Latest Developments

North America
CNBC Finance

Alaska Airlines CEO 'not overly concerned' about new Boeing Max 10 delay

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said Tuesday he is "not overly concerned" about a new software glitch that's further delaying the certification of Boeing's 737 Max 10, which is already years behind schedule. Alaska earlier Tuesday unveiled a massive cabin overhaul with more premium seats across its fleet, including lie-flat suites on the Max 10, which are slated to start flying in late 2028. Minicucci told CNBC's Phil LeBeau that the launch could be postponed if the latest Max 10 delay lasts several months, but he added that the Seattle-based airline is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing on certification. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters Monday that the agency is assessing a software issue on the planes and that its approval of the aircraft will be delayed, sending Boeing shares down sharply. The Max 10 — which counts Alaska, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines among its customers — is the last model of Boeing's bestselling Max family of jets that's waiting for federal approval. Boeing's CEO said earlier this month that he expected approval of the Max 10 "very soon." Boeing over the weekend said it recently flagged the problem, which could cut off some automated navigation information to pilots, in an updated software program to airlines. The issue could occur with the vertical navigation system after an aircraft misses an approach and has to go around and line up to land again. Michael O'Leary, CEO of European budget carrier Ryanair, which is a Max 10 customer, told reporters at a conference in Warsaw, Poland, earlier Tuesday that he expected the Max 10 certification to come in "a matter of days, not weeks or months," Reuters reported. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Alaska Airlines CEO 'not overly concerned' about new Boeing Max 10 delay
Europe
BBC Business

Three takeaways from Trump's 'Super Intelligence' summit

US President Donald Trump hosted a meeting of top technology bosses on Tuesday for what he called "an extraordinary gathering" of the minds that are "building America's Golden Age". The guest list included leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, SpaceX, Meta and Google - all key figures in the US AI industry. The meeting came as some tech executives and experts have called for tighter oversight of AI and a slowdown in developing the technology, citing concerns about the potential risks it poses to humanity. Trump took questions from the media for around 30 minutes alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson and top tech leaders after the closed-door meeting. The president told reporters that the executives had signed a "morally binding" document that would serve as a "form of protection" from AI's potential risks. Under the agreement, which Trump posted on social media, the companies are responsible for ensuring the safety of their own technology. The firms also agreed to implement safeguards to keep models operating as intended and quickly detect and fix any issues, the document said. They will also work with "independent auditors" to assess whether their AI systems are working as intended and ensure their platforms do not "hack or access technical systems in unintended ways." The accord was signed by Trump, Google boss Sundar Pichai, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, SpaceX's Elon Musk and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. "It's almost like a constitution, in a way," Trump said, referring to the agreement. "And the biggest people in the world signed that, and I signed it as president." Trump added that he will set up a board to oversee the safety of AI tools. He did not specify who would be on that board. Zuckerberg said the accord gives the "American people and customers the confidence that the technology works" as intended.

Three takeaways from Trump's 'Super Intelligence' summit
North America
Yahoo Finance

Why the Nasdaq Refuses to Break Even With Treasury Yields Above Five Percent

The ten-year Treasury yield just hit levels that should be crushing growth stocks, yet the Nasdaq-100 keeps refusing to fall. The reason comes down to six companies whose balance sheets are rewriting the rules of how rate pressure actually transmits. This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. The long end of the Treasury curve pushed to fresh highs, with the ten-year yield at 5.18% and the thirty-year at 5.47%, yet the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) closed the session at $741.10, down 0.01%. The Dow slipped while the Nasdaq-100 held. Standard valuation theory says the index most exposed to long-duration cash flows should have taken the largest hit. Instead, a handful of megacap names carried the session, which is why QQQ refuses to crack and why it is thinner than the flat close implies. Every Treasury maturity from five years to thirty was above 5.00% on 2026-09-24, with the twenty-year at 5.53%. The five-year sat at 5.03% and the seven-year at 5.10%. QQQ carried a 3.37% one-week gain and a 20.64% year-to-date advance. The VIX at 14.21 on 2026-09-22 signals almost no hedging demand, unusual against a curve this high. These firms generate more cash than they need to fund operations, so a higher cost of capital hurts competitors more than it hurts them. Balance-sheet quality explains why the index held while long rates rose. When six names carry these weights, you own concentrated exposure to a handful of businesses rather than a diversified technology position. The two Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) share classes add another 3.27% and 3.02% on top of that. These companies commit enormous amounts to AI capital spending, precisely the activity a higher cost of capital hurts (the power, cooling, and networking suppliers absorbing that spend are the subject of a free report we put together here: seven AI infrastructure names that aren’t chipmakers). Concentration is the engine on days like this and the fault line when one of these names disappoints. Real yields, which strip out inflation, have kept climbing. The ten-year real yield reached 2.85% on 2026-09-24, up from 2.44%. Higher real yields lift the discount rate applied to distant cash flows, which is what a growth index depends on. Mortgage rates, tied to the long end, transmit the same pressure into household budgets before it reaches earnings. The Federal Funds target upper bound sits at 4% as of 2026-09-24, so this long-end move reflects the market repricing of the term premium and inflation risk without policy help, rather than Fed action.

Why the Nasdaq Refuses to Break Even With Treasury Yields Above Five Percent
Europe
BBC Business

US ban on Canadian alcohol and dairy comes into effect as trade war drags on

A US ban on several Canadian imports, including alcohol, dairy and motorcycles, has come into effect as a trade war between the two neighbours drags on. The latest measure by the Trump administration is in response to Canada's implementation of tariffs on a range of US goods earlier this month following a breakdown in trade talks. Canada is not expected to retaliate further, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying earlier this month that the impact the import bans will have on Canada's economy is "modest". Trade talks remain on ice, with US trade representative Jamieson Greer telling CNBC recently that President Donald Trump is "comfortable" with his current relationship with Canada. "They call us now and then and we have good conversations about potential deals. But there's no urgency on our side," Greer said of relations with Canada in an interview with the US network last week. Tuesday's trade ban applies to nearly C$1bn ($710m; £530m) worth of Canadian liquor exported to the US, as well as whey products used in protein powder. Motorcycle exports to the US will also be impacted, though Canada only sent about 5,000 motorcycles south of the border in 2025 that were worth about C$120m, according to national data by Statistics Canada, meaning the impact would be limited. The import bans were first announced by Trump in a series of executive orders signed on 8 September. In them, Trump said the measures are in response to "continued discrimination" by Canada on US dairy, automotives and alcohol. Speaking to reports on Monday, he accused Canada of "treating the United States very unfairly". Carney said earlier this month that the bans "are relatively modest measures" when compared to other trade actions the US has imposed on Canada. He acknowledged, however, that the bans will hurt certain businesses and sectors that are directly targeted. Derek Holt, an economist with Canadian bank Scotiabank, wrote in an analysis that "these actions are face-saving by the US administration, not substantive in nature and that's a positive".

US ban on Canadian alcohol and dairy comes into effect as trade war drags on
North America
CNBC Economy

China saw 'surprise' jump in U.S. orders ahead of Trump-Xi summit, private survey shows

American businesses ramped up orders for Chinese goods in the weeks leading up to the high-stakes summit this week, as companies positioned for continued stability between the world's two largest economies. The jump in orders was a "surprise," with shipments to the U.S. rising on both a yearly and monthly basis "as China's relative tariff position improved," according to China Beige Book, a New York-based research firm that surveyed 1,295 Chinese companies between Sept. 1-22. The gauge measuring orders from the U.S. — calculated as the proportion of surveyed firms reporting an increase minus the share reporting a decrease — jumped to 13 in September, from negative-12 a year earlier and 3 in August, according to the report. Even so, overall Chinese domestic and export orders remained below their levels a year earlier, and new orders weakened from August, the report showed. The upswing in U.S.-bound orders came as businesses positioned for a friendlier outcome at the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is in Washington this week for his first state visit in more than a decade. The two countries agreed to extend by two months to January a trade truce that keeps tariffs lower, suspends restrictive controls on rare earth exports and holds off higher port fees on ships. The U.S. also reportedly planned to delay a threatened round of tariffs tied to industrial overcapacity until at least after this week's summit, easing near-term pressure on Chinese exporters. The effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods of around 23% remains well above the average levy the U.S. imposes on other major trading partners, according to Barclays. The export order figures align with recent official data that showed China's ports saw their busiest week on record in the run-up to the summit, another sign that trade flows were recovering amid hopes for a further thaw in bilateral relations. Following the truce extension, Eurasia Group raised its odds of continued stability in the bilateral relationship to the highest level since Trump returned to office. The shorter-than-expected extension of the truce is also unlikely to reignite tensions, the consultancy firm said. "Neither government has an interest in renewed escalation," said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, who expects both sides to press each other for near-term commitments to maintain the fragile stability. Washington is likely to seek further progress on expedited Chinese approval of rare-earth export licenses for U.S. end users, as well as increased purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, Wang said, and in return, Beijing would expect the White House to maintain its current pause on arms sales to Taiwan.

China saw 'surprise' jump in U.S. orders ahead of Trump-Xi summit, private survey shows
Europe
BBC Business

UK tries to stop Trump's diesel export ban

The UK is in talks with US authorities over a potential stoppage of diesel exports and has started preparing for a ban, Chancellor John Healey has told BBC News. Diesel prices in the UK reached a new high on Monday due to supply pressures springing from the US-Israel conflict with Iran and Russia's war with Ukraine. Fuel prices are rising globally and US President Donald Trump has threatened to ban diesel exports, stating at the weekend: "We're thinking about it very seriously." Healey, who admitted that UK diesel prices are "extreme", said the government was in discussions with the US, adding: "We're also making the provision that we may need to and we have our own stocks in the UK." Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Healey said: "We work very closely with the Americans. "In the end, we're also working with the Americans where we can try and put in place what will solve this, or at least significantly ease it, which would be a diplomatic settlement [and] an end to the fighting with Iran." The UK depends on the US for around a third of its diesel imports and a ban would send prices even higher. US sources suggest that Trump is considering a ban to attempt to bring down prices for domestic consumers ahead of the critical midterm elections. In the UK, the average price for a litre of diesel reached 199.33p on Monday, according to the RAC motoring organisation, surpassing a previous high of 199.09p in June 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted the production and transportation of wholesale oil across the region, causing the price of fuels made from oil to surge. The RAC said diesel prices had entered "uncharted territory" and served as a reminder of "just how exposed the UK is to events occurring far away". Healey said he was "very aware" of these cost of living pressures as he prepared what he called a "breathing space" Budget on 28 October.

UK tries to stop Trump's diesel export ban
North America
CNBC Finance

Boeing 737 Max 10 certification delayed by software issue, FAA says

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said a software problem will delay its certification of the Boeing 737 Max 10 as the agency assesses whether it poses a safety issue, a potential setback for the manufacturer as it seeks to complete government approval of its best-selling family of aircraft. Boeing had expected to receive a green light from its regulator on the years-delayed planes "very soon," CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors earlier this month. But Boeing said Saturday that last month it flagged a software glitch on some 737 Max aircraft that could affect certain landing procedures. "We haven't concluded whether this is a safety-of-flight issue or not, but we will be delaying the 10 ... until we're satisfied that we don't have an issue here," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said at a press conference on air traffic modernization in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The FAA said in a statement that "safety dictates the certification timeline." It added that the agency was "following our safety review process to investigate this software glitch and won't hesitate to take action if needed." Boeing shares extended earlier losses after Bedford's comments, shedding nearly 7% Monday, as investors assessed another delay after years of setbacks for the aircraft. "We continue to follow the lead of the FAA as we work through the certification process," Boeing said in a statement. Boeing said over the weekend that the issue could occur with a vertical navigation system after an aircraft misses an approach and has to go around and line up to land again, such as in situations when there is an obstruction on the runway, for example. Both the company and Bedford said pilots are trained for those circumstances. "The pilots remain in control of the airliner, train for these scenarios," Bedford said Monday. "The issue that we're looking at right now is the workload component." The FAA certified the Max 7, the smallest of the family, last month. Those planes have the most updated version of the software, which the FAA is evaluating. It isn't clear how that could affect deliveries of those planes to customers like Southwest Airlines. U.S. airlines said they don't have any Max aircraft with the issue, in part because they are allowed to revert to older software on those models, if needed, not the newer version that has the potential issue. Bedford said Boeing had fixed a previous bug in the system but "unexpectedly ... introduced a new bug." Boeing has been trying to move on from years of safety crises, including two crashes of the Max 8 in 2018 and 2019. A flight control system was implicated in those crashes.

Boeing 737 Max 10 certification delayed by software issue, FAA says
North America
CNBC Economy

China posts weakest industrial profit growth this year, expanding 4.2% in August

China's industrial profits grew 4.2% in August from a year earlier, official data released Monday showed, as manufacturers grapple with persistent weakness in consumer demand and a sustained rise in energy costs. For the first eight months of this year, profits at large industrial firms climbed 15.7%, easing from a 17.6% rise in the January-July period. That would mark the fourth straight month of deceleration from the 24.7% pace set in April. While growth has been slowing, industrial earnings have staged a notable reversal this year, swinging from a barely-positive 0.6% gain for all of 2025 — the first increase after three straight years of declines — to double-digit growth. That expansion has been led by the artificial-intelligence-fueled boom in chips and computing equipment and has coincided with the end of nearly three years of factory-gate deflation. Profits at the computer, communication and electronic equipment manufacturing industry more than doubled for the January-to-August period, rising 110% from a year earlier. The automobile manufacturing industry, however, saw profits drop by 16% during the same period as the sector sees cut-throat competition. Dragged by tepid consumer demand, growth in the world's second-largest economy softened to its slowest pace in more than three years in the second quarter. The official purchasing managers' index indicated that manufacturing activity contracted for two consecutive months in July and August. Retail sales slowed further, and the urban investment slump deepened in August, while industrial output rebounded on the back of exports. Economists expect Beijing to lean harder on stimulus to stabilize corporate profitability, as consolidation accelerates in sectors already facing sluggish demand, fierce competition and cutthroat price wars. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

China posts weakest industrial profit growth this year, expanding 4.2% in August
North America
CNBC Finance

Ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek says he raised concerns with the board 'weekly' during Iger power battle

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Monday he voiced concerns about then-Executive Chairman Bob Iger to the company's board "weekly" during his brief tenure as head of the House of Mouse. Chapek has remained tight-lipped about his firing from the media giant nearly four years ago, but opened up about his experience in a new tell-all memoir, "Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth," and in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box." Once head of Disney's theme park and experiences division, Chapek was tapped to take the helm of the company just weeks before the Covid pandemic shuttered movie theaters and amusement parks around the globe in 2020. As Chapek worked to navigate these challenges, Iger remained with the company to handle Disney's content initiatives like Disney+. However, Iger slowly began to reassert control, Chapek says. The ensuing power struggle was detailed in a CNBC report in 2023. "When I started hearing about lunches that he had and dinners that he had where he was absolutely trashing me, and I'd hear it two, three times in the same week, the same bullet points, the same talking points, I was like, 'I've got a problem,'" Chapek told CNBC. He noted that when he brought concerns to the Disney board about Iger, he was told, "'He'll be gone in two years. It's OK. That's Bob being Bob.'" But almost three years after being named CEO, Chapek was ousted and replaced by Iger, who returned to the post until March 2026. "It would have been great if, like other CEOs, he acted as a steward of my new role," Chapek said. "It would have been one thing if he was neutral, but to be actually working against me, actively, I thought was just unbelievable." Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek says he raised concerns with the board 'weekly' during Iger power battle