Airbus CEO`s Brexit warning

U.S. stocks shrugged off a midday selloff to finish mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors weighed a round of solid corporate earnings with ongoing uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-China trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the best-performing major index, closing up 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up less than 0.1%.

European stocks were down on Wednesday, as fears over the global economic slowdown continued to spook investors. Reports that U.S. officials had canceled trade talks with China, scheduled for later this week, added to the uncertainty. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped by 0.2% to 354.41. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was the biggest loser of Europe’s major indexes, falling 0.5% to 6,868.77. Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.3% to 11,058.08 and France’s CAC 40 remained mostly unchanged at 4,844.73.

On the Maltese market, the MSE Total Return Index finished higher with most equities in the green. The biggest gains were seen from MaltaPost and Mapfre Middlesea PLC which climbed 8.33% and 6.56% respectively. Malta International airport PLC and MIDI ended the session without any changes. Trident Estates plc and RS2 Software plc did not perform as well with share prices down by 0.78 and 0.72% respectively.

Airbus has warned it could shift future wing-building out of Britain in the absence of a smooth exit from the European Union.

The company has predicted "potentially very harmful decisions" for its British operations in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

In a direct appeal to Britain's divided parliament to avoid such an outcome, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders acknowledged there would be no immediate change in its industrial presence.

But he issued his sharpest warning yet that future jobs are at risk in the company's UK operations.

The world's second-largest aerospace group employs 14,000 people in Britain, including 6,000 at its main wings factory at Broughton in Wales, and 3,000 in Filton in western England, where wings are designed and supported.

Industry experts say Airbus has no all-new civil airplane projects on the drawing board, but has begun working on basic wing technology for a successor to its best-selling A320 narrow-body series, expected to enter service from about 2030.

That means any decision to shift wing production for new projects would have to be taken next decade.

Britain's main business lobby has warned of disruption to the economy and delays for cross-border trade if Britain leaves the EU without a transition deal.

In a speech later today, British finance minister Philip Hammond will try to convince business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland to continue to invest in the country after Brexit.