Israel Far-Right Incitement to Assassinate, RBA Maintains Cautious Stance

Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has placed a $38 billion order for an additional 65 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, giving the US plane maker a much-needed boost shortly after the plane's debut was further postponed to 2027.

It also ordered 130 of GE Aerospace's GE9X engines that power the twin-engined planes, Emirates said on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Monday.

"This is a massive long-term commitment to US aerospace manufacturing, generating support for hundreds of thousands of high value manufacturing jobs in the US over the life of the programmes," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline group, said at a press conference during the show taking place in Dubai World Central.

When asked how Boeing managed to convince Emirates to buy more of the long-delayed 777X models, Brad McMullen, the company's senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, told the The National: "I don't think there was any convincing that needed to be done, frankly. They've committed to the 777-9. Their future depends on it. Our future depends on Emirates. When two parties depend on each other, you can normally find a way to do more business."

Meanwhile, the Emirates boss also said the airline has the option to convert the order to the 777-10, a larger variant that's still under development.

"We fully support Boeing's feasibility study to develop the 777-10 and have options to convert our latest 777-9 order to the 777-10 or the 777-8," Sheikh Ahmed said.

Boeing is just starting the feasibility study, Mr McMullen said. "We've committed that we're going to study it and that's what we're going to do. It's probably no secret that Emirates has wanted a bigger aircraft to replace the A380s and we're going to see if that's our plane. We're going to take a hard look at it."

Monday's deal takes Emirates' total order book with Boeing to 315 wide-body aircraft, comprising 270 Boeing 777Xs, 10 777 freighters and 35 of the 787 Dreamliners. Its order book with GE Aerospace for GE9X engines rose to a total of 540 units, including the 130 additional units signed on Monday.

Emirates will continue working closely with Boeing to receive delivery of its first 777-9s from the second quarter of 2027, Sheikh Ahmed said.

The airline's growth plans have been clipped by the seven-year delay in the 777X programme.

John Strickland, a UK-based aviation analyst and director of JLS Consulting, said Emirates "remains frustrated" by delays to existing 777-X deliveries.

But the additional order "underlines confidence in what the aircraft will deliver for Emirates and the need to beef up the numbers looking ahead to the next decade, when A380s begin to depart the fleet", he told The National.

Emirates is already the biggest customer of the 777X, with 270 units on order. Monday's agreement is the airline's third order of the aircraft.

The world's biggest international airline threw its weight behind the 777X despite delays, amid a lack of viable options to replace the A380 superjumbo that has ceased production. Emirates has said it will continue to fly its double-deckers until early 2040.

"After Airbus stopped making the A380s, Boeing 777 is the biggest commercial airplane," Sheikh Ahmed said.

"Some people may have doubts about Emirates' huge backlog of aircraft orders, but I assure you each and every aircraft of ours has been carefully factored into Emirates' growth plans," Sheikh Ahmed said. "As an airline, we are lucky to be based here."

The airline will be expecting Boeing aircraft deliveries up to 2038.

Stephanie Pope, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the order "further cements Emirates' position as the 777X's largest customer".

Separately, Emirates' sister airline flydubai on Monday announced an order for 60 GEnx-1B engines to power the airline first wide-body fleet of 30 Boeing 787-9. It had placed the plane order at the Dubai Airshow in 2023.

"The performance and durability of our engines play an integral role in the success of our operations and fleet expansion plans, especially as we prepare to welcome the Boeing 787 aircraft to our fleet in the coming years," said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive of flydubai.

Boeing's 2025 Commercial Market Outlook projects sustained Middle East demand for wide-body aeroplanes. The region is expected to need nearly 3,000 new wide-body jets over the next 20 years.

The pact on Monday gives the US plane maker an advantage over its European arch-rival Airbus on the first day of the Middle East's largest air show.

A Boeing air show?

In another boost for Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines on Monday confirmed an order for 11 new Boeing 737 Max-8 planes.

The airline runs the largest Boeing fleet in Africa and has the largest backlog of 737 Max planes, 777X and 787 Dreamliners on the continent.

Ethiopian is also actively evaluating additional wide-body orders from both Airbus and Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines group chief executive Mesfin Tasew said at the air show.

Also on Monday, Air Senegal ordered nine 737-Max 8 planes, with rights to buy six more.

Yankhoba Dieme, Senegal's Minister for Infrastructure, Land and Air, said this was their first deal with Boeing in 21 years.

Source: THENATIONALNEWS

A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that a former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to disable the engines of a passenger jet mid-flight while riding off-duty in the cockpit will not serve additional prison time.

Joseph David Emerson, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio in Portland, Oregon, to time served and three years of supervised release.

Federal prosecutors had sought a one-year prison term, while Emerson's attorneys argued for probation, citing penalties already imposed by the state court.

The incident occurred on Oct. 22, 2023, aboard Horizon Air Flight 2059, an Embraer 175 operated for Alaska Airlines flying from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco.

Federal prosecutors said Emerson, who was seated in the cockpit jump seat, reached up to grab two red fire suppression handles and began pulling them down, which would have cut fuel to the plane's engines, according to court documents.

The on-duty pilots successfully restrained him, and the plane diverted to Portland, landing safely with 84 people on board.

According to the court documents, Emerson told police he had not slept for approximately 48 hours, had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days earlier, and believed he was dreaming and trying to wake himself up. He also said he was grieving a friend's death and experiencing a mental health crisis.

In September, Emerson pleaded guilty to a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and no contest to state charges of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of reckless endangerment, according to court records and prosecutors.

Ahead of Monday's sentencing, a lawyer for Emerson plead with the court last week that he had spent 46 days in pretrial incarceration. "Mr. Emerson's 46 days in jail was impactful, cathartic, and punishing," the lawyer argued. "He will never

be able to expunge this conviction."

A state court also sentenced him to five years probation, 664 hours of community service, and about $60,000 in restitution, mostly to Alaska Air Group.

The case has intensified scrutiny of cockpit access rules and sparked renewed calls for stronger mental health support for pilots.

To address these concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration's mental health panel issued 24 recommendations last year, including non-punitive disclosure pathways, revised reporting requirements, and improved return-to-work processes.

In September 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation requiring the FAA to adopt those measures and overhaul its medical certification rules.

Source: Investing

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces mounting pressure to soften her stance on Bank of Japan policy and unveil an economic package with a credible funding plan as the yen and government bonds lose ground ahead of her meeting with BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda.

The yen weakened to 155.38 per dollar Tuesday, the lowest since January, amid rising speculation that the BOJ will delay any rate hike while Takaichi compiles a larger-than-expected spending plan to be released as early as this week. Japan's 20-year bond yield rose to its highest since 1999 on Monday owing largely to renewed concerns that the economic package will add to the nation's pile of debt.

Takaichi is scheduled to meet with Ueda at 3:30 p.m. at the prime minister's office in Tokyo. Any remarks from the two following their discussions will be parsed closely by BOJ watchers to anticipate the timing of the next rate increase, which most predict will come no later than January.

The two will meet a day after a government report showed Japan's economy contracted over the summer by 1.8% on an annualized basis, the first fall in six quarters, as the impact of construction industry regulatory changes and US tariffs weighed on activity. Some economists were of the view that the GDP report wasn't as bad as indicated by the headline figures, but the contraction will nonetheless likely strengthen Takaichi's resolve to compile an ambitious spending plan.

"Takaichi has to be careful, as if she directly requests a freeze on rate hikes for now, it would push down the yen easily past 160," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. "Takaichi will probably indicate her support for no early rate hike in a very nuanced way, while Ueda reiterates the BOJ's rate hike stance."

The size of fresh spending contained in the economic measures is expected to surpass last year's ¥13.9 trillion ($89.5 billion), according to a Bloomberg survey. A group of a ruling Liberal Democratic Party members advocated for making the package about ¥25 trillion on Monday, according to local media reports. Japan has the world's largest public debt burden among developed nations.

Takaichi, a proponent of easy monetary policy, has suggested she backs an approach that would see the BOJ raise borrowing costs only slowly, indirectly giving currency traders a green light to sell the yen. A cheaper yen makes imports costly, hindering her efforts to mitigate the pain of elevated inflation on households. So far she's addressed the issue with pledges for steps including a cut to gasoline taxes and utility subsidies.

With the BOJ's next policy decision more than a month away, traders are on alert to the risk of currency intervention by the Ministry of Finance. Satsuki Katayama, the finance chief, reiterated her concerns earlier Tuesday, citing one-sided, rapid moves in the market.

If Takaichi chooses to explicitly state her desire to avoid rate hikes over the near term, she'll risk exposing herself to pressure from the US. In a highly unusual step for a US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent last month urged Takaichi's government to give the BOJ space for a policy change to address inflation.

The yen has been a frequent source of headaches for Japan's authorities. In July last year, the currency slipped to as low as 161.95, the weakest since 1986, prompting the government to buy the currency via market intervention. The BOJ then raised rates a few weeks later, a surprise to investors that helped spark global financial market turmoil.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Rare-earth element yttrium oxide has hit an all-time high after surging almost 1,500% this year, highlighting the fallout of trade curbs from China.

Prices surged to $126 a kilogram, up from less than $8 at the end of 2024, according Asian Metal Inc. In April, China imposed export curbs on rare earths, including yttrium.

Rare earths — their output, refining, trade, and usage — are at the heart of the drawn-out trade showdown between the world's two largest economies. At present, China dominates their production, and while Beijing recently agreed to free up sales, the two sides are still negotiating over the details.

Yttrium's uses include medical technologies, as well as aerospace equipment, ceramics, lasers and superconductors. In the four years to 2023, more than 90% of US imports came from China, according to the US Geological Survey.

In the US, while Pentagon-backed MP Materials Corp. mines yttrium at its Mountain Pass project, the company is stockpiling the material while it plans a downstream expansion.

Elsewhere, Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., which produces an array of rare earths, is expanding capacity to produce yttrium from its Mount Weld mine and processing plant in Malaysia.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Australia's central bank board members discussed the implications of a recent spike in inflation, the outlook for the labor market and whether monetary policy was still restrictive when deciding to leave interest-rate settings unchanged this month, minutes of its Nov. 3-4 meeting showed.

The Reserve Bank left its cash rate at 3.6% two weeks ago and the record of the meeting released in Sydney on Tuesday showed discussion among policymakers over whether financial conditions were still tight. On balance, members judged conditions remained "slightly restrictive," but acknowledged it was possible this was no longer the case.

The RBA has cut the benchmark rate by 75 basis points in its current easing campaign to the lowest level since April 2023. Its focus is now shifting to the likely scope of further reductions given a still-tight labor market and poor productivity growth.

"Members determined that they could afford to be patient while assessing what the incoming data reveal about their judgements on the extent of spare capacity, the outlook for the labor market and the degree of restrictiveness of monetary policy," the minutes showed.

Australian policymakers have so far managed to navigate the economy to a soft landing, with unemployment historically low at a little over 4%. However, inflation is showing signs of revival and consumer spending is proving stronger than predicted, prompting Governor Michele Bullock to signal that further easing is unlikely in the near-term.

Also pointing to a potential uptick in the economy, data since the RBA's policy decision showed Australia's consumer confidence soared in November with optimists outnumbering pessimists for the first time since February 2022. At the same time, home loans surged beyond expectations in the third quarter to a record high, underscoring how easier monetary policy has reignited credit growth and property demand.

Labor market data also came in stronger-than-forecast in October, with unemployment declining as the economy continued to add more jobs.

As a result, money-market pricing suggests only a slim chance of another rate cut next year, while economists largely expect easing to resume in May. Some including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and TD Securities believe the RBA's easing cycle is likely over.

To that end, the minutes showed that the board members believed there was a greater probability of an upside scenario for the economy materializing compared to their prior meeting in September, though "there was not yet enough information to be certain."

The RBA next meets in December and will receive third-quarter wages data, due Wednesday, which will show whether still-elevated inflation and a tight labor market were feeding into higher pay rewards. Ahead of their next gathering, policy makers will also parse through another set of labor market data, the third-quarter gross domestic product report and comprehensive monthly inflation figures.

"It was appropriate in this environment for the board's decisions to remain cautious and data dependent," the minutes showed. "Members committed to continue paying close attention to developments in the global economy and financial markets, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labor market."

Source: Bloomberg Europe

The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that U.S. sanctions against Russian oil majors Rosneftand Lukoilare already reducing Russian oil revenues and are likely to reduce the quantity of Russian oil sold in the long term.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement that its analysis of the initial market impact of the sanctions announced on October 22 showed they "are having their intended effect of dampening Russian revenues by lowering the price of Russian oil and therefore the country's ability to fund its war effort against Ukraine."

The Treasury action was among the strongest U.S. sanctions since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the first direct sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump against Russia since taking office in January.

The sanctions set a November 21 deadline for companies to wind down dealings with Rosneft and Lukoil. Violators could be cut off from the dollar-based financial system.

But it was unclear how Treasury will enforce the sanctions. The two largest buyers of Russian oil have been China and India.

The OFAC analysis said that several key grades of Russian crude were selling at multi-year-low prices and noted that nearly a dozen major Indian and Chinese purchasers of Russian crude have announced intentions to pause their purchases of Russian oil for December deliveries.

LSEG Workspace data on Monday showed benchmark Urals crude loaded at Russia's Black Sea oil hub of Novorossiysk (URL-NVRSK) traded at $45.35 per barrel on November 12, the lowest level since March 2023. At that time, Russia was just beginning to assemble a "shadow fleet" of tankers to avoid a G7-led price cap of $60 a barrel imposed in December 2023.

Brent crude futureswere $62.71 on November 12 and traded at $64.03 on Monday. Urals Novorossiysk rose to $47.01 on Monday. Loadings resumed at the Black Sea port after being suspended by a Ukrainian drone and missile attack.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Russian oil discounts to Brent had widened as major Indian and Chinese refiners cut purchases in response to the U.S. sanctions.

A Treasury spokesperson said the sanctions were "starving Putin's war machine" and the department "is prepared to take further action if necessary to end the senseless killing" in Ukraine.

Source: Reuters