Business

How Aeras Aviation Keeps Global Aircraft Fleets Flying

Published

46 minutes ago

29 July 2026

How Aeras Aviation Keeps Global Aircraft Fleets Flying

Commercial aviation is running two clocks at once. On one hand, Boeing and Airbus are effectively sold out for the better part of a decade. On the other hand, airlines need to put passengers in seats this summer. The gap between the two — between the planes the world has ordered and the planes it can actually fly – has become one of the most consequential stories in the global economy. It is also the gap Demetrios Bradshaw built a company to fill.

As founder and CEO of Aeras Aviation, Bradshaw runs a global engine and aircraft asset-management firm that sources, leases, repairs and remarkets the engines and assets airlines need to keep existing fleets aloft while they wait years for new aircraft. Where the manufacturers sell the future, Aeras trades in the present — the spare engine, the serviceable used part, the “green time” left on a mid-life powerplant that lets a grounded jet fly again this quarter rather than next year.

Inside Aeras Aviation: how the company keeps global fleets flying

A backlog measured in decades

The numbers are staggering. Airbus and Boeing are sitting on a combined order backlog of roughly 15,800 aircraft — close to ten years of production at current build rates. New narrowbody delivery slots are now being quoted into the late 2030s and, for some configurations, the 2040s. An airline that orders a fresh A320neo or 737 MAX today may not take delivery until a child born this year is finishing high school.

Hundreds of jets, grounded and waiting

Even the aircraft already in service aren’t all flying. A powder-metal flaw in Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine — the powerplant on a large share of the A320neo family — has forced accelerated inspections of critical components. At its worst the issue has parked roughly 38% of the global A320neo fleet, with shop visits that once took 60 to 90 days now stretching past 300, and the maintenance queue running into 2027 and 2028.

“The most valuable asset in aviation isn’t the one on the order book — it’s the one that can fly next week,” Bradshaw says. “Our entire business is built around keeping good assets in service and getting stranded ones back in the air.”

Demetrios Bradshaw CEO of Aeras Aviation at the Dubai Air Show

The new economics of ‘green time’

For most of modern aviation history, an aircraft was a depreciating asset: fly it, age it, retire it. The current squeeze has bent that curve. Aircraft and engine values, along with lease rates, are sitting at multi-decade highs as airlines and lessors fight to keep older airframes in service years longer than planned. A serviceable engine has become a strategic instrument rather than a spare part — and the disciplined reuse of high-value assets has moved from the back office to the boardroom.

“Every conversation about fares, capacity and route cuts eventually comes back to one question,” Bradshaw notes. “Can you get the lift? If you can’t source the engine, the rest of the strategy is theoretical.”

A bet on the United States

Bradshaw is now expanding Aeras into the American market, with new logistics, storage and engine-management capacity announced earlier this year — a deployment of capital that doubles as a read on aftermarket demand. His vantage point is unusually wide: Aeras works across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa, and Bradshaw sits on the board of Air Botswana, giving him a direct line into emerging-market aviation, where fleet growth and financing look very different from the picture in New York or London.

Demetrios Bradshaw CEO of Aeras Aviation

Four forces are colliding in commercial aviation in 2026: a sold-out production pipeline, a historic engine-maintenance backlog, fuel-price volatility and asset values at generational highs. Each alone would be a story; together they have rewritten the economics of flying. As the manufacturers work through a decade of orders and Pratt & Whitney works through its queue, the businesses that keep today’s fleets in the air are no longer a footnote to the industry — they are its pressure valve. Demetrios Bradshaw built one of them, and from a seat in the middle of the deals, he has a clear view of where all four clocks point next.

Demetrios Bradshaw is the founder and CEO of Aeras Aviation, a global aircraft engine and asset-management company serving airlines, lessors and OEMs across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States. He serves on the board of Air Botswana and advises on aviation strategy across emerging markets.

Business

Cyclospora outbreak tied to Taco Bell amid Yum Brands earnings

Published

4 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Cyclospora outbreak tied to Taco Bell amid Yum Brands earnings

Customers enter a Taco Bell restaurant in La Cañada Flintridge, California, on July 14, 2026.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Yum Brands is expected to report its second-quarter earnings before the bell on Thursday, but executives will likely face more questions about how the cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to Taco Bell is hitting its business during the current reporting period.

Since the Food and Drug Administration first linked the parasitic outbreak to lettuce served by Taco Bell, daily traffic to the chain’s locations has plunged by double digits, according to Placer.ai data. Shares of Yum have fallen 5% over the same period, dragging the company’s market value down to about $42 billion.

The outbreak has sickened at least 1,947 people, with 98 hospitalizations and no deaths reported as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal health agencies have named iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms as the likely culprit.

For Yum, Taco Bell’s plummeting traffic is a bigger deal than just a brand struggling.

The restaurant giant counts Taco Bell as one of its “twin growth engines,” counting on it to power its earnings and revenue along with KFC’s international business. The Mexican-inspired chain has long been the gem of Yum’s portfolio, with a passionate fan base and strong same-store sales growth every quarter, even as diners have become more value conscious.

Besides Taco Bell and KFC, Yum owns Habit Burger & Grill. While KFC’s international business is booming, its domestic sales have slipped so much that the company no longer breaks out the fried chicken chain’s U.S. sales. Habit Burger & Grill, a more recent acquisition, is much smaller with fewer than 400 locations, and is rarely spoken about on the company’s earnings calls.

Yum also recently divested Pizza Hut, a key piece of its portfolio that had also been struggling for more than a decade.

The divestiture means even more attention is on Taco Bell, at the exact wrong moment.

Tip of the iceberg?

For the second quarter, Wall Street is projecting that Yum will report earnings of $1.58 per share on revenue of $2.2 billion, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG. Taco Bell is expected to report same-store sales growth of 7% for the quarter, which ended more than a month before the FDA linked the chain to the outbreak.

But Wall Street now expects that Taco Bell and its parent company will see a tougher stretch in the back half of the year.

“We think the recent outbreak likely has minimal impact on Taco Bell’s Q2 results, though debate around impact on Q3 and beyond is the key driver of the stock recently,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Logan Reich wrote in a note to clients on July 21. “We lower our Q3 and Q4 [Taco Bell] estimates as a result, however given the recent selloff in shares, this may create an opportunity to the degree that consumer confidence in TB’s food safety is not materially impaired beyond this outbreak.”

Between June 30 and Tuesday, seven industry analysts revised their expectations for Yum’s full-year earnings per share downward, according to a Factset survey of consensus estimates.

The chain is already trying to win customers back. Taco Bell had pulled affected iceberg lettuce from its restaurants by July 17. Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant wrote an open letter to diners five days later trying to assuage their concerns.

“We aren’t entitled to your loyalty. We earn it one meal at a time,” he said, adding a pledge that Taco Bell will put safety first and act with transparency.

Social media responses show that some consumers have stayed loyal, despite the crisis. Commenters overwhelmingly responded positively to an Instagram post from Taco Bell addressing the situation.

“I still luv u Taco Bell,” former reality TV personality Lo Bosworth wrote in a comment on the post.

Moreover, Taco Bell is leaning into its reputation for value to win back customers. The same day that Tresvant shared his letter, the chain sold Enchiritos and nacho fries for $1; on Tuesday, it sold its cult-favorite Mexican Pizza for $1.

Still, the outbreak rages on. Daily cases in Michigan, which appears to be the epicenter of the initial outbreak, keep rising. While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters that the outbreak is “under control,” the CDC has not declared it over.

At their worst, such outbreaks can weigh on a restaurant chain’s sales for years.

Chipotle Mexican Grill was once the poster child, after being implicated in at least five separate foodborne illness outbreaks between 2015 and 2018. For a year, from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2016, the burrito chain reported double-digit same-store sales declines. But a new chief executive, sick days and more training for employees and an enhanced food safety program helped Chipotle turn the corner and put the crisis in the rearview mirror.

Industry analysts largely believe that Taco Bell will be spared that reaction, provided that it does not experience any other safety hiccups in the near term. Many instead see McDonald’s recent brush with a foodborne illness outbreak as the more likely precedent for Taco Bell.

In late 2024, health authorities linked a deadly E. coli outbreak to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. The burger chain saw traffic to its U.S. restaurants fall steeply in response, particularly in the affected states. Sales began recovering within several weeks after the CDC declared the outbreak over and it disappeared from headlines. Weaker traffic continued into the first quarter of 2025, although that trend coincided with severe winter weather and a broader pullback in consumer spending.

McDonald’s domestic sales fully rebounded by the second quarter, thanks to the launch of its Minecraft Movie Meal, according to research note from M Science.

Like Taco Bell and Chipotle, McDonald’s also took steps to address the outbreak and restore diners’ trust. For example, it severed its relationship with the supplier of the slivered onions likely responsible for the E. coli outbreak — Taylor Farms.

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Business

Sales and profits soar at homeware seller Online Home Shop

Published

13 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

New accounts for the family-run business show large strides in its performance

Online Home Shop (OHS) has opened a 327,000 sq ft centre in Trafford Park(Image: B8RE)

Sales at internet homeware retailer Online Home Shop have topped £100m, with profits also surging.

The Trafford Park-based seller of bedding, furniture and clothes, among other products, has filed accounts showing a turnover rose from £59.6m to £100.2m in the year to the end of January, 2026. Operating profit tripled from £4.9m to £15.3m across the year as bosses hailed a second consecutive record breaking year.

Online Home Shop said the growth was down to an increasing the customer base, repeat purchases, and expanding into new product categories, particularly in garden, furniture and clothing. Gross Profit for the year was 30.4%, up 5.6% on the prior year thanks to increased profitability across all product categories, incremental performance of new product categories and improved efficiencies.

The 200-strong business recently announced the opening of a new 327,000 sqft fulfilment centre in Trafford Park. That move is intended to help stock management and improve distribution efficiency as the firm responds to growing demand.

Headcount is expected to double to more than 400 in the current financial year. During the first half, sales are said to be up 50% year-on-year with further growth expected across the rest of the year.

Moshe Cohen, CEO of Online Home Shop, said: “We are delighted to announce another strong set of results, reflecting the exceptional talent, commitment and hard work of everyone across OHS. Our continued investment in our people and infrastructure has strengthened the business and positioned us for sustainable long-term growth.

“By attracting and developing the very best people, we continue to deliver high-quality, trend-led homeware products at unbeatable prices, while providing an outstanding shopping experience for our customers. As we look ahead, we remain focused on building on this momentum and delivering the next phase of our growth.”

Online Home Shop Ltd was launched in 2014 and is controlled and run by the Cohen family. It has stated an ambition to become one of the UK’s largest online retailers.

Business

Home relocator arrested, claims of owing big sums

Published

21 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Home relocator arrested, claims of owing big sums

A Western Australian house relocator who is being investigated over claims he owes clients more than $1 million has been arrested after allegedly breaching a court order.

Business

Humana Stock Price Falls After Insurer Maintains Full-Year Guidance

Published

26 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Humana Stock Price Falls After Insurer Maintains Full-Year Guidance

Humana stuck to its guidance for the year, even after the health insurer’s second-quarter results broadly beat Wall Street expectations.

The unchanged guidance contrasts other insurers, including industry bellwether UnitedHealth, which have raised their financial projections for the year on lower-than-expected Medicare cost trends.

Business

What happens here has a big impact on your money

Published

33 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

The front of the Bank of England building - a triangular roof is held up by multiple columns, and there is an arched entrance

BBC business reporter Dearbail Jordan explains how it works from inside the Bank of England.

Business

J&K Bank Q1 profit slips 13% as higher provisions hit earnings

Published

40 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

J&K Bank Q1 profit slips 13% as higher provisions hit earnings

Jammu and Kashmir Bank reported a 12.6% drop in first quarter net profit at Rs 424 crore against Rs 485 crore in the year-ago period, on account of higher provisions, prompting a near 13% plunge in share price.

The fall in net profit was despite a Rs 56 crore gain due to change in accounting policy effective April 1, according to the bank’s regulatory filing to stock exchanges.

The net interest margin for the quarter compressed to 3.28%. Net interest Income rose 2% at Rs 1497 crore.

The share price nosedived 12.8% to Rs 154.6 on BSE, reacting to the pressure on profitability.

The pre-provision operating profit for the quarter stood 4.5% higher at Rs 703 crore against Rs 673 crore earlier. The bank made a higher provision of Rs 84 crore against Rs 15 crore.

Its asset quality meanwhile improved with gross non-performing assets ratio falling to 2.4% at the end of June from 3.5% a year prior. Net non-performing asset ratio was at 0.60%.
Managing director Amitava Chatterjee said that the bank chose to support business momentum with selective corporate lending at lower yields in a changing operating environment which saw a rise in bond yields shifting corporates’ focus to bank borrowing.”This is partly on account of a tactical response to the prevailing market opportunities and economic conditions, wherein we exhibited a conscious preference for selective lending to well-rated corporates with sound fundamentals. That said, the strategic positioning of the bank as a retail-focused bank remains unchanged,” Chatterjee said in a post-earnings analyst call.

The bank’s advances grew by 25% year-on-year to Rs 1.31 lakh crore at the end of June while yield on advances for the quarter under review stood lower at 8.56% against 9.35% for the corresponding period last year.

Its deposits increased by 17% year-on-year to Rs 1.73 lakh crore.

Business

Strong order book for Welsh construction firm as it marks its centenary

Published

52 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Denbighshire-based Wynne Construciton has an order book in excess of £325m.

Work on the £4m Maggie’s Centre in Liverpool.

A North Wales construction company is celebrating its centenary year with an order book in excess of £325m.

Bodelwyddan-based Wynne Construction currently has £228m of work on site, alongside a further £99m of secured schemes progressing through pre-construction stages.

The projects, which span education, healthcare, housing, leisure and wellbeing, heritage, and low-carbon innovation, are across Wales and the North West of England.

With schemes extending into 2030, the family-owned firm says the strong pipeline is enabling the business to plan confidently for the years ahead.

Among the projects currently being delivered, and those located across the four corners of Wales, are the £26m leisure and wellbeing centre in Newport, the £13m Ty Haverfordia scheme building apartments for over 55s in Pembrokeshire, the £31m Aethwy Care scheme to provide a residential care home and integrated health and social care facilities in Anglesey, and the £11m new build archive centre for Denbighshire and Flintshire councils.

Other significant schemes progressing under Wynne Construction’s expertise include the £4m Maggie’s Centre in Liverpool, which will provide dedicated facilities for people affected by cancer.

Chris Wynne, managing director at Wynne Construction, said: “We are proud to be delivering such a diverse range of projects in Wales and the North West of England.

“While the individual buildings are very different, they are being designed and built to provide long-term benefits for the people and communities that will use them.

“Many of these schemes are also being delivered in partnership with long-standing clients and supply chain partners. These relationships are extremely important to us and are central to the successful delivery of our work.

“A strong forward order book is important not only in financial terms, but also because it gives confidence to our workforce and supply chain. We are able to plan resources, develop our teams, and invest in skills, training, and employment opportunities.”

The secured work reflects Wynne Construction’s continued presence across public sector frameworks and its experience delivering technically complex and flagship projects.

During this year, the company has continued to add to its pipeline with the announcement of a series of significant design and build projects.

This includes an affordable homes scheme in Bodelwyddan, the redevelopment of Ysgol Pendref primary school and Denbigh High School in Denbighshire, and the Egni project at the Bangor University-led Menai Science Park (M-SParc) in Anglesey.

Mr Wynne said: “Reaching our centenary is an important milestone for us. The construction industry continues to face challenging market conditions, including cost pressures and wider economic uncertainty, so to enter our 100th year with a strong and diverse order book is particularly positive.

“We are extremely grateful to our clients, consultants, supply chain, and particularly our employees, who continue to place their trust in us. We are looking forward to delivering this exciting programme of projects.”

The company is appointed to a number of key frameworks, including the North Wales Construction Partnership (NWCP), Pagabo, SEWSCAP, South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework (SSWRCF), Welsh Procurement Alliance, Westworks, and RNLI.

Business

Formulating with honey

Published

60 minutes ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Understanding the complexity of the trending ingredient.

Business

Opinion: Mining for positives amid funding threat

Published

1 hour ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Opinion: Mining for positives amid funding threat

OPINION: AI is the hot-button issue for businesses worldwide, and Diggers & Dealers will be no exception.

Business

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino to get $4.6M severance after exit

Published

1 hour ago

29 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino to get $4.6M severance after exit

Hometown customers in Lebanon, Tennessee, share their thoughts on Cracker Barrel scrapping its newly unveiled text-only logo to keep its long-standing “Old Timer.”

Cracker Barrel is set to pay outgoing CEO Julie Masino several million dollars in severance pay after her departure from the company, while also covering security costs for a period of time.

The restaurant chain announced on Monday that Masino would step down as CEO on Aug. 10 and will remain with the company in an advisory role until Oct. 9. David Deno will replace her as CEO.

The company disclosed in a transition agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Masino will receive $4.63 million over the two years following the end of her employment at Cracker Barrel.

The filing also indicated that Cracker Barrel will continue to pay for Masino’s protective services for a “reasonable period of time” after the end of her advisory role with the company.

CRACKER BARREL CEO JULIE MASINO TO STEP DOWN

Cracker Barrel disclosed the terms of outgoing CEO Julie Masino’s severance package in a filing. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Masino’s departure comes after an unsuccessful attempt to rebrand the restaurant chain last year sparked blowback from customers and impacted the company’s sales.

Among the changes pursued prior to the reversal was the removal of the “old timer” from the company’s logo, as well as adjustments to the interior layout of the restaurants that have long included a general store.

The rebrand was part of a $700 million overhaul across the company’s 660-plus restaurants, which also included a revamped menu and decluttered dining rooms.

NEW CEO INHERITS CRACKER BARREL STILL RECOVERING FROM REBRAND BACKLASH

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
CBRL	CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC.	56.33	+2.52	+4.67%

In the company’s announcement of the leadership transition, Carl Berquist, the independent chairman of the Cracker Barrel board, thanked Masino for “her leadership and commitment to Cracker Barrel.”

Berquist added that the company appreciates “her partnership to ensure a smooth leadership transition as we remain focused on the work underway to continue to serve our guests, support our employees, and execute our strategic priorities.”

Cracker Barrel’s announcement also included a statement from Deno, who said the chain is a “truly iconic American brand, defined by its unique combination of warm country hospitality, timeless appeal, and deep connection with guests across generations.”

CRACKER BARREL SELLS MAPLE STREET BISCUIT COMPANY, CLOSES 16 LOCATIONS

Cracker Barrel is seeing traffic improvements, though it remains below what it was before the rebranding controversy. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Masino’s departure and her upcoming replacement by Deno comes as the company is still struggling to return traffic to where it was before the rebranding controversy.

The company said in its third-quarter earnings last month that traffic was improving relative to the recent trend; it remained lower than where it was in the prior year.

Cracker Barrel CFO Craig Pommells noted that comparable store sales decreased 2.6%, with traffic down 6.7%, though he added that, “Although traffic remained negative, we are encouraged by the gradual improvement in the underlying trend.”

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