Boeing says China not accepting planes over US tariffs

Boeing’s CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China trade war, as the company’s shares surged following a smaller than expected loss.In a televised interview with CNBC, Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said Chinese customers had “stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the tariff environment,” adding that if the halt continued, the aviation giant would soon market the jets to other carriers.President Donald Trump’s trade conflicts with China and other countries loom as a question mark for Boeing, a major US exporter, despite Wednesday’s solid results.Boeing had planned to deliver around 50 aircraft to China in 2025, said Ortberg, adding that the company wouldn’t “wait too long” to send the jets to other customers.”I’m not going to let this derail the recovery of our company, so we’ll give the customers an opportunity if they want to take the airplanes,” Ortberg said.”That’s what we prefer to do. But if not, we’re gonna remarket those airplanes.”The comments came as Trump and top administration officials have, over the last day, spoken more optimistically about a trade accord with China. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Wednesday that Washington is “not yet” speaking with Beijing on tariffs.Boeing’s engagement with the White House on trade has been “very dynamic,” Ortberg said on a conference call with analysts.”I can’t predict” the course of trade talks, Ortberg said. “We do hear signs that indicate that there will be negotiated settlements… I just don’t know the timing.”A priority is “to make sure we don’t see more countries in a similar boat as where we are with China,” Ortberg said.Boeing downplayed the impact of Trump’s tariffs, saying steel and aluminum make up only one or two percent of aircraft costs, with most of the raw material supplied domestically anyway. Under a US duty drawback program, Boeing can recover custom duties on certain goods when they export the taxed item.- Smaller loss -The aviation giant reported a loss of $123 million in the first quarter, smaller than the $343 million loss in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 18 percent to $19.5 billion.In its earnings release, Boeing confirmed targets to raise commercial plane production as it bolsters its safety efforts following deadly crashes and other major incidents.The company reaffirmed that production of its 737 MAX will hit 38 per month in 2025, while output of the 787 Dreamliner will climb to seven per month from five per month.Boeing said it still expects first delivery of the 777-9 in 2026.Boeing also reported a cash burn of $2.3 billion, “much better” than the expected $3.7 billion hit to free cash flow, according to analysts at TD Cowen.Boeing on Tuesday announced plans to sell portions of its digital aviation solutions business to software-focused investment firm Thoma Bravo for $10.6 billion as it seeks to bolster its financial position.Ortberg told analysts that he is considering some other divestments of assets “smaller” than those in the Thoma Bravo deal, which includes Jeppesen, an 81-year-old aviation navigation company.Ortberg joined Boeing last summer following a leadership shakeup in the wake of a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight that made an emergency landing after a panel blew out mid-flight.Before that, there were deadly plane crashes on the 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia.To win back the confidence of lawmakers and customers, Boeing has been implementing quality control enhancements under close scrutiny of federal regulators.”Our company is moving in the right direction as we start to see improved operational performance across our businesses from our ongoing focus on safety and quality,” Ortberg said in a press release. Boeing led the Dow index Wednesday, rising six percent.

Boeing says China not accepting planes over US tariffs

Boeing’s CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China trade war, as the company’s shares surged following a smaller than expected loss.In a televised interview with CNBC, Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said Chinese customers had “stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the tariff environment,” adding that if the halt continued, the aviation giant would soon market the jets to other carriers.President Donald Trump’s trade conflicts with China and other countries loom as a question mark for Boeing, a major US exporter, despite Wednesday’s solid results.Boeing had planned to deliver around 50 aircraft to China in 2025, said Ortberg, adding that the company wouldn’t “wait too long” to send the jets to other customers.”I’m not going to let this derail the recovery of our company, so we’ll give the customers an opportunity if they want to take the airplanes,” Ortberg said.”That’s what we prefer to do. But if not, we’re gonna remarket those airplanes.”The comments came as Trump and top administration officials have, over the last day, spoken more optimistically about a trade accord with China. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Wednesday that Washington is “not yet” speaking with Beijing on tariffs.Boeing’s engagement with the White House on trade has been “very dynamic,” Ortberg said on a conference call with analysts.”I can’t predict” the course of trade talks, Ortberg said. “We do hear signs that indicate that there will be negotiated settlements… I just don’t know the timing.”A priority is “to make sure we don’t see more countries in a similar boat as where we are with China,” Ortberg said.Boeing downplayed the impact of Trump’s tariffs, saying steel and aluminum make up only one or two percent of aircraft costs, with most of the raw material supplied domestically anyway. Under a US duty drawback program, Boeing can recover custom duties on certain goods when they export the taxed item.- Smaller loss -The aviation giant reported a loss of $123 million in the first quarter, smaller than the $343 million loss in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 18 percent to $19.5 billion.In its earnings release, Boeing confirmed targets to raise commercial plane production as it bolsters its safety efforts following deadly crashes and other major incidents.The company reaffirmed that production of its 737 MAX will hit 38 per month in 2025, while output of the 787 Dreamliner will climb to seven per month from five per month.Boeing said it still expects first delivery of the 777-9 in 2026.Boeing also reported a cash burn of $2.3 billion, “much better” than the expected $3.7 billion hit to free cash flow, according to analysts at TD Cowen.Boeing on Tuesday announced plans to sell portions of its digital aviation solutions business to software-focused investment firm Thoma Bravo for $10.6 billion as it seeks to bolster its financial position.Ortberg told analysts that he is considering some other divestments of assets “smaller” than those in the Thoma Bravo deal, which includes Jeppesen, an 81-year-old aviation navigation company.Ortberg joined Boeing last summer following a leadership shakeup in the wake of a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight that made an emergency landing after a panel blew out mid-flight.Before that, there were deadly plane crashes on the 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia.To win back the confidence of lawmakers and customers, Boeing has been implementing quality control enhancements under close scrutiny of federal regulators.”Our company is moving in the right direction as we start to see improved operational performance across our businesses from our ongoing focus on safety and quality,” Ortberg said in a press release. Boeing led the Dow index Wednesday, rising six percent.

US soldier jailed for selling defense secrets to China

A US Army intelligence analyst was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Wednesday for providing sensitive defense information to China, including documents about US weapons systems and military tactics and strategy.Sergeant Korbein Schultz, who held a top-secret security clearance, was arrested in March 2024 at Fort Campbell, a military base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.Schultz was sentenced after he pleaded guilty last August to sharing at least 92 sensitive US military documents, the Justice Department said in a statement.He admitted charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official.”This sentencing is a stark warning to those who betray our country: you will pay a steep price for it,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.According to the charging documents, Schultz provided dozens of sensitive US military documents to an individual living in Hong Kong who he believed to be associated with the Chinese government.He was paid $42,000 for the information, according to the Justice Department.Among the documents handed over by Schultz was one discussing the lessons learned by the US Army from the Ukraine-Russia war that it would apply in a defense of Taiwan.Other documents discussed Chinese military tactics and preparedness, and US military exercises and forces in South Korea and the Philippines.US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the Justice Department “remains vigilant against China’s efforts to target our military and will ensure that those who leak military secrets spend years behind bars.”Schultz’s arrest came less than a year after the arrests of two US Navy sailors in California on charges of spying for China.One of them, petty officer Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to 27 months in prison in January 2024 after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring with a foreign intelligence officer and accepting a bribe.

Angleterre: Arsenal accroché par Crystal Palace, Liverpool presque champion

Arsenal a concédé en fin de match l’égalisation contre Crystal Palace (2-2), mercredi à domicile, ce qui offre quasiment le titre à Liverpool, le leader de Premier League, en vertu d’une différence de buts supérieure.Les Gunners peuvent remporter un maximum de douze points lors de leurs quatre derniers matches, soit exactement l’écart qui les sépare du leader. Or, Liverpool dispose d’un “goal average” plus favorable (+44 contre +34).Les Reds pourront officialiser leur titre de champion d’Angleterre dimanche en cas de victoire ou de match nul contre Tottenham à Anfield.Arsenal a concédé un nombre inhabituel d’occasions contre Crystal Palace et enchaîné des approximations voire des erreurs grossières à l’approche de la demi-finale aller de Ligue des champions contre le Paris Saint-Germain, mardi à Londres.William Saliba, sous pression, a par exemple adressé une passe à son compatriote et adversaire direct, Jean-Philippe Mateta, qui a égalisé d’un tir en feuille morte au-dessus du gardien David Raya (83e, 2-2).Palace avait déjà égalisé une première fois sur un corner grâce à Eberechi Eze (27e, 1-1), laissé trop seul devant la surface et auteur d’une belle volée.Mikel Arteta avait pourtant aligné un “onze” de départ proche de son équipe type, où il manquait seulement le milieu Mikel Merino, forfait et remplacé par Thomas Partey (qui sera suspendu mardi), et Bukayo Saka.Arteta a affirmé en avant-match que son ailier, touché ce week-end à un talon d’Achille, n’était pas à 100%. Mais il l’a lancé à l’heure de jeu sous les applaudissements nourris du public, soulagé de le voir évoluer.Les Gunners menaient alors 2-1 grâce à une tête lointaine de Jakub Jiwior (3e, 1-0), bien servi sur coup franc par Martin Odegaard, et à un bel enchaînement de Leandro Trossard (42e, 2-1).L’ailier belge fait mieux que dépanner au poste d’avant-centre. Il a marqué son quatrième but en quatre matches de Premier League après avoir contrôlé du gauche une passe appuyée de Jurriën Timber, crocheté du droit Maxence Lacroix et tiré du gauche devant Jefferson Lerma.

Les Bourses mondiales soulagées, espèrent une désescalade des tensions commerciales

Les marchés mondiaux ont progressé mercredi, avec l’espoir d’une possible désescalade des tensions commerciales entre les Etats-Unis et la Chine après des propos plus rassurants du président américain.En Europe, la Bourse de Paris a terminé en forte hausse, de 2,13%, Francfort a grimpé de 3,14%, Londres de 0,90% et Milan de 1,42%.A Wall Street, le Dow Jones a gagné 1,07%, l’indice Nasdaq a progressé de 2,50% et l’indice élargi S&P 500 de 1,67%.Le marché réagit positivement à “tout message qui n’est pas négatif sur le plan commercial”, analyse auprès de l’AFP Art Hogan, de B. Riley Wealth Management.”L’espoir d’un sursis dans la guerre commerciale provoque une vague de confiance”, renchérit Susannah Streeter, responsable des marchés financiers chez Hargreaves Lansdown.Le président Donald Trump a reconnu mardi devant la presse que les surtaxes de 145% qu’il a lui-même imposées aux produits chinois étaient “très élevées” et qu’elles allaient “baisser de façon substantielle”. “Elles ne resteront en aucun cas proches de ce chiffre”, a-t-il dit.Pékin a de son côté déclaré mercredi que “les portes du dialogue restent grandes ouvertes”.Le marché “se retrouve dans une position plutôt positive, mais nous ne savons toujours pas quelle sera la finalité de cette guerre commerciale”, tempère toutefois M. Hogan.Washington ne discute “pas encore” avec Pékin sur les droits de douane, a ainsi affirmé mercredi le ministre américain des Finances, Scott Bessent, lors d’une rencontre avec la presse dans la capitale américaine.Accalmie entre Trump et la FedLe président des Etats-Unis a également déclaré qu’il ne comptait finalement pas limoger le patron de la banque centrale américaine (Fed), Jerome Powell, malgré de récentes menaces qui avaient fait chuter les Bourses en début de semaine.”La possibilité de renvoyer Jerome Powell de la Réserve fédérale était vue par les marchés comme un signal extrêmement négatif”, explique Amélie Derambure, gérante multi-actifs chez Amundi, interrogée par l’AFP. D’abord car “cela aurait été interprété comme une perte d’indépendance de la banque centrale”, mais aussi car “le marché considère que Powell fait un travail sensé et a une approche pragmatique” de la politique commerciale erratique de Donald Trump.Le rendement des emprunts d’Etat américains à dix ans s’est drastiquement détendu à l’ouverture, avant de finalement s’établir à 4,39% contre 4,40% mardi en clôture.Le dollar remonteLe dollar s’est apprécié face à plusieurs grandes monnaies, également poussé par l’espoir d’une accalmie sur le plan commercial.Le billet vert prenait 0,95% à 1,1314 dollar pour un euro vers 20H45 GMT.À l’inverse est mis à mal “le trio de valeurs refuge (euro, franc suisse, yen) qui avait profité du +chaos autour de la Fed+, tandis que le dollar encaissait les coups”, souligne Stephen Innes, de SPI AM.Autre valeur refuge par excellence, l’or refluait aussi lourdement de 2,69%, à 3.289 dollars l’once, après avoir franchi mardi les 3.500 dollars pour la première fois de son histoire.Le pétrole boudéLes cours du pétrole, qui évoluaient dans le vert en début de séance mercredi, ont finalement terminé en berne, plombés notamment par des informations de presse selon lesquelles plusieurs membres de l’Opep+ ont suggéré d’augmenter davantage que prévu leur production de pétrole en juin.Le prix du baril de Brent a perdu 1,96% à 66,12 dollars et le baril de West Texas Intermediate a reculé de 2,20% à 62,27 dollars.Selon l’agence Reuters, qui cite des sources proches du dossier non identifiées, des membres de l’Organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole et ses alliés (Opep+) ont indiqué vouloir augmenter la production du cartel en juin à un volume similaire à celui convenu pour le mois de mai.L’Opep+ a prévu d’augmenter sa production de 411.000 barils par jour en mai, ce qui a largement contribué à faire baisser les cours depuis début avril.Le cartel, et en particulier l’Arabie saoudite, organise depuis fin 2022 une stratégie de raréfaction de l’offre afin de maintenir un niveau de prix leur permettant de conserver des revenus à long terme.L’Opep+ “montre les muscles pour indiquer qu’ils peuvent encore produire beaucoup plus et qu’ils n’ont pas perdu leur pouvoir de détermination des prix”, commente auprès de l’AFP Ole R. Hvalbye, analyste chez SEB.

Stocks rally as Trump soothes fears over China trade, Fed

A relief rally swept global equity markets Wednesday as comments by US President Donald Trump that he had “no intention” of firing the head of the Federal Reserve and his signals of possible tariff cuts for China reassured investors.Global markets, already upended by Trump’s trade war, were hit at the start of the week by fears he was looking to remove central bank boss Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, with the US president calling him a “major loser” and “Mr. Too Late”.Experts warned such a move would deal a blow to the Fed’s independence and spark a crisis of confidence in the world’s top economy.However, Trump tempered those fears on Tuesday. “I have no intention of firing him,” he said.Further comments by Trump on Tuesday indicating a more conciliatory approach to the trade war with China added to the positive market sentiment.”These comments have given markets a sense of optimism that recent chaos might have peaked and we’re heading towards calmer waters,” said AJ Bell investment director, Russ Mould. Wall Street’s main equity indices, which had already gained more than two percent on Tuesday, rose again Wednesday. The broad-based S&P 500 finished 1.7 percent higher.Markets are climbing on “any headline that’s less negative on trade,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. “We’ve moved into a slightly more positive position but we still don’t know what the endgame will be on trade,” Hogan saidEuropean stock markets also rallied, with Frankfurt gaining more than three percent.Meanwhile, data showed that business activity in the eurozone remained “broadly unchanged” in April as manufacturing held up in the face of US tariffs despite waning confidence for the year ahead. In Britain, however, the purchasing managers’ index tumbled more than expected to a two-and-a-half-year low. On trade, Washington has imposed additional tariffs of 145 percent on a range of products from China, while Beijing has replied with 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.Trump acknowledged that the US levies were at a “very high” level and that it would “come down substantially”.On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Washington is “not yet” speaking with Beijing on tariffs, calling today’s prohibitively high levies from both countries not “sustainable.” Gold, which had hit a record high above $3,500 Tuesday on a rush to safety, retreated to around $3,300 an ounce, while the dollar clawed back some of its recent losses against the pound, euro and yen.”Looking at the dollar’s more muted reaction, you get the feeling that it is more of a reluctant view that Trump is slowly backing down on trade tariffs. It is actions that count,” said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.In Asia, Hong Kong stocks surged on the back of a rally in tech firms including Alibaba and Tencent, and Tokyo’s stock market also gained.Taipei jumped more than four percent, helped by a seven percent surge in chip titan TSMC.- Key figures at 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 39,606.57 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.7 percent at 5,375.86 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.5 percent at 16,708.05 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 8,403.18 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 2.1 percent at 7,482.36 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 3.1 percent at 21,961.97 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 34,868.63 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 22,072.62 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,296.36 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1317 from $1.1421 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN $1.3257 at $1.3332Dollar/yen: UP at 143.49 yen from 141.57 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.34 pence from 85.67 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.0 percent at $66.12 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.2 percent at $62.27 per barrelburs-jmb/md