Germany

SpaceX has closed a low-band spectrum deal for its Starlink satellite service, a move that is pressuring shares of wireless carriers including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The deal confirms Elon Musk's intent to compete in the wireless space, a prospect that has weighed on telecom stocks for much of the year. AT&T CEO John Stankey said no satellite technology will beat the performance and cost performance of fiber, though he acknowledged Starlink offers a strong broadband solution for airlines in flight and rural areas. MoffettNathanson cautioned that for SpaceX to become a major wireless player it would need to build a terrestrial network, costing many tens of billions of dollars and taking many, many years. Starlink is just one component of SpaceX, which is also launching rockets and building a terafab, and it will not turn on a global wireless phone service or become a major US market player overnight.

Loganair, Scotland's largest airline, will scrap up to 15pc of its winter timetable, cutting lifeline services to Stornoway on Lewis, Kirkwall in Orkney and Sumburgh on Shetland after kerosene costs climbed more than 50pc above levels seen before the Iran war. Chief commercial officer Ronnie Matheson told the Scottish Parliament's transport committee the airline is making a profit of just £4 per passenger and that no location will lose flights entirely, though journey times to Edinburgh will lengthen as routes are combined. Matheson said Loganair is reviewing its wider network and could not rule out further cuts without state support, adding that new Scottish National Party funding of more than £1m that restored weekday Inverness flights on Oct 26 will run out in March. Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie accused Loganair of cherry picking routes, saying that since it already receives state aid on some flights it should subsidise less-profitable ones. The cuts come as carriers brace for higher oil prices to hit profits, with EasyJet trimming winter capacity by 1.4pc, or about 700,000 seats, and Ryanair cutting capacity by 4pc while warning fuel prices could stay near current levels through next year.

Porsche, the German sports car maker, reported that global vehicle deliveries in the first nine months of 2026 fell 16% year on year, weighed down by sluggish demand in China, the end of production for the 718 family, and a strategy that prioritises protecting brand value over chasing sales volume. Matthias Becker, Porsche's executive board member for sales and marketing, said the company is focusing on sports cars that customers want, variants tailored to niche markets, and expanded personalisation options. In the first nine months, deliveries in China fell 33%, while North America, Porsche's largest market, contracted 13%. Europe excluding Germany declined 11%. Third-quarter deliveries remained in line with the trend seen in the first half of the year. Despite the overall decline, the 911 sports car remained popular, with global deliveries rising 12% to 42,217 units in the first nine months.

Berenberg downgraded Rheinmetall to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to €1,020 from €1,600, sending the German defense company's shares down more than 1% Friday on uncertainty over medium-term growth. Analysts led by George McWhirter rebuilt their bottom-up model of 417 contracts and order opportunities, driving Berenberg's group revenue forecast to €37.6 billion in 2030 versus consensus of €41 billion, a 28% compound annual growth rate, and lowered its 2030 revenue and EPS estimates by 6% and 8%. Berenberg estimates 181 contract opportunities worth €410 billion and includes €201 billion in its forecasts, a 49% win rate, warning that significant additional contract awards beyond its pipeline are required for sustainable growth beyond 2030 as major European contracts reach a steady state. Near-term visibility is high with a backlog of about €80 billion, including €56 billion of firm orders, but revenue under contract falls to 29% in 2030, with the Weapons & Ammunition division the weakest at only 16% under contract, the lowest of the five divisions. Rheinmetall shares are down more than 50% from their 52-week high of €1,933.50, and the stock trades at 18.1 times 2027 earnings for a 30% EPS CAGR over 2028-30, which Berenberg said offers valuation support but may limit re-rating potential because visibility after 2030 is a core determinant of defense sector multiples.

Space Exploration Technologies said it will buy a nationwide U.S. spectrum portfolio from digital infrastructure investor Grain Management, a push to turn Starlink into a full-fledged mobile carrier. The deal, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, covers up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. European telecom stocks fell on the news, with Deutsche Telekom down 7% by 07:27 GMT, Vodafone off 3.1%, Orange SA down 2.6%, Telefonica down 2.5%, BT Group down 1.4% and Koninklijke down 2.1%, while U.S. carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile also dropped in extended trading Thursday after The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal. SpaceX said the low-band spectrum addresses a key remaining technical gap and will be paired with an advanced terrestrial deployment covering places satellites cannot reach, including inside buildings; the FCC earlier this week approved SpaceX's bid to launch up to 15,000 satellites dedicated to mobile service. The move sets up direct competition with carriers, after T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon last week formed a joint venture to expand satellite coverage without Starlink, and follows SpaceX's roughly $17 billion cash-and-stock deal last year for satellite spectrum rights from EchoStar, later adding $2.6 billion of EchoStar's ground-based licenses.

Barclays downgraded Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle to Equal Weight from Overweight, citing persistently high fuel prices that threaten fourth-quarter and 2027 profits across European airlines. Analysts led by Andrew Lobbenberg cut Ryanair's price target to €24 from €28.50 and Norwegian's to NOK 11.50 from NOK 20, with the bank now pricing estimates off the current fuel forward curve, producing moderate cuts for the rest of 2026 and larger ones in 2027 when hedging is lower. Barclays' estimates sit below Bloomberg consensus this year and, the analysts said, "very significantly" below next year. The crack spread between crude and kerosene has widened, offsetting any moderation in crude prices, and Barclays doubts airlines can pass the costs on, writing that "Airlines do not set fares - the market does." Low-cost carriers are most challenged because fuel is about 47% of revenue on Barclays' estimates, and Ryanair faces a hedging cliff with cover dropping from 80% in March 2027 to 15% in April. Barclays kept Underweight ratings on Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Finnair, named IAG its preferred major airline, and kept Overweight ratings on Aegean, Jet2, TUI and Wizz, calling Wizz a "more speculative" call.

Mexico's auto export volumes fell 12% year-on-year in September, the largest drop since December 2025, according to data released on the 8th by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. Analysts attribute the decline to the impact of tariff policies imposed by the United States, Mexico's largest market. Monthly production fell 15%, while domestic sales rose 8%, helping to cushion the blow to the auto manufacturing industry, the country's largest industrial sector. Government officials are pushing ahead with a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and Mexican-made vehicles are still subject to a 25% tariff even as negotiations continue. Mexican authorities estimate that the burden would be reduced to 10-12% if rules requiring the use of North American parts are complied with. Janet Quiroz, director of economic analysis at brokerage Monex, noted that "the September data is more a warning sign than a sign of crisis. If this trend continues through 2027, we may be discussing a more structural problem for Mexican manufacturing." U.S. auto giant General Motors announced last year a $4 billion investment plan to shift some production from Mexico to the United States in response to volatile tariff policy. Along with General Motors, Ford Motor and Nissan also saw sharp declines in exports in September, while South Korea's Kia, Germany's BMW and Mazda increased exports and filled the gap. Mazda in particular more than doubled its exports year-on-year. Mercedes-Benz closed its joint venture plant with Nissan last May, and in September recorded zero production and zero exports for the first time since it began overseas shipments eight years ago. The Mexican Automotive Industry Association stressed at a press conference on the 8th that Mexico remains the largest foreign supplier of automobiles to the United States. According to the association's data, exports to the United States fell 5% in the January-September period of 2026, while exports to Canada, Mexico's second-largest market, rose by just over 9%.

EasyJet is cutting an additional 700,000 seats from its winter schedule as the low-cost carrier battles rising fuel costs. Chief executive Kenton Jarvis said the extra cutbacks amount to roughly two days' worth of flying capacity, or an average of 3,500 individual flights over the period, and follow a summer decision to remove 700,000 seats. Jet fuel prices nearly doubled after the outbreak of war in Iran disrupted supply chains in the Strait of Hormuz, and although prices have begun to ease they remain well above airline expectations. EasyJet, which has agreed to a £5.7bn takeover by US private equity giant Apollo, hopes the schedule cuts will reduce its reliance on high-cost fuel. Rival Ryanair has trimmed its winter schedule by as much as 4pc, and its boss Michael O'Leary warned high fuel costs could persist for another 18 months, saying airlines face an enormous cost challenge next year. Rising jet fuel costs are expected to deal a $100bn blow to the aviation sector this year, according to industry body Iata, pressure that has already pushed carriers including Spirit Airlines and AirBaltic into bankruptcy.

Halozyme Therapeutics extended its ENHANZE collaboration with argenx to cover two more exclusive targets, bringing the total to eight. Under the expanded agreement, Halozyme is eligible for milestone payments tied to development and commercial progress, plus royalties on net sales of ENHANZE-based products. The deal adds fresh attention to the company's partnership-driven revenue model, which already generates more than $1 billion annually in ENHANZE royalties. Recent headlines also include a Dutch court injunction against Merck's Keytruda SC and the return of commercial leader Jim Daly to Halozyme's board. The stock last closed at $110.79, up 40.92% over the past 90 days, with a five-year total shareholder return of 200.24%.