Category: 3. Business

Furthermore, the bills of lading incorporated MSC’s terms printed on the reverse. The front-facing page of the bills of lading referred to the terms on the reverse as well as to a larger, more accessible version on MSC’s website. The court held that reference to the location on the website alone was deemed sufficient. Thus, the bills of lading incorporated the jurisdiction clause.

Issue 2

Interglobal was bound by the terms via the application of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (“COGSA 1992”). They were subject to the same rights of suit and liabilities as if they had been a party to the original contract. The court gave three reasons, any one of which would suffice.

Firstly, all rights of suit under the contract vested in them as the consignee under s.2(1)(b).

Secondly, by taking delivery from the carrier, Interglobal were subject to the same liabilities under the contract, including the jurisdiction clause, under s.3(1)(a).

Thirdly, they were also subject to the same liabilities after making claims in Nigeria under the bills of lading and for breaches of the contracts of carriage thereunder, in accordance with s.3(1)(b).  Adopting the position in The Berge Sisar [2002] 2 AC 205 per Lord Hobhouse and his own position in The Ulsoy-11 [2020] EWHC 3445 (Comm), Mr Justice Bryan confirmed that the effect of s.3(1)(a), (b) or (c) also extends to any jurisdiction or arbitration clauses.

Interglobal argued that they lacked notice because the scans of the bills of lading provided by the shippers omitted their reverse side, where the MSC Terms could be found. The court rejected this, confirming there is no requirement the consignee has specific notice of the terms of the original contract under s.2 and s.3 of COGSA. In any case, the court said that the references on the bills to the terms and conditions being available on MSC’s website with a URL would have put Interglobal on reasonable notice under the common law test (see Transformers & Rectifiers Ltd v Needs Ltd [2015] EWHC 269 (TCC)). Further, directing a party to standard terms found on a website constitutes sufficient notice, relying upon Parker-Brennan v Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 185.

Issue 3

All arguments submitted by Interglobal in this regard were rejected. Firstly, their reliance on the Nigerian Admiralty Jurisdiction Act 1991 was dismissed, as the court had to apply English conflict of law principles.

Secondly, their argument that Nigeria was the appropriate forum under the facts and circumstances of the case was dismissed. The question is what the parties agreed, not which forum is most appropriate, following the explanation of Lord Leggatt in UniCredit Bank GmbH v RusChemAlliance LLC [2024] 3 WLR 659.

Thirdly, MSC had not submitted to Nigerian jurisdiction as Interglobal alleged. The question of submission to foreign jurisdiction was held to be a question of English law. Under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, a party does not submit only by appearing in proceedings to obtain the release of property seized.

Finally, there was no failure by MSC to give full and frank disclosure when they applied for the ASI. Interglobal raised concerns here that were ultimately held to be immaterial. Some of these related to Nigerian law, which was deemed irrelevant.

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Spain’s Hidalgo family, through Globalia, will continue to be the majority shareholder of Air Europa, while British Airways owner IAG will retain its current 20% stake through the purchase of shares from Globalia.

The transaction, which will close once regulatory requirements have been met in about 6 to 12 months, values Air Europa at approximately 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).

The deal is a rare case of a non-European carrier buying a stake in an airline on the continent and comes as airlines are looking to consolidate the continent’s fragmented market by snapping up smaller struggling operators.

After announcing the deal, Air Europa said it had repaid a loan of almost 500 million euros from Spain’s state-owned industrial holding company SEPI one year ahead of schedule.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

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A&O Shearman has advised DSBJ PTE. LTD., a subsidiary of Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd (DSBJ), an industrial group listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on the acquisition of Groupe Mécanique Découpage (GMD), a leading French automotive supplier company with operations in France and internationally, and the restructuring of its financial debt. This operation allows DSBJ to develop its activities in Europe.

Air Liquide, CentraleSupélec, ITP Interpipe, Nexans and RTE have formed a consortium to develop a High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) superconducting power transmission system demonstrator.

The SupraMarine project will study the electrical connection between offshore wind farms and the coastline using High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cables. Superconducting cables, cooled by liquid nitrogen, transport electricity with near-zero energy loss.

Such a system would offer major advantages for the energy transition by improving the competitiveness of offshore wind power installed far from the coast, compared to a direct current connection. It could thus contribute to developing the industrial sector of superconductivity, while helping to reduce Europe’s dependence on imports of electronic equipment.

The cutting-edge technology demonstrator would represent a breakthrough in energy transmission from offshore wind farms by adapting and simplifying part of the electrical grid connection. The SupraMarine project would offer an alternative solution to the growing offshore wind energy supply chain challenges, while sourcing most of its materials from Europe. The project is key to developing a subsea superconducting system, which will ultimately strengthen the competitiveness of offshore wind energy far from the coast.

BANGKOK — Shares bounced back Thursday in Asia after Wall Street got a boost from upbeat economic updates and a steady flow of quarterly reports from U.S. companies.

U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices advanced.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.5% to 50,959.14.

Shares in Nissan Motor Co. gained 1.3% after the company said it was selling its headquarters building in Yokohama to raise cash. Nissan was due to report its earnings later in the day.

The Kospi in South Korea advanced 1.2% to 4,054.15 and Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.7%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 26,361.40, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.9% to 4,004.25.

However, shares in autonomous driving companies Pony.ai and WeRide fell in their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Pony.ai was down 13% while WeRide’s shares fell 13.7%.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks gained ground with broad gains, reversing the prior day’s dip. Much of the market’s push and pull came from the technology sector, where several companies with huge values have an outsized influence over the market.

Google’s parent, Alphabet, jumped 2.4%, Broadcom rose 2%, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.4%. They helped lead the way higher for the broader market. Their gains also helped counter losses from a few technology behemoths, including Nvidia and Microsoft.

Overall The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,796.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.5% to 47,311. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% to 23,499.80.

Company earnings and forecasts were once again a big focus for Wall Street, with results coming from a broad spectrum of industries.

McDonald’s rose 2.2% after reporting that its sales benefited from the return of its popular Snack Wraps in the third quarter. International Flavors & Fragrances jumped 4.1% after beating Wall Street’s latest quarterly profit forecasts.

On the losing side, Taser maker Axon Enterprise slumped 9.4% after forecasting weaker profits than analysts were expecting. Live Nation Entertainment fell 10.6% after its latest results fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

The latest round of earnings offers Wall Street a source of information on consumers, businesses and the economy that is otherwise lacking amid the government shutdown. Important monthly updates on inflation and employment have ceased, leaving investors, economists and the Federal Reserve without a fuller picture of the economy.

There are still several informative private economic updates that Wall Street can review.

A monthly report from ADP showed that private payrolls rose more than expected in October. The report offers a partial glimpse into the job market, which has been generally weakening and raising broader concerns about economic growth.

A weaker job market remains a big concern for the Fed. The central bank cut its benchmark rate for the second time this year at its most recent meeting, in part to help bolster the economy amid a weakening job market. Lower interest rates can make a wide range of loans and credit less expensive, potentially promoting economic growth. But, lower rates can also add fuel to inflation, which could stunt economic growth.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and several other Fed officials have expressed concerns about more rate cuts, as inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank’s target of 2%. Consumer prices rose 3% in September.

The mix of a weaker job market and hot inflation leaves the Fed in a tough position.

The threat of tariffs also continues to hang over consumers and businesses. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, Canada and many other nations has been unpredictable, making it hard to measure the full impact of higher prices. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about the legality of the sweeping tariffs.

In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude gained 26 cents to $59.86 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 25 cents to $63.77 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 153.85 Japanese yen from 154.11 yen. The euro rose to $1.1510 from $1.1494.

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AP Business Writer Damian J. Troise contributed.