear power plant. They claim this is all a result of Russian interference. Last Tuesday, drone sightings caused the authorities to temporarily close Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels Airport. This was one of several recent incursions which also resulted in a brief closure at the cargo hub, Liege Airport, and disrupted a nearby airbase. "We don't say it's Russia. "We're not saying it's Russia. It is impossible to link any incident with a specific...

The differentials between Russian Urals and other oil products remained stable on Friday despite low trading activity. Sellers and buyers were not rushing to begin December trading due to the uncertain political climate. The Suez Canal has seen two tankers with around 1.5 million barrels each of Russian Urals crude drop anchor in the sea. This is an indication of the difficulties Moscow faces selling oil following the tightening of Western sanctions last month. The supply problems are expected to worsen next week, as the deadline of November 21 for Rosneft's and Lukoil's transactions is fast approaching. The schedule shows...

A spokesperson for Skeyes, the air traffic control company, said that operations at Belgium's Brussels Airport had temporarily been halted due to drone sightings on Thursday. The spokesperson did not specify how many drones were sighted. Local media reported that drones were also spotted in other parts, including at a military facility. On Thursday morning, the Belgian government called an urgent meeting of its key ministers and chiefs of security after drone sightings on Tuesday night forced the closure of two airports and one military airbase in what was described by the defence minister as a coordinated attack. Germany has...

The price differential between Urals and Brent for December arrived in India on Thursday, as the flagship blend of Russia was traded at its steepest discount in over a year. This is due to new U.S. sanctions against Russia's top oil producers. The price difference for Russia's flagship Urals oil in Indian ports has widened from $2 to $4 per barrel under Brent for December arrival. This is the largest discount in about a month. According to estimates and shipping and trading sources, Russia's oil imports to western ports will decrease in November due to higher refinery runs but remain...

Traffic was halted at the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport on Sweden's west coast on Thursday after one or more drones were observed at the airport, authorities said. In recent months, drones have caused significant disruption in Europe and forced the temporary closure of airports across several countries. Some officials blamed hybrid warfare on Russia for the incidents. Moscow denies any involvement in the incidents. A spokesperson for the civil aviation agency LFV confirmed that "a drone or drones" had been spotted at Landvetter Airport. Police received the report at 1641 GMT, and were on the scene to gather information. According to airport...

CMA CGM reversed its decision to suspend cargo shipments into Mali due to safety concerns and fuel shortages, the French group announced on Thursday after a meeting the authorities. Early in September, the al-Qaeda-linked militant Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin announced a ban on fuel imports into this landlocked West African nation. Since then, the group has attacked convoys that were trying to enter the country and reach Bamako. CMA CGM stated in an email that "overland transportation has been severely impacted by security challenges and fuel shortages, in terms of transit times and costs." CMA CGM decided to continue its...

AD Ports Group, based in Abu Dhabi, announced on Thursday that it had signed an agreement to purchase a majority stake in a container port in Syria's major commercial port for $22million. This is the latest indication of how Syria continues to attract investment in its efforts to rebuild. AD Ports, a joint venture with the France-based CMA CGM Group shipping company, will purchase a 20% stake at the Latakia International Container Terminal. The terminal is the dominant trader of agricultural and industrial products, handling 95% of Syria’s container volume. Syria is looking to raise money from international investors to...

Three sources familiar with this matter confirmed on Thursday that the Volgograd refinery of Russian oil giant Lukoil has stopped operations following a drone strike by Ukrainians. Since several months, Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries and depots. Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes have also targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a conflict that is now approaching its fourth anniversary. The primary processing unit CDU-5 with a daily production of 9,100 tons or 66.700 barrels a day, a fifth of total plant capacity, and a hydrocracker that can produce 11,000 tons a day, were both damaged in the attack. Lukoil has not...

The Swedish autonomous trucking firm Einride announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to become public in the U.S. via a merger between Legato Merger Corp III and a blank-check company. This deal valued the company at approximately $1.8 billion. Listing comes after a surge of electric-vehicle startup companies went public during pandemic boom SPAC with the goal of capitalizing on huge demand for clean energy vehicles and government incentives to purchase battery-powered automobiles. Some of these firms, including Nikola, Lordstown Motors, and Proterra, have since gone bankrupt due to high costs, strong competition and operational challenges that eroded cash...

The Swedish autonomous trucking firm Einride announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to become public in the U.S. via a merger between Legato Merger Corp III and a blank-check company. This deal valued the company at approximately $1.8 billion. Listing comes after a surge of electric vehicle startups that went public during pandemic-era SPAC with the goal of capitalizing on huge demand for clean energy vehicles and government incentives to purchase battery-powered automobiles. Since then, a number trucking and vehicle technology startups, including Nikola, Lordstown Motors and Proterra, have failed due to competitive pressures and operational challenges. They also...

CMA CGM announced that it had suspended all cargo shipments from Mali. The French group also said road transport was experiencing difficulties due to safety issues and fuel shortages. Early in September, the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin announced a ban on fuel imports into this landlocked West African nation. Since then, the group has attacked convoys that were trying to enter the country and reach Bamako. CMA CGM India's website said Wednesday that road shipments from Mali have been suspended until further notice. The group issued a statement saying that it would not accept new bookings of...

Sources in Berlin confirmed that the German government supports Brazil's proposal for a fund to protect rainforests, but it hasn't yet decided on how much money they will contribute. Brazil, as host of the COP30 Climate talks, will launch its flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility next week in order to raise $125 billion for the conservation of endangered forests. Sources claim that the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will attend the talks and finds the idea extremely interesting. They added that the amount of the financial contribution should be left undetermined for the time being. The German development minister indicated that...

Three sources with knowledge of the matter said that Trafigura had delivered large quantities to London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses in Malaysia to take advantage of a financial agreement. Sources said that they did not know the details of the deal, which could have been incentives or rent deals. Trafigura has declined to comment. On October 30, the LME-registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia saw an increase of nearly 100,000 metric tonnes in their stock of aluminium. The total now stands at 366,850 tonnes. Sources said that Trafigura had put the majority of this aluminum on LME warrants, which are...

The London Metal Exchange said Thursday that it intends to set permanent rules imposing restrictions on members who have large positions in contracts near them due to low inventory levels. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., the world's largest and oldest market for industrial metals which is owned, placed temporary restrictions on June following a spike in premiums for copper contracts near by. LME stated that these measures were implemented in response to a low-stock situation combined with large positions in nearby dates. This had led the LME Special Committee to instruct market participants to reduce their large on-exchange position....

Kumba Iron Ore, South Africa, reported on Tuesday a 12% rise in mineral shipped to ports in the third quarter of the year on the backs of improved freight rail performance. This led to a 7% increase in quarterly sales. Anglo American delivered 10,2 million metric tonnes to Saldanha Port in the third quarter. This compares to 9,1 million metric tonnage during the same time period last year. Kumba's sales totaled 9.6 million tons during the third quarter. This is up from 9 million tons. Kumba, Africa’s largest iron ore mining company, stated in a recent production update that improvements...

United Parcel Service on Tuesday forecast revenue for the fourth quarter above Wall Street estimates, relying on price increases to offset a soft demand from business-to-business in the U.S. The company estimated revenue at about $24 billion. According to LSEG data, analysts' average quarterly revenue was $23.8 billion. In premarket trading, shares of the company rose 12%. The largest parcel delivery company in the world reported a net profit of $1.48billion, or 1.74 cents per share for the three-month period ended September 30. This compares to $1.50billion, or 1.76 cents per share a year ago. UPS and FedEx have seen...

Danish freight company DSV posted slightly higher profits than expected for the third quarter, but cut its outlook for the full year. The company cited a significant impact of foreign exchange rates and softening demand in an uncertain market. Since U.S. president Donald Trump imposed new tariffs earlier this year, European shipping and logistic firms have been under pressure because of falling freight rates and weaker demands. DSV now expects operating profit for 2025 to be between 19.5 and 20.5 billion Danish crowns (3.05 billion-$3.20billion), down from the previous range of 19.5 to 21.5 billion crowns. Michael Ebbe, Chief Financial...

Tritax Big Box announced on Monday that it had agreed to purchase Blackstone's UK logistic assets for 1,04 billion pounds ($1,39 billion). The U.S. Private Equity firm will take a 9% share in the London listed real estate investment trust. Recently, two UK-based companies engaged in a bidding battle over Warehouse REIT. In the UK, the real estate investment trust sector (REIT) has undergone significant consolidation over the last two years. Warehouse landlords, investment firms and other companies are capitalizing on the growing demand for quick delivery by increasing occupancy rates and securing increased rents for logistic spaces in UK...

Silver, which flooded the United States in the early part of this year because of fears about tariffs on imports, is likely to return to London's physical market where shortages of metal have driven the spot price over U.S. Futures. Silver was shipped to the United States by traders who wanted to avoid possible tariffs. This is because it was included on a list of critical minerals for the United States in September. The move is part of an effort to secure domestic supply chain for key metals. Silver spot was around $50.10 an ounce Friday after reaching a record...

New data indicates that recruiters are returning to the basics when it comes to hiring directors for top U.S. firms. Boards want experienced people to help them tackle issues like artificial intelligence or President Donald Trump’s tariffs. These trends are also a departure from the focus boards used to have on recruiting younger directors or those with more diverse backgrounds. According to a report released on Tuesday by Spencer Stuart, the executive search firm and leadership advisory, incoming directors of S&P 500 companies are averaging 59.1-years-old. This continues a trend that has been increasing for years. In addition, 30% of...