Ryanair CFO: we would be open to using Musk's Starlink wifi in future
Ryanair would be open to using Elon Musk’s Starlink wifi on its planes in the future, its finance boss has suggested, amid a feud between the US tech billionaire and the boss of the Irish airline.
The budget airline would look at “whoever is the best, when the tech and price is right”, Neil Sorahan, chief financial officer, said.
It comes after an online spat between Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and Musk, after O’Leary was asked whether he would follow Lufthansa and British Airways in installing Starlink satellite internet technology on his fleet of 650 aircraft.
The Ryanair chief executive rejected the idea, saying that adding antennas to the jets would result in a “2% fuel drag”, adding an extra $200-250m to its $5bn annual kerosene bill.
Musk said the interpretation was “misinformed” in a post on his X platform, triggering a tit-for-tat exchange of insults, with each man calling the other an “idiot”.
Sorahan said the spat was “good fun” and had brought more people to the Ryanair website. O’Leary said last week that his quarrel with Musk had boosted bookings between 2-3%.
However, Sorahan added that in-flight wifi was still a long way away for Ryanair.
I have been looking at wifi for as long as I have been at Ryanair. There is still a fuel cost that we would have to absorb.
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Oil prices slip after report Opec+ plans to keep output steady
Oil prices have slipped after a report that the oil cartel Opec and allies signalled steady output.
Oil gave up earlier gains sparked by production disruptions in major US crude-and natural gas producing regions as winter storm Fern struck the US coast.
Brent crude futures fell by 0.3%, or 24 cents, to $65.65 a barrel, after rising to $66.30 a barrel earlier. US West Texas Intermediate crude hit $64.49 a barrel, up 0.7%.
Both benchmarks notched up weekly gains of 2.7% to close on Friday at their highest levels since 14 January. A US military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.
Opec+ delegates said they expect to stick with plans to keep oil production steady next month when they meet on Sunday, as the group grapples with a global surplus and a spate of geopolitical risks, Bloomberg News reported.
Key members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will hold a monthly video conference to review a decision, first made in November, to freeze output levels during the first quarter, after rapidly ramping up production last year.
Bloomberg cited four delegates as saying their expectation is that the policy will remain unchanged, although two added that discussions among members have yet to take place.
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Carney: no intention of pursuing free trade deal with China
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said on Sunday his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China, in response to Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if the country made a trade deal with Beijing.
Carney said Canada’s recent agreement with China merely cuts tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with duties.
Trump claimed otherwise, posting that “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone! President DJT”.
Carney said Canada’s free trade agreement with the US and Mexico contains commitments not to pursue free trade agreements with nonmarket economies without prior notification.
We have no intention of doing that with China or any other nonmarket economy. What we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday:
China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life.
If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the [US].
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Introduction: Gold soars past $5,100 an ounce, silver hits new record on tariff and US shutdown fears
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Gold has soared past $5,100 an ounce, as investors pile into safe-haven assets amid Donald Trump’s threat of new tariffs on Canada and fears of another government shutdown in the US.
Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs if America’s northern neighbour “makes a deal with China”, and after the US president’s dramatic showdown with Europe over the future of Greenland.
There is also a risk that the US government could shut down for the second time in months, after Democrats threatened funding for the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the weekend shooting of a man in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.
Spot gold climbed 2.2% to touch a new all-time high of $5,110.50 an ounce. It gained 64% in value last year, its biggest annual increase since 1979. A weaker dollar and interest rate cuts have added to gold’s appeal, and it has also been boosted by central bank buying and record inflows into exchange-traded funds.
So far this year, the gold price has risen more than 18%.
Silver prices also continue to go up after rising through $100 an ounce on Friday. Spot silver climbed 4.5% to $107.6 an ounce, after hitting a record of $109.44.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said:
What’s striking is that this renewed flight to safe havens is unfolding without any major geopolitical headline this morning. There has been no new escalation over the weekend — no fresh breach of international law, no invasion, no immediate military threat. The US did, however, threaten Canada with 100% tariffs, after Mark Carney approached China last week, defying the White House — a reminder that trade tensions remain alive and well. Beyond that, the news flow is thin. Yet the bid for precious metals suggests that market stress is far from over.
She added:
Last week was marked by the escalation — and partial de-escalation — of geopolitical and trade tensions between the US and the EU, Macron’s now-famous glasses that grabbed headlines at the World Economic Forum, and renewed stress around Japan’s swelling public debt. The latter triggered a sharp sell-off in Japanese government bonds, pushing some long-dated JGB yields to multi-decade — and in some cases record — highs.
The yen spiked on Friday and has risen by 1% to 154.06 per dollar today, sparking speculation over potential intervention. The New York Federal Reserve conducted rate checks on Friday, Reuters reported citing sources, raising the chance of joint US-Japanese intervention to halt the slide in the currency.
Since Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s prime minister in October, there have been fears that her fiscal spending plans and tax cuts could worsen the country’s debt burden, which is more than double its economic output. She has called a snap election for 8 February.
The Japanese stock market fell by 1.79% on today, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.8%.
The Agenda
9am GMT: Germany Ifo business climate index for January
1.30pm GMT: US Durable goods orders for November
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