British Airways pilots cancel Sept 27 strike to give time for talks

LONDON (REUTERS) – British Airways pilots have cancelled a strike set for Sept 27 after 48 hours of industrial action earlier this month grounded almost all the airline’s flights in a dispute over pay.

“In a genuine attempt at establishing a time-out for common sense to prevail, we have lifted the threat of the strike on the 27th September,” their union, the British Airline Pilots’Association (BALPA) said on Wednesday (Sept 18). Its general secretary Brian Strutton said the union retained the right to announce further strike dates.

Germany extends ban on Saudi arms sales

Germany has extended its ban on defense industry exports to Saudi Arabia for another six months, despite some calls for it to be relaxed in the wake of the recent attacks on the country’s oil production facilities.

The government said Wednesday the ban had been extended for six months until March 31, 2020, when it will again be considered.

A ban with many loopholes was initially put in place over humanitarian concerns with the war with Yemen in 2017, then tightened last year after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

An influential lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party suggested Monday loosening the ban to allow the export of defensive weapons, but Merkel on Tuesday said she didn’t see “any conditions for changing” German’s stance.

British Airways pilots cancel September 27 strike to give time for talks

British Airways pilots have canceled a strike set for Sept. 27 after 48 hours of industrial action earlier this month grounded almost all the airline's flights in a dispute over pay.

"In a genuine attempt at establishing a time-out for common sense to prevail, we have lifted the threat of the strike on the 27th September," their union, the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) said on Wednesday. Its

General Secretary Brian Strutton said the union retained the right to announce further strike dates.

Is it the beginning of the end for Benjamin Netanyahu?

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to say which way he would vote in a Brexit referendum, and Benjamin Netanyahu faces an uncertain future.

German Chancellor Merkel says orderly Brexit is still possible

BERLIN (REUTERS) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday (Sept 18) that Britain could still leave the European Union in an orderly fashion.

“I still see the possibility of an orderly Brexit,” Merkel told a news conference. She reiterated that Germany was prepared for a no-deal Brexit but would prefer an orderly Brexit with a deal.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with Merkel on Tuesday to work with energy and determination to reach a Brexit agreement and will discuss it at a meeting of the United Nations next week, his spokesman said.

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Blackstone's Schwarzman: Europe's slow-growth environment offers many 'opportunities'

Schwarzman: Europe is very slow growing

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman on opportunities in Europe.

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman said Wednesday there are real estate opportunities in Europe despite a slow-growth environment.

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“Europe actually is very slow-growing," Schwarzman told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. "You can see the central banks sort of struggling with 'which way do we go' … 'how do we create growth?' But because people are quite negative on Europe, we find there are a lot of opportunities because what we do is when we buy things we don't leave them the way they are. We always try to improve them, make them better.”

Blackstone recently added new properties in Germany and the Netherlands with the purchase of a Canadian real estate trust, in $4.7 billion deal.

Schwarzman believes the deal will be successful.

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BREAKING ‘Terrorist’ armed with explosives threatening to blow up bridge in Kiev

Police have surrounded an alleged terrorist in Kiev after he threatened to detonate explosives.

Cops have sealed off an area near the Metro Bridge in the Ukrainian capital.

Saudi says Iranian sponsorship of attack undeniable, displays arms

DUBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia displayed remnants of drones and missiles it said were used in attacks on its oil facilities as “undeniable” evidence of Iranian aggression.

Defence Ministry spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said Iranian Delta Wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were used in addition to cruise missiles. “The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” he told a news conference. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, Lisa Barrington and Tuqa Khaled in Dubai and Reuters team in Riyadh; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Stock futures dip ahead of Fed interest rate decision

US stock index futures dipped on Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates in what has been a rocky week for global markets.

The central bank is expected to lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point for the second time in three months, but a deep divide among policymakers has seen traders abandon all bets on a third reduction this year.

The Fed’s policy statement is due at 2 p.m. followed by Chair Jerome Powell’s address a half-hour later.

Central banks around the world have been taking steps to cushion the impact of a prolonged US-China trade war and other geopolitical risks. Last week, the European Central Bank cut interest rates further and said it would buy back bonds indefinitely.

Expectations of lower rates have spurred a Wall Street rally this year, with the benchmark S&P 500 now less than 1 percent below its all-time high.

Markets had come under pressure earlier this week after attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities caused a spike in oil prices and fueled geopolitical tensions.