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• Goal is to study the use of ethanol in engines as an alternative to diesel
• Tests will be conducted through 2027 in Vitória-Minas Railway fleet
• Partnership advances the decarbonization of the company’s rail operations

Vale and locomotive manufacturer Wabtec Corporation [NYSE: WAB] have announced a partnership to study a dual-fuel engine capable of running on both diesel and a diesel-ethanol blend. The studies will initially be conducted in laboratories to validate the concept and evaluate performance, emissions reduction, and ethanol/diesel substitution rate. The tests are expected to run through 2027 to assess future application in the Vitória-Minas Railway (EFVM) fleet.

The agreement to use ethanol, a renewable fuel that replaces fossil diesel consumption, is part of a series of joint initiatives with Wabtec to advance Vale’s rail decarbonization program. In January, the companies announced an agreement to purchase 50 locomotives equipped with Evolution Series engines capable of operating with up to a 25-percent biodiesel blend. In the coming years, Vale and Wabtec will conduct a series of tests aiming to further increase this percentage.

“Innovative initiatives like these, aimed at adopting alternative fuels in our locomotives, are part of Vale’s commitment to accelerating the decarbonization of our rail network,” said Carlos Medeiros, Vice President of Operations of Vale. “In 2024, Vale’s rail network accounted for 14% of the company’s carbon emissions”.

“For the first time, Wabtec will use ethanol as an energy source in a locomotive, a milestone in the global rail industry. We are committed to developing technological solutions that accelerate the transition to more efficient and sustainable transportation,” said Danilo Miyasato, President and Regional Leader of Wabtec LATAM.

Net Zero
In 2020, Vale announced its goal to reduce direct and indirect emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 33% by 2030. This is another step toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement’s ambition to limit global warming to below 2°C by the end of the century. The company also committed to reducing net emissions from its value chain (Scope 3) by 15% by 2035.

About Vale
Vale is a global mining company that exists to improve life and transform the future together. One of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and nickel, and a significant copper producer, Vale is headquartered in Brazil and operates globally. Its operations include integrated logistics systems, with approximately 2,000 kilometers of railways, maritime terminals, and 10 ports around the world. Vale aims to be recognized by society as a benchmark in safety, the best and most reliable operator, a talent-driven organization, a leader in sustainable mining, and a reference in value creation and sharing.

About Wabtec
Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) is revolutionizing the way the world moves for future generations. The company is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail industries, as well as the mining, marine and industrial markets. Wabtec has been a leader in the rail industry for over 155 years and has a vision to achieve a sustainable rail system in the U.S. and worldwide. Visit Wabtec’s website at www.wabteccorp.com.

By Steve Gelsi

Hiring more bankers is paying off, CEO Brian Moynihan says. Separately, Morgan Stanley’s stock hits a record as profit rises above forecasts.

Bank of America benefited from increased dealmaking on Wall Street.

Bank of America Corp.’s stock rallied Wednesday after the megabank’s third-quarter profit blasted past Wall Street expectations on a boost in dealmaking and record net interest income, as consumers and businesses kept spending.

With the good times mostly intact in recent weeks, Bank of America effectively lifted its fourth-quarter outlook for net interest income to a range of $15.6 billion to $15.7 billion, from a range of $15.5 billion to $15.7 billion.

Bank of America’s stock (BAC) rose 4% in recent afternoon trading. The stock briefly reached an 18-year high when it was up 5.5% at its intraday high of $52.85 around midmorning.

Among other big banks, shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), which also reported quarterly results on Wednesday (see more below), ran up 5.4% toward a record close.

Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said the bank’s across-the-board improvements in revenue and profit came after steady hiring of dealmakers to play to its strength in business banking and to win market share.

“You’re seeing a lot of activity in the midsized market in the U.S., which we are capturing through the combination of our investment-banking teammates and our commercial-banking teammates,” Moynihan told analysts on the bank’s conference call.

At the same time, the bank has reduced its headcount to about 213,000, from a peak of 217,000 seen over the past three years, as it boosts productivity with investments in technology such as its Erica virtual financial assistant, Moynihan said.

Against this backdrop, the bank’s third-quarter net income increased by 23% to $8.5 billion, or $1.06 a share, from $6.9 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Bank of America handily topped the FactSet consensus estimate of 95 cents a share. That marked the widest margin for a bottom-line beat since the first quarter of 2023.

Revenue for the latest quarter rose 11% to $28.1 billion, ahead of the Wall Street analyst estimate of $27.5 billion.

Investment-banking revenue increased by 43% to $2 billion, in a particularly big increase among its many business lines.

Despite jitters over the U.S. economy and volatility in markets because of tariffs and geopolitical upheaval during the third quarter, Bank of America’s provision for credit losses – the money it sets aside for bad loans – fell to $1.3 billion from $1.5 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The bank also said its net charge-offs, or money it doesn’t expect to be paid back on credit cards and other loans, dropped to $1.4 billion from $1.5 billion.

While investors grapple with the possibility of an artificial-intelligence bubble and jitters over high-profile bankruptcies of auto-parts maker First Brands and subprime-car-loan specialist Tricolor, client balances rose 11% to $4.6 trillion.

Read: Jamie Dimon warns, ‘When you see one cockroach, there are probably more,’ after Tricolor loan loss

Unemployment is still low, the stock market is at or near record highs, home prices are holding up and wage growth has continued, said Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick.

“The consumer is spending more,” Borthwick said. “While [the media] may ask how they’re feeling, we tend to see how they’re spending, and right now the performance of credit cards is quite good.”

The bank has no exposure to Tricolor’s bankruptcy, Borthwick said. On Tuesday, rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said it had to book a loss on loans to Tricolor.

Bank of America took part in an asset-based loan to First Brands, but Borthwick said the bank’s money is backed by collateral and that the bank has a senior position among lenders in the loan.

CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon upgraded Bank of America’s stock to buy from hold and increased his price target to $58 a share from $52 a share, citing a boost in efficiency resulting from more digital engagement with customers.

“We expect operating leverage to continue in [the fourth quarter of] 2025 with disciplined cost controls and revenue growth,” Leon said. “More adoption for mobile banking and payment solutions is anticipated.”

Looking ahead, Leon said Bank of America faces more risk in traditional lending than capital markets.

“While the consumer remains resilient, we may see credit-card growth slow if the jobs market faces challenges ahead,” Leon said.

Among the highlights in its third-quarter results, the bank’s overall investment-banking team gained 1.36 percentage points of market share during the quarter.

Its third-quarter efficiency ratio improved by 3.29 percentage points.

The bank reported 1 million new credit-card accounts and 212,000 new checking accounts during the quarter.

Net interest income, or the profit it makes from loans minus the costs of paying interest on deposits, rose 9% from a year ago to $15.2 billion, slightly ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of $15.19 billion and a record for the bank.

The bank’s results come a day after JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. (C), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) all reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

Morgan Stanley’s stock advances on fatter third-quarter profit

Morgan Stanley reported third-quarter net income that rose by 44% to $4.6 billion, or $2.80 per share, from $3.2 billion, or $1.88 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Morgan Stanley topped the analyst estimate of $2.10 a share by 33%, which is its largest earnings beat on a percentage basis since December 2020, when it beat the analyst consensus estimate by 47.9%.

Morgan Stanley’s third-quarter revenue increased to $18.22 billion from $15.38 billion in the year-ago period, ahead of the analyst estimate of $16.69 billion.

The bank’s wealth-management unit saw a 30% pretax margin as it added $81 billion in net new assets.

Its institutional securities unit results were driven by a roughly $1 billion increase in its revenue to $4.1 billion, while its investment-banking business’s revenue jumped to $2.11 billion from $1.46 billion.

Morgan Stanley’s stock has climbed 30.2% in 2025. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s stock has gained 18.6%, ahead of the 13.1% rise in the S&P 500 index SPX and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF’s XLF 9.9% advance.

-Steve Gelsi

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  10-15-25 1333ET
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