The steep rout in eastern European currencies is raising speculation among market strategists that policymakers will have to slow their plans to ease monetary policy, Bloomberg News reported. The Polish currency dropped 0.7% against the euro, extending its decline to 4% in the past week after a bigger-than-expected rate cut roiled markets. With Hungary already months into an easing cycle and the Czech Republic weighing when it should embark on its own, the three countries led losses across emerging markets.
Embattled property developer China Evergrande Group said on Friday it has "adequately" fulfilled the resumption guidance issued by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and made an application to resume trading in shares on Aug. 28, Reuters reported. Once China's top-selling developer, Evergrande has become the poster child for an unprecedented debt crisis in the country's property sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy, after facing a liquidity crunch in mid-2021.
China Evergrande, which is the world's most heavily indebted property developer and became the poster child for China's property crisis, yesterday filed for chapter 15 protection from creditors in a U.S. bankruptcy court, Reuters reported. An affiliate, Tianji Holdings, also sought chapter 15 protection yesterday in Manhattan bankruptcy court. Evergrande's filing comes amid growing fears that problems in China's property sector could spread to other parts of the country's economy as growth slows.
One measure of new foreign investment in China fell to the lowest level in 25 years in the second quarter, fueling concerns about how much geopolitical tensions and the economy’s slowing recovery can hurt business confidence, Bloomberg News reported. Direct investment liabilities — a gauge of foreign direct investment in China — slumped to just $4.9 billion in the April-June period, according to figures released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Friday. That was down 87% from the same period last year and was the smallest amount in any quarter in data back to 1998.
Lighthouse Immersive Inc., the company behind an interactive Vincent van Gogh exhibition displayed across the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The Toronto-based company filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy in Delaware yesterday alongside affiliates, a move that protects its U.S. assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its home country. While the company is best known for its van Gogh exhibit, it has also launched displays that feature Disney animation, as well as works of Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet.
Steinhoff International Holdings NV shareholders had little choice but to vote to dissolve the shell of the scandal-hit global retailer on Wednesday, drawing a line under a 5-1/2 year saga that turned into a windfall for lawyers and advisers, Bloomberg News reported. Those who have held stock via listings in Frankfurt or Johannesburg stand to gain little after the creditors who control the company get paid. But outside parties have received €447 million ($495 million) since late 2017, according to annual reports, and managers have also continued to be remunerated.
Bron, the finance and production company that backed films including Joker, Licorice Pizza, Bombshell and Judas and the Black Messiah, has filed for bankruptcy, its co-founder Aaron J. Gilbert said Wednesday, Deadline reported. In a letter to “friends, partners, team members and backers,” Gilbert wrote today that Bron — the parent company of Bron Studios and Bron Digital — had filed for creditor protection with the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada, where it is based, concurrent with chapter 15 in the U.S.
Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday that it now expects the Bank of England to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its August meeting, Reuters reported. Data released earlier in the day showed a key measure of British wages rose at the joint fastest pace on record. "For now, evidence of still more persistent wage pressures will keep the MPC's foot on the accelerator," Deutsche said in a note, referring to the BoE's rate setting body. "A second consecutive 50-bp hike now looks more likely than not.
UBS was considering the potential impact of buying struggling rival Credit Suisse as early as December, months before the takeover was hastily arranged by Swiss authorities in March, according to a regulatory filing, Reuters reported. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also showed UBS concluded in February that buying Credit Suisse was not desirable, but that it should prepare in case its rival encountered "serious financial difficulties".
The Qatar Central Bank said on Wednesday that it will continue with the current interest rates for the deposit, lending, and repo rates after assessing current monetary requirements, Reuters reported. "Qatar Central Bank aims to maintain the current interest rates at an appropriate level to support sustainable economic growth," it said in a statement.
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