Boeing Finances, Tit-for-Tat, and Indiana Jones Tomb

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US Warns Israel

The Biden administration has given Israel 30 days to expand humanitarian aid to Gaza or risk access to US military aid, a recent letter reveals. The ultimatum marks the strongest language from the White House toward Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The US says Israel interrupted close to 90% of humanitarian aid movements last month between northern and southern Gaza as part of its campaign to isolate Hamas militants in the north. Israel has also issued evacuation orders to much of northern Gaza, where about 400,000 Palestinians are based. The US is calling for Israel to ensure passage of at least 350 humanitarian aid trucks per day into the territory.

The letter—signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin—comes as Israel reportedly faces a shortage of interceptor missiles following Iranian airstrikes this month. US troops began arriving in Israel yesterday, part of a deployment trained to operate a US antimissile defense system.

Boeing's Financial Woes

Boeing plans to raise up to $25B through stock and debt offerings over the next three years while also entering into a $10B credit deal with lenders, according to regulatory filings yesterday. The jetmaker seeks to bolster its finances and increase its cash balance as it works to avoid a potential downgrade to junk status by credit rating agencies, which would trigger higher borrowing costs.

The move comes as Boeing has faced a series of setbacks this year, including renewed quality concerns after a midair panel blowout on a 737 Max 9 in January and an ongoing machinists strike that has halted some production. The company is also laying off roughly 17,000 employees—10% of its workforce—as part of cost-cutting measures and is delaying the rollout of new plane models. 

Boeing has failed to turn a profit since 2018 and has roughly $58B in debt, up from about $9B a decade ago. The company's stock has fallen nearly 56% over the last five years.

Canada-India Tit-for-Tat

India and Canada have expelled each other's top diplomats amid escalating tensions over the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in British Columbia. Canada accused Indian officials of involvement in Nijjar's assassination, expelling India's top diplomat and five others. In return, India expelled Canada's acting high commissioner and five others.

Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian citizen, was a prominent figure in the Khalistan movement, which seeks an independent Sikh homeland in India. The movement has been banned in India since the 1980s but has support in Canada, where about 2% of the population is Sikh. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed to have credible evidence last year linking Indian government agents to Nijjar's killing, which India denies. The tensions threaten to derail long-standing economic and strategic relations between the two countries.

Separately, an Air India plane was diverted to Canada after a false bomb threat yesterday, part of a series of recent threats targeting Indian airlines.

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