Panama Canal to Enter Ports Business as Trump-China Feud Simmers
The Panama Canal Authority expects to open a tender to operate a port on the Atlantic coast and another on the Pacific, both of which would connect to a liquefied petroleum gas pipeline. They would be owned by the canal and likely operated by a third party, Ricaurte Vasquez, head of the authority, said during an interview Monday in New York.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
$5.3 billion issue revealed in Australia's cashless revolution: 'Not tolerating it'
The true cost of system outages that have plagued Australian telecommunication providers, banks, retailers, airlines and other institutions has been revealed. New data from PagerDuty showed that in the last 12 months alone, $5.3 billion worth of pain has been inflicted on everyday Aussies during these failures. That equates to around 73 million hours of time wasted or lost. Callum Eade, vice president of PagerDuty's Asia Pacific region, told Yahoo Finance he was "shocked" by how many people had been affected, especially edge towards a more digital society. "We're seeing impacted consumers go from 'that was a bit annoying' in the past, to 'I'm not tolerating it anymore' now," he said. RELATED 'Staggering' $160 billion cashless trend as Aussies flock to new technology over cash Centrelink warning for downsizing Baby Boomers over 'special' retirement rule Text message 'proves' common dinner bill foul play as woman left '$500 out-of-pocket' PagerDuty, an AI-powered platform that discovers and mitigates system outages, found telcos and financial services topped the list for the number of Aussies affected by this issue, at 41 and 38 per cent, respectively. But, 71 per cent said they would abandon a company if it suffered just one more outage. Banks have repeatedly attracted headlines after their digital operations went dark, even just for a few belonging to Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Westpac, NAB, ANZ, ING, Bendigo Bank and others have recently experienced moments where they couldn't access their money or had been locked out of their accounts. This comes at a time when Aussies are increasingly dependent on digital financial systems to run smoothly, as there has been a gradual decline in the use of cash in the last decade. More reliance on cashless systems means a far bigger impact on society when those networks fail, crash, or go offline. The Australian Banking Association (ABA) said 99.3 per cent of customer-bank interactions now occur via digital channels. However, these channels aren't foolproof. Aussies losing trust in essential services due to outages Eric was trekking through Nepal last year when his bank, ING, suffered a days-long outage. He was out of money and wanted to transfer some funds around, but couldn't get into his account while the system was out of whack. "There's been no communication to me," he told Yahoo Finance at the time. "I've had to search the web to locate an explanation... I can't even access their website. This is becoming a regular event at ING. What a lousy communication system they've got - it totally disregards the customer." This sentiment has permeated across the country and it's having a massive impact on how customers view their financial institutions. PagerDuty found 25 per cent of people affected by a system outage lost trust in their bank due to the way it was handled and how it impacted them. Lives can be thrown into disarray during these outages, which can last up to a few days at a time. Some people have been in the middle of paying for petrol or their groceries when these outages hit, and it can leave them faced with either waiting until the problem is fixed or walking away empty-handed. As a result, 61 per cent revealed they had started carrying cash more often as a backup in case they couldn't use their card or access their accounts. Research found this worry of being left stranded financially is now carried by 77 per cent of Australians. Calls for change to prevent more problems Aussies aren't confident the situation is going to get any better as we rely more heavily on digital banking and other services. PagerDuty found 34 per cent of people believe outages will happen more often in telco services, along with 30 per cent in the banking sector. Eade told Yahoo Finance that while these institutions have been trying to be more proactive in preventing these issues, they need to up their game as we become more reliant on their systems. "That complexity, which we are all embracing, brings with itself a headache," he said. "That isn't going to change. What needs to change, and where we're seeing a number of those institutions spending time and energy, is ensuring that they've got a plan for that." Research showed that 97 per cent of consumers "expect action" when a failure occurs, with nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) expecting regular updates. A further 63 per cent want a "clear explanation" from the institution of what went wrong. Eade said this gives banks, telcos and other essential services a good idea of what to do in the future when outages hit to prevent more in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Finance week ahead: Jackson Hole Symposium, UK inflation, Walmart, Palo Alto Networks and Baidu
Earnings season is winding down but there are still a number of companies due to report, along with key economic data and events on both sides of the Atlantic – including the Jackson Hole Symposium. This year's Jackson Hole Symposium will see central bankers from around the world gather to discuss economic policy – an event that will be closely watched by investors for any signals on the US Federal Reserve's plans for future interest rate cuts. Back in the UK, the focus will be on the latest inflation data, which has been ticking higher over the past couple of months. In terms of earnings releases, investors will be looking at results from US retail giant Walmart (WMT), which is considered a barometer for consumer sentiment. In the tech sector, US cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is set to report, with the stock having seen a couple of analyst ratings upgrades this week. China's Baidu ( BIDU) is another major tech company scheduled to report, having recently struck a deal with Uber (UBER) to deploy its autonomous cars on the ride-hailing platform across markets outside of the US and mainland China. Here's more on what to look out for: Jackson Hole Symposium – Takes place from Thursday 21 August to Saturday 23 August The theme for this year's Jackson Hole event is "Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy". This comes amid concerns about a cooling labour market, as economic uncertainty sees firms put off hiring decisions. Central bankers keep a close eye on labour market data, which includes payroll numbers, unemployment rates, job vacancies and wage growth. This data helps inform their decisions on interest rates, as they seek to balance maintaining labour market health, with ensuring inflation continues to ease to the widely used 2% target. This has been more challenging amid fears that US president Donald Trump's tariffs could weigh on economic growth but also drive inflation higher. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Although the effect of Trump's tariffs on monetary policy will be the undercurrent theme, investors will be looking specifically for clues as to the Fed's inclination to cut interest rates going forward." Read more: Analysts' top emerging market fund and trust picks "Bets on a cut in September have increased sharply following a stable inflation reading for July and there will focus on what could lie ahead for borrowing costs," she said. Data released on Tuesday showed that "core" inflation rose 0.3% in July, surpassing June's 0.2% uptick. On an annual basis, the core consumer prices index (CPI) reading came in at 3.1%, up from 2.9% in June. Another inflation measure, the producer price index (PPI) came in hotter than expected in July, according to figures released on Thursday. US PPI for July showed inflation for businesses rose 0.9% over the prior month, well ahead of the 0.2% increase that was forecast. On an annual basis, prices rose 3.3%, which was also ahead of the 2.5% expected. This data dented investor hopes of a bigger 50-basis-point interest rate cut by the Fed. In addition, Streeter said: "How to bolster productivity in an era of demographic change will also be a big focus of discussions, with labour markets around the world in a state of upheaval as population changes, tougher immigration laws and AI developments are set to be hugely disruptive in the years to come." UK consumer price inflation – Data due out on Wednesday 20 August Following a year-on-year uptick in the UK consumer prices index (CPI) to 3.6% in June from 3.4% in May, Streeter said that there is set to be a "steamier inflation reading for July". "The Bank of England is now forecasting that CPI will hit a peak of 4% in September so, for now, it looks like the only way is up for prices," she said. "Barclaycard data has shown that there was an uplift in card spending in July, especially around events like the Oasis tour," she added. "The hot but stormy weather also led to a spurt in clothing purchases. Wage inflation has remained sticky." Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, released on Tuesday, showed that annual wage growth excluding bonuses came in at 5% in April to June, unchanged from the previous three months. Read more: What are bitcoin ETNs? "Although pay growth has slowed, it's now static and is still outstripping inflation, so there's a risk that firms will pass on heavier costs as higher prices," said Streeter. "Unless there's a marked and unexpected fall in inflation, the Bank of England looks set to stay cautious and delay another interest rate cut at least November or December." Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank ( said in a note on Friday that his team expect headline CPI to rise to 3.8% in July. "July inflation will likely see price momentum rise further into uncomfortable territory," he said. Walmart (WMT) – Releases second quarter earnings on Thursday 21 August As the largest retailer in the US, Walmart (WMT) is consider to act as a bellwether for consumer health, so it's earnings are closely watched by investors. Shares are up more than 11% year-to-date but edged lower after Walmart released a mixed set of first quarter results in May. Walmart (WMT) posted first quarter revenue of $165.5bn (£122.02bn) , which was up 2.5% from the same period last year, though this missed Wall Street expectations of $166.02bn. Adjusted earnings per share grew 1.7% year over year to $0.61, beating estimates of $0.58. US same-store sales also beat expectations with a 4.5% increase, led by health and wellness, and groceries. However, the retailer signalled that there could be more pain ahead. In an earnings call, Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon said: "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins." Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio John David Rainey, chief financial officer of Walmart (WMT), said in the earnings release that the company had decided to hold off on providing a specific range of guidance for operating income growth and earnings per share for the second quarter, given the "dynamic nature of the backdrop". Walmart (WMT) did guide to net sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% for the quarter, based on the $167.8bn it reported a year ago. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment director Russ Mould and head of financial analysis Danni Hewson said that analysts expect a headline figure for net sales of $174bn. "That turns into a consensus analysts' forecasts for [net profit in] the second quarter of $5.8bn, and a headline earnings per share (EPS) figure of $0.72, up from $0.67 a year ago," they said. "For the full year to January 2026, Walmart has thus far guided to a net sales increase on a constant currency basis of 3% to 4% and analysts' headline estimate for the top line is $699bn," they added. "Management expects full-year EPS to come in between $2.50 and $2.60, and the current analysts' consensus is $2.58." Palo Alto Networks (PANW) – Releases fourth quarter earnings on Monday 18 August Ahead of the release of its fourth quarter earnings, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has seen two analyst rating upgrades this week. Analysts at Piper Sandler (PIPR) upgraded their rating on Palo Alto (PANW) to "overweight" and raised their price target on the stock from $200 to $225, according to data gathered by Yahoo Finance. The shares are currently down 4.6% year-to-date, with the stock having closed Thursday's session at $173.55 per share. Deutsche Bank ( also upgraded its rating to a "buy" and raised its price target from $200 to $220. Read more: Stocks that are trending today Brad Zelnick, managing director, software equity research at Deutsche Bank ( said in a note on Wednesday that his team upgraded the stock given its "thoughts on the health of the business, quality of its leadership, and forward prospects for the announced acquisition of CyberArk (CYBR)". Palo Alto (PANW) announced at the end of July that it had agreed to buy Israeli rival CyberArk in a $25bn deal. "With the stock underperforming broader cyber by 15% YTD and 11% since credible speculation of the acquisition, we think investor concerns are overblown," said Zelnick. Shares in the Palo Alto (PANW) came under pressure following the release of its third quarter earnings in May, as the results failed to impress investors. The cybersecurity company's third quarter revenue came in at $2.3bn, just above expectations, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.80. For the fourth quarter, Palo Alto (PANW) guided to total revenue in the range of $2.49bn to $2.51bn, representing year-over-year growth of between 14% and 15%. Baidu ( BIDU) – Releases second quarter earnings on Wednesday 20 August In July, Baidu ( BIDU) and ride-hailing app Uber (UBER) announced a multi-year partnership to deploy thousands of the Chinese company's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across multiple global markets. The companies said that the first deployments are expected in Asia and the Middle East later this year. Baidu's ( BIDU) Hong Kong-listed shares rose following the news, though the stock is still trading just 5.3% in the green year-to-date. In terms of financial performance, Baidu's ( BIDU) total revenue was up 3% year-on-year in the first quarter to $4.47bn, though adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were down 13% year-on-year at $993m. Read more: EU economic growth slows to 0.2% in second quarter Robin Li, CEO of Baidu ( BIDU), said that 7% growth in the company's core revenue was "driven by the accelerating momentum" of its AI cloud business. "The strong performance of our AI cloud business underscores the growing market recognition of our distinctive strength in providing full-stack AI products and solutions with a highly competitive price-performance advantage," he said. "We also achieved a pivotal milestone in our robotaxi business, as Apollo Go expanded internationally by entering Dubai and Abu Dhabi." "We are confident that our AI-first strategy positions us to remain at the forefront and to capture long-term growth opportunities in the AI era," Li added. Other companies reporting next week include: Monday 18 August BATM Communications (BVC.L) Thungela Resources (TGA.L) Tuesday 19 August IWG (IWG.L) Tribal (TRB.L) BHP (BHP.L) Xiaomi ( Coloplast ( Home Depot (HD) Medtronic (MDT) Amer Sports (AS) Toll Brothers (TOL) Wednesday 20 August OSB (OSB.L) Costain (COST.L) Ithaca Energy (ITH.L) Kenmare Resources (KMR.L) Hong Kong Exchanges ( DFDS ( Lowe's (LOW) Analog Devices (ADI) Estée Lauder (EL) Coty (COTY) Thursday 21 August Hays (HAS.L) Brambles ( AIA ( Aegon ( GN Store Nord ( Tessenderlo ( Zoom Communications (ZM) Dollar Tree (DLTR) Friday 22 August Meituan ( GoldFields ( You can read Yahoo Finance's full calendar here. Read more: Bank of England cuts gilt holdings by £32.5bn in second quarter The most popular stocks and funds investors bought in July UK job market continues to weaken as vacancies fall
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Forbes
American Airlines Battles Pilots Over Alaska's New Boeing 787s
American Airlines wants to fly more on the West Coast and in the Pacific, partially through a codeshare with Alaska Airlines, but the carrier appears not to want the flying to be done by its own pilots. In a letter to members on Monday, Nick Silva, president of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 16,000 American pilots, said the airline will code share with Alaska Airlines on new European routes, and potentially on trans-Pacific routes, but won't allow its pilots to fly the routes. That violates the scope clause of the pilots' contract. Silva said management 'revealed plans to ignore our contract' in a discussion with him. Codeshares enable airlines to sell tickets on a second airline's flights, and to include those tickets on its booking platform. Scope clauses in pilot contracts define the flying to be done by union members. The scope clause of the contract between American and APA allows for domestic codeshares between American and Alaska, but not for international codeshares. Alaska merged with Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal in September 2024. Among Hawaiian's assets are five Boeing 787 jets, which became the first widebodies in Alaska's fleet. Alaska also has orders for about a dozen 787s. Last week, Alaska said it will begin 787 flights to London and Reykjavik in spring 2026. 'Alaska Airlines recently announced even more new European routes, which prompted my request to meet with senior management,' Silva wrote. 'In those discussions, management revealed plans to ignore our contract by codesharing on Alaska Airlines' new long-haul international routes.' American did not respond to a request to comment on Thursday. American has long been stymied in efforts to fly transpacific routes, a disadvantage in its competition with peers Delta and United. American's major Pacific assets is a transpacific alliance with partner Japan Air Lines. The alliance has antitrust immunity, enabling the carriers to coordinate on fares and schedules. In March, a JAL executive said the carrier is considering whether to allow Alaska to join the alliance, according to the Japanese digital aviation portal Traicy. Silva said APA's scope committee has been closely following the developments involving the Alaska/Hawaiian merger, the use of 787s for international routes and the effort to join the alliance. 'The Alaska Airlines codeshare permissions granted by Section 1.G of our contract never contemplated codesharing with a domestic airline to destinations across East Asia and Europe,' Silva wrote. 'Moreover, the widebody aircraft Alaska Airlines plans to operate on these routes all belong to Hawaiian Airlines and are thus subject to the limits on codesharing with Hawaiian Airlines or its successor. 'Why is this so harmful to the pilots of American Airlines?' Silva wrote. 'The introduction of American Airlines' code onto Alaska Airlines' international network will provide another way for American Airlines to farm out widebody flying to other airlines — flying that pilots on our seniority list could and should be performing.' APA spokesman Dennis Tajer noted that the pilots' scope clause is the first section in the contract. 'Scope is a religious issue to pilots,' Tajer said. 'It's about our current and future jobs that our families count on. There are few, if any, issues around which our pilot group will unite more than an attack on our scope protection.' He said the APA contract restricts Alaska code shares to domestic flying and restricts Hawaiian codeshares to flights between Hawaiian islands. Silva said he has filed two grievances. In late October, an arbitrator will hear the grievance regarding the Alaska code share. No hearing has yet been scheduled on the second grievance, filed because 'the widebody aircraft Alaska Airlines plans to operate on these routes all belong to Hawaiian Airlines and are thus subject to the limits on codesharing with Hawaiian Airlines or its successor. '
