2025-10-14 22:35
Shutdown affects paychecks for 13,000 air traffic controllers Controllers face financial strain, may seek side jobs, employee union warns Risk for air travel could rise as shutdown stalemate drags on, Daniels says ARLINGTON, Virginia/NEWARK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - More than 13,000 U.S. air traffic controllers face rising stress and financial insecurity after Tuesday's disbursement of what will be their last paycheck during the government shutdown, posing potential risks for air travel, the head of an employee union said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that staffing issues among air traffic controllers were to blame for 53% of flight delays since the shutdown, now in its 14th day, compared with 5% in normal times. Sign up here. And as the political stalemate over government funding drags on, the potential toll on air traffic could worsen, said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "(The shutdown) introduces a whole new risk in the air traffic control system, when their focus is now moved from the safety and moving 45,000 planes, 3 million passengers, tons of cargo a day into, 'Do I have to get another job? Do I have to start driving Uber on the side?'" he said in an interview at Reagan Washington National Airport Tuesday. Controllers, working in one of the government's most high-stress professions with responsibility for the smooth and safe flow of air travel, also fear getting caught in the middle as both political parties point fingers at each other over the budget impasse. "We're used as the political pawn during the process," Daniels said. "We are the rope in this tug of war game that we shouldn't be the rope. This has nothing to do with us ... The real story is that America's air traffic control system is falling further behind because of this shutdown." Daniels met on Tuesday with Duffy at Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland to talk to controllers. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been sent home and thousands more laid off, as more and more government business grinds to a halt each day without a budget deal in Congress. Like many who work in government, controllers are missing two days of pay in the check they receive Tuesday and will not get any paycheck on October 28 if the budget standoff is not concluded. More than 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers are also working without pay. Air traffic has already slowed at times in some cities, as many air traffic controllers called in sick, roiling air travelers. "On top of the stress they're already dealing with, in the towers, or in the security lines, they're now wondering how they're going to pay their rent and mortgage," Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer told reporters at Newark International Airport on Tuesday. "Yet, like so many other government workers are still showing up to keep our country and our economy running." The Federal Aviation Administration has been facing an air traffic controller staffing shortage for more than a decade, and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff. Daniels said the Transportation Department clarified controllers will get paid for sick time for which they are legally entitled during the shutdown, once it ends. Duffy has urged controllers to keep working. Officials said staffing issues did not pose a significant issue over a three-day U.S. holiday weekend that just ended. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-air-safety-risk-with-traffic-controllers-pawns-shutdown-official-says-2025-10-14/
2025-10-14 22:20
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Major Chinese airlines on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to abandon a plan to bar them from flying over Russia on U.S. flights, saying it would increase flight times, raise air fares and could disrupt some routes. Last week the U.S. Transportation Department proposed banning Chinese airlines from flying over Russia on routes to and from the United States, saying the reduced flight time puts American carriers at a disadvantage. Sign up here. China Eastern (600115.SS) , opens new tab, one of six Chinese airlines that sent letters, said in a filing with USDOT that the move could extend the flight time on some of its most important routes by two to three hours, significantly increase risks of missed connections and boost fuel consumption. Air China (601111.SS) , opens new tab and China Southern (600029.SS) , opens new tab said the decision would adversely affect a substantial number of passengers in the United States and China. China Southern projected at least 2,800 passengers scheduled to travel during the peak holiday season of November 1 to December 31 would need to be rebooked "jeopardizing their travel plans." Separately United Airlines urged the Trump administration to extend the prohibition to Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) , opens new tab, which flies over Russia on flights to the United States from Hong Kong and other Hong Kong-based carriers. United (UAL.O) , opens new tab says the Russia restrictions mean it is "effectively barred from resuming non-stop China service on previously served routes such as Newark/New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago." Russia has barred U.S. airlines and many other foreign carriers from flying over its airspace in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the U.S. in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Chinese airlines were not banned and have been using this advantage to increase market share compared to non-Chinese carriers on international routes. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry on Friday said the restrictions were not conducive to person-to-person exchanges. Airlines for America, a major trade group representing carriers American Airlines (AAL.O) , opens new tab, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) , opens new tab and United Airlines (UAL.O) , opens new tab praised the effort but also called on USDOT to continue to "maintain parity in the number of passenger flights available to U.S. and Chinese airlines, by ensuring that the level of passenger capacity stays reasonably tied to marketplace demand." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-airlines-oppose-trump-plan-stop-flying-over-russia-us-routes-2025-10-14/
2025-10-14 22:18
GM's $1.6 billion charge linked to EV capacity adjustments GM may incur further charges due to capacity reassessment Automaker expects EV adoption to slow Oct 14 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it would take a $1.6 billion charge in the third quarter as it reshapes its electric vehicle strategy following the scrapping of a key federal incentive that is likely to dampen demand. GM's disclosure is one of the clearest indications yet that U.S. automakers are scrambling to adapt their production plans in response to slowing EV demand. Sign up here. The EV market also faces fresh strain after the Trump administration scrapped a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles, a key industry support, with auto executives warning of a sharp near-term drop in battery-car sales before an eventual rebound. EV ADOPTION RATE TO SLOW In a filing, GM said it expects "the adoption rate of EVs to slow" following recent policy changes, including the termination of certain consumer tax incentives and reduced emissions-rule stringency. "The charge is a special item driven by our expectation that EV volumes will be lower than planned because of market conditions and the changed regulatory and policy environment," GM told Reuters in a statement. Shares of the company were up 2.1% in morning trade. Automakers are also working to cushion the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, which forced GM to take a $1.1 billion hit in the previous quarter. The company has estimated a bottom-line impact of $4 billion to $5 billion this year from trade headwinds and said it could take steps to offset at least 30% of the blow. Morningstar senior analyst David Whiston noted that other automakers could follow GM's suit and announce their own EV-related impairments. Ford (F.N) , opens new tab declined to comment on its EV plans, while Stellantis did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. GM'S $1.6 BILLION CHARGE "The charge doesn’t come as a surprise given recent market developments and the fact GM had made probably the most aggressive EV push of any traditional automaker," said Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. "We think the automakers who chose to invest more heavily in hybrid vehicle development such as Toyota and Honda are poised to benefit in the U.S. auto market." Both GM and crosstown rival Ford had launched a program that would have allowed dealers to offer a $7,500 tax credit on EV leases after the federal subsidy expired, before walking back on those plans. The charges include a $1.2 billion non‑cash impairment tied to EV capacity adjustments and $400 million for contract‑cancellation fees and commercial settlements. While the changes will not affect GM's current portfolio of Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac EVs in production, the company did warn of possible additional charges as it reassesses capacity and manufacturing footprint. GM said the charges will be recorded as adjustments to non‑GAAP results for the third quarter, which are scheduled for release early next week. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-takes-16-billion-charge-it-reassesses-ev-plans-2025-10-14/
2025-10-14 21:45
Chevron pushes for input on Venture Global's LNG plant extension request Venture Global cites COVID-19 challenges for extension request Arbitration tribunal finds Venture Global breached agreement with BP HOUSTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday asked federal regulators to let it offer an opinion on Venture Global's (VG.N) , opens new tab recent request for more time to commission the Plaquemines LNG plant in Louisiana, at which the U.S. oil major has a long-term sales and purchase agreement that could be affected by any delay. The filing from Chevron came just days after an arbitration tribunal found that Venture Global breached an agreement with BP (BP.L) , opens new tab to declare timely commercial operations at its separate Calcasieu Pass plant, also in Louisiana. The LNG producer's shares plummeted 25% on Friday as investors worried about other ongoing arbitration liabilities. Sign up here. Last month, Venture Global asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to give it until the end of 2027 to commission the Plaquemines plant, citing challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. The original deadline to put the 27.2 million metric tons per annum export facility into service was September 30, 2026. "Chevron has a substantial interest that may be directly affected by the outcome of this proceeding," it wrote in the filing. The company did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Venture Global characterized the extension it is seeking as a standard procedural step that is routinely taken to align schedules with FERC in-service deadlines. “To be clear, this request to FERC for an extension of our in-service deadline at Plaquemines has no impact on our publicly announced expectations for the commercial operations date of Phase 1 and Phase 2 which remain the same, " Venture Global told Reuters on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-pushes-say-venture-global-request-plaquemines-lng-startup-extension-2025-10-14/
2025-10-14 21:31
NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin and ether tumbled on Tuesday as U.S.-China tension ramped up, wiping out a rally the day before that was fueled by President Donald Trump's conciliatory trade remarks. The U.S. and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. Sign up here. In afternoon trading, bitcoin fell to as low as $110,023.78 and was last down 2.3% at $113,129. The world's largest cryptocurrency hit a record high above $126,000 on October 6. Ether, the second-biggest digital currency, slid to a trough of $3,900.80 and was last down 3.7% at $4,128.47. Last Friday, it dropped 12% from the day's high to a low of $3,436.29 . Altcoins, a term for all cryptocurrencies other than market-leader bitcoin, bore the brunt of the move, with many falling 80% on some exchanges, analysts said. Exchanges amplified Friday's selloff by automatically forcing some leveraged investors to close their positions after their collateral fell below certain thresholds, analysts said. "As long as China's relationship with the U.S. is shaky and stocks too concentrated in tech, crypto will be struggling as it tends to enjoy good times when other established assets are holding up well," said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. "But when the fundamentals are not great, crypto struggles to find a base for its value whether it's bitcoin or ether." Tuesday's price action came days after the crypto market experienced the largest liquidations in history, with more than $19 billion wiped out across leveraged positions late on Friday. The crash came after Trump said he would impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, in response to China announcing a major expansion of its rare earths export controls. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bitcoin-ether-drop-us-china-tensions-flare-up-erasing-mondays-gains-2025-10-14/
2025-10-14 21:09
BRUSSELS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC is set to secure EU approval for its 14.7-billion-euro ($17 billion) bid for German chemicals company Covestro, with EU regulators likely to seek tweaks to remedies provided earlier this month, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The European Commission is examining the deal, ADNOC's biggest acquisition yet and one of the largest foreign takeovers of an EU company by a Gulf state, over concerns that ADNOC may be using state subsidies to acquire the chemicals company. Sign up here. The Commission declined to comment. Covestro shares gained 2.4% in late trade after the Reuters story was published, versus a slight dip in the STOXX Europe 600 chemicals index . The EU regulator sought feedback from rivals and third parties last week after ADNOC offered to change its articles of association to remove EU concerns about the unlimited state guarantee. It also pledged to retain Covestro's intellectual property in Europe. The Commission is expected to demand some minor changes to the remedies before clearing the deal, the sources said. Such demands are typical after feedback from third parties. ADNOC reiterated previous comments about offering a package of robust and proportionate remedies to the Commission and that it was confident this would lead to timely clearance of the deal. Separately, the Commission is expected to resume its investigation of the deal shortly after temporarily halting the process last month while waiting for ADNOC to provide requested information. ADNOC has since responded to all the requests for information, said another source. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/adnoc-set-win-17-billion-covestro-deal-with-remedy-tweaks-sources-say-2025-10-14/
