Qantas CEO’s Early Departure: Vanessa Hudson Takes the Reins as the Airline’s Turbulence Gets a Female Touch

Qantas Airways pulled a surprise twist worthy of a Hollywood drama this Tuesday, announcing that CEO Alan Joyce would be making his exit two months earlier than expected. It seems the airline’s reputation was facing more turbulence than a bumpy ride through a thunderstorm.

In a historic move, Vanessa Hudson, poised to be the airline’s first female captain of the ship, is set to take the helm starting this Wednesday.

This abrupt departure follows Qantas’ recent mea culpa for their service standards slipping, and a rather unflattering lawsuit from Australia’s competition regulator accusing them of peddling tickets for flights that existed only in the realm of imagination.

Moving Markets

Dow futures trade lower after public holiday

U.S. stock futures were trading in a mixed fashion on Monday night, with major indices remaining closed for the Labor Day public holiday.

• By 6:40pm ET (10:40pm GMT) Dow Jones Futures and S&P 500 Futures were each down by 0.1% while Nasdaq 100 Futures traded flat.
• Ahead in Tuesday’s session, market participants will be closely monitoring monthly factory orders, trade balance data and Markit’s services PMI.
• During Friday’s trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115.8 points or 0.3% to 34,837.7, the S&P 500 lifted 8.1 points or 0.2% to 4,515.8 and the NASDAQ Composite finished flat at 14,031.8.
• On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were at 4.206%

Source: Investing.com

Ford’s Delayed Explorer SUV: Waiting for Volkswagen’s Battery Magic

In a move that seems straight out of the waiting room of automotive innovation, Ford (NYSE:F) is hitting the snooze button on its highly anticipated Explorer SUV production in Cologne. Why? Well, they’re holding out for the latest Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) battery wizardry.

According to Ford’s Germany chief, this automotive thriller’s premiere is now postponed by about six months, with production set to kick off in the summer of next year. As for the Cologne workforce, they’re probably brushing up on their patience skills while discussions are underway.

Back in February, Ford had announced plans to trim one out of every nine jobs in Europe, with 2,300 positions in Cologne and Aachen, Germany, on the chopping block. But they threw in a plot twist—no compulsory layoffs at these sites until the end of 2032.

Now, Ford’s got a slew of electric tricks up its sleeve, including two new models set to roll out in Cologne and one in Romania by 2024. The second model in Cologne, also riding on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, is getting ready for its close-up a few weeks after the first one.

Ford’s keeping it cool on the numbers game, not specifying output targets for these newcomers. Instead, they’ll hit the gas pedal in line with the growing demand for electric wheels. Buckle up, folks; it’s an electrifying ride through the world of delayed SUVs and battery-powered dreams.

Blackstone and Airbnb Set to Join S&P 500; Others to Join S&P 100, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600

S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”) will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P 100, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, September 18, to coincide with the quarterly rebalance.

• Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) and Airbnb Inc. (NASD:ABNB) will replace Lincoln National Corp. (NYSE:LNC) and Newell Brands Inc. (NASD:NWL) in the S&P 500 respectively, and Lincoln National and Newell Brands will replace UNIQURE N.V. (NASD:QURE) and Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UVE) respectively in the S&P SmallCap 600.
• S&P 500 constituent Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASD:WBA) in the S&P 100. Walgreens Boots Alliance is no longer representative of the mega-cap market space. Walgreens Boots Alliance will remain in the S&P 500.
• Permian Resources Corp. (NYSE:PR), Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (NASD:GLPI), GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY), Morningstar Inc. (NASD:MORN), Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY), Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST), Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE:MTN), Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST), Weatherford International plc (NASD:WFRD) and Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE:FNF) will replace Omnicell Inc. (NASD:OMCL), Papa John’s International Inc. (NASD:PZZA), Sensient Technologies Corp. (NYSE:SXT), Cathay General Bancorp (NASD:CATY), Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ENR), Xerox Holdings Corp. (NASD:XRX), Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW), Tripadvisor Inc. (NASD:TRIP), JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASD:JBLU), and Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE:FL) respectively in the S&P MidCap 400. The constituents being removed from the S&P MidCap 400 will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 replacing Trinseo plc (NYSE:TSE), The Aaron’s Company Inc. (NYSE:AAN), NETGEAR Inc. (NASD:NTGR), Coherus Biosciences Inc. (NASD:CHRS), 8X8 Inc. (NASD:EGHT), Office Properties Income Trust (NASD:OPI), AngioDynamics Inc. (NASD:ANGO), Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASD:VNDA), Orion Office REIT Inc. (NYSE:ONL), and Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASD:ENTA) respectively.
• Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. (NYSE:HASI), Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:BXMT), Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT), Premier Inc. (NASD:PINC) and Apple Hospitality REIT Inc. (NYSE:APLE) will replace FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF), RE/MAX Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RMAX), Zynex Inc. (NASD:ZYXI), Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASD:ANIK) and Computer Programs and Systems Inc. (NASD:CPSI) respectively in the S&P SmallCap 600.
• RBC Bearings Inc. (NYSE:RBC) will replace Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (NYSE:HE) in the S&P MidCap 400. Hawaiian Electric Industries is no longer representative of the mid-cap market space.

As Labor Day weekend draws to a close, investors are trading their beach towels for stock charts and their BBQ tongs for financial news. Just as summer vacations wind down, so too does the season of leisurely market fluctuations. Now, it’s back to the market grind, where the only waves you’ll be catching are those on the stock exchange. So, grab your latte and prepare for the pumpkin-spiced rally; it’s time to trade in your flip-flops for some flipboard analysis and see if the markets are ready to work as hard as you did grilling those burgers all summer!