Economist Features Uncle Vladimir

The bully tactics of Uncle Vladimir and his posse have been a recurring theme on this blog. So I was glad to see that the Economist took the subject head on this week, along with a great cover. This is just another signal to European leaders that they better stop appeasing Russia, while looking for energy sources not coming from their increasingly obstinate eastern neighbor.

FedEx Sends Back Airbus Order

More bad news for Airbus and its jumbo problem, the A380. Not only did FedEx become the first company to drop its order for the super jumbo, it also announced it would buy 15 Boeing 777 freighters instead. I wouldn't be surprised if other potential customers followed suit. Lufthansa, ja?

If Emirates drops even a part of its biggest order for 43 planes, then I'm not sure if Airbus would ever be able to recover. Keep an eye on this one. The airline's people will be crawling all over Airbus's facility in Toulouse to see if this thing is flying anywhere soon.

Airbus - Expect Goodies not Profits

The bad news at Airbus just keeps coming. Now its new chief executive has resigned only three months on the job. Looks like Mr. Streiff just could not handle the politicians and technocrats who have different goals than ridding the company of stifling bureaucrats. I particularly enjoyed this quote in the Wall Street Journal story by Dan Michaels:

The structure of Airbus -- created in 1970 by technocrats in France, Germany, Britain and Spain -- is rooted in its origins as a consortium and has long proved more effective at spreading jobs and tapping subsidies than generating profits.

Airbus - Why Not Just Kill Jumbo?

Yet another delay for the superjumbo, super-fiasco Airbus A380. EADS has informed all its potential clients that it would take at least additional 10 months to roll out the first jets to the airlines. That's on top of the earlier delays. Emirates airlines, which placed the biggest order for the two-decker, was originally supposed to receive the first A380 earlier this year. Here's what the airline's CEO had to say:

"We have a further ten-month delay ... The position is very serious for Emirates and we are now reviewing all options."

If Emirates cancels its order for 43 planes, the A380 could be pretty much doomed. Lufthansa, the second largest customer, has ordered only 15. If it wasn't for European egos and government support, this project would have already been killed by now. Why not just let it out of its misery.

This growing mess only supports my thesis that the A380 is destined to be Europe's Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes' gigantic wooden plane that only flew once, a few feet above water. Airbus' flying coffin may not be wooden, but it sure looks closer to its funeral.

Uncle Vladimir Warns Europe: Be Nice or No More Gas

I hate to say I told you so, but Uncle Vladimir is already threatening Europe with the one threat that works: gas. Read between the lines: be nice to Gazprom and Russia or else we'll send the gas you need the other way. Russia already uses its gas stranglehold on Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus. Why not start blackmailing the rest of Europe, the one that has the money and the unquenched appetite for energy?

More to come.

Russia Inc - Gazprom Wants to Be World's Biggest Corp

There is not much scarier out there than to hear that the state-controlled Russian Goliath Gazprom wants to become the world's largest company. This monstrosity is already using its muscle to threaten its neighbors (see Ukraine and Georgia), but it could also close the valve on most of Europe's gas. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Europe, watch out! Uncle Vladimir controls a good chunk of your energy. Russia Inc. at its finest.

Schroeder Gets Paid with Gas

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder seems to be coming out just fine after (barely) losing the elections earlier this year. The man who was one of the strongest critics of the U.S. and probably the biggest European friends of Russian president Vladimir Putin, gets rewarded with a post as the head of the shareholders committee of the gas pipeline that conveniently circumvents Germany's eastern neighbor Poland. So Gerhard gets the prize and Poland gets punished for standing up to its bully neighbor to the east.

Something stinks here, especially since Schroeder vigorously lobbied for this pipeline when he was the chancellor. He might regret this, however, because getting in bed with Gazprom and the rest of Russian gas interests may not be the cleanest arrangement.