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Tag: speculation

VW Not Seeking Deal With Tesla – CEO Diess

FRANKFURT, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s Chief Executive Herbert Diess on Monday sought to quell speculation that the world’s largest carmaker, which is on a mass production push for electric cars, has plans to develop deeper ties with start-up rival Tesla.

Diess met with Tesla’s Chief Executive Elon Musk in Braunschweig, Germany, last week, and during his visit VW let Musk drive its new ID.3 electric car.

“Just to be clear: We just drove the ID.3 and had a chat – there is no deal/cooperation in the making,” Diess said in a post on Linkedin which included a video of the two executives driving the vehicle on an airfield.

“Thanks for the visit, Elon! Hope you like the video. It was great driving the ID.3 with you! You were just quite critical with the available torque at higher speed. I told you: “Yes, we are on the runway – but no need for take off – its not a sports car.”

For a link to the video click: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6708741329091866625/?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A(ugcPost%3A6708652585454190592%2C6708741309508673536)

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Virgin Australia Share Price Dips Below 10 Australian Cents

Written by Adam Thorn

Virgin Australia’s share price dipped below 10 cents on Monday – days after credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded its outlook to negative.

The drop represents an enormous fall from a high of $2.19 in February 2007. Virgin played down the developments, claiming any speculation of the future of the business was “untrue and misleading”.

Last week, Australian Aviation reported that the wider group announced a $97 million half-year loss and its intention to cut its Tigerair fleet.

Click the link to read the full story!

https://australianaviation.com.au/2020/03/virgin-australia-share-price-dips-below-10-cents/

Airbus Sales Chief Says No Need to Cut Production of A330neo

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Airbus <EADSY> sees enough demand for its wide-bodied A330neo passenger jet to keep production stable, Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told Reuters on Wednesday.

With some airlines seen unlikely to take delivery of all the jets they have ordered, there has been speculation Airbus would have to trim production of the latest version of its most profitable long-range jet despite a recent flurry of new sales.

“Considering the demand I see on the A330neo I see no need to cut production levels,” Scherer told Reuters on the sidelines of an Air Canada <AC.TO> event in Montreal.

“Production is stable on the A330.”

Last year, Airbus secured 99 firm orders for the A330neo including 40 to an unidentified buyer in December.

Scherer said Airbus is also progressing toward reducing costs on its smallest jet, the A220. The company is targeting a double-digit percentage reduction in production costs.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Eldorado Resorts to Buy Caesars in Reported $18 Billion Deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. casino operator Eldorado Resorts Inc has agreed to merge with Caesars Entertainment Corp in a cash and stock deal that values its peer at about $18 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The agreement comes three months after Reuters reported that Caesars had agreed to give Eldorado access to its books under pressure from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who earlier this year was awarded seats on Caesars’ board.

The deal, which is expected to be announced on Monday, values Caesars at close to $13 a share, according to the sources. The combined company’s ownership would be split roughly between Eldorado and Caesars shareholders, the sources said.

The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. An Eldorado spokesman said the company did not comment on rumors or speculation. Caesars did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The combination of the two companies would create a serious competitor to larger casino industry players, such as Las Vegas Sands Corp, Wynn Resorts Ltd and MGM Resorts International.

Caesars’ shares closed on Friday at $9.99. The company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2017, operates casinos with the Harrah’s and Horseshoe brands. It had 53 properties in 14 U.S. states and five countries outside the United States at the end of December.

Eldorado has a market value of $4 billion. It also had long-term debt at the end of March of $3.1 billion. It owns and operates 26 properties in 12 U.S. states.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Bombardier Releases Statement on CRJ Program

Bombardier has recently stated it would explore strategic options for the CRJ Program. From time to time, this may lead to discussions with potential counterparties. While Bombardier does not generally comment publicly on market speculation or rumors, in light of recent media reports, Bombardier believes it is prudent to advise stakeholders that it is in discussions with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. with respect to its CRJ Program. We will not further comment on the nature of the discussions. Before any agreement can be reached further review and analysis by Bombardier management and approval by Bombardier’s Board of Directors are required, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. must complete its due diligence review and own analysis and approval process, which are outside of Bombardier’s control. There can be no assurance that any such discussions will ultimately lead to an agreement.