Credit Suisse has launched legal action against SoftBank in an effort to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars it claims it is owed by the Japanese investor, marking a further deterioration in a relationship that has grown increasingly acrimonious following the collapse of Greensill Capital, Asia Nikkei reported. The lawsuit relates to $440m in funds that were owed to the Swiss bank's wealthy customers by Katerra, a U.S. construction company.
Resources Per Country
- Albania
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guernsey
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Jersey
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
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Record-high power and gas prices have crippled energy suppliers worldwide, leaving some running at a loss and causing many to collapse altogether, Bloomberg News reported. Energy providers are closing down in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Finland and Singapore. That’s reducing choice for consumers, triggering government intervention and threatening innovation. It’s been especially damaging for suppliers who sold energy at fixed prices to withstand volatility.
Britain's markets watchdog said on Wednesday it will fine hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management UK 41 million pounds ($54.50 million) for conflict of interest failings over a fund set up for BlueCrest staff, Reuters reported. Between October 2011 and December 2015, BlueCrest failed to manage fairly a conflict of interest created by switching portfolio managers working on a fund open to investors outside BlueCrest to an internal fund open only to its partners and employees, the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement.
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Germany has long been ahead of the curve as a source of technical innovation and manufacturing. Now it is leading much of the developed world toward a demographic cliff edge that could put a damper on Europe’s largest economy, raising pressure on its pension system and pushing inflation higher for years to come, the Wall Street Journal reported. Economists forecast that Germany’s workforce could peak as soon as 2023 and then shrink by up to five million people by the end of the decade.
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The European Commission proposed on Wednesday three new EU-wide taxes to help to repay the joint government borrowing in the 27-nation bloc for their 800 billion euro ($904 billion) COVID-19 recovery fund, Reuters reported. The first measure will introduce a levy on CO2 emitted by fuels for buildings and cars under a new carbon market, while using the EU's existing carbon trading system to impose CO2 costs on ships and increase existing payments from airlines.
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The European Central Bank could raise rates as soon as the end of next year, and calling an end to bond purchases would be a strong signal that the move is coming in the next two quarters, Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The ECB last week took another step in rolling back crisis-era stimulus, saying it would end emergency bond purchases in March but temporarily double the pace of its longer-running Asset Purchase Programme (APP) to ease the transition.
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Italy is facing fresh questions about the viability of its debt as the European Central Bank dials back emergency support that has helped the euro zone's most indebted economies survive the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. Fighting the economic and health crisis has been expensive, with governments digging deep to help businesses and households. Italy's public debt has increased from 134.8% of GDP in 2019 to a targeted 153.5% this year.
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The Italian Sea Group said on Wednesday that it had bought bankrupt luxury yacht maker Perini Navi for 80 million euros ($91 million) in an auction held by a court in Lucca, Tuscany, Reuters reported. Italian yacht makers Ferretti Group and SanLorenzo (SNL.MI) had also offered to buy the luxury sailing brand Perini Navi, which was declared bankrupt in January.
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The German government made billions of euros from debt issuance this year thanks to negative interest rates on its securities, according to a letter, seen by Reuters, from Finance Ministry State Secretary Florian Toncar to a left wing lawmaker, Reuters reported. When issuing federal securities to finance the budget and special funds, "payments amounting to around 5.855 billion euros were collected", according to Toncar's letter in response to a question from Christian Goerke, of the far-left Linke party.
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Europe’s energy crunch shows little sign of easing. Natural gas markets, the root of the problem, remain on edge because supplies are tight, and traders doubt whether the continent has enough of the fuel stored to last a cold winter without disruption, the New York Times reported. The buildup of Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, through which Russian gas flows to the West, also has added to concerns about whether gas will run out. Already, low volumes of gas from Russia, Europe’s main source of imports of the fuel, have helped raise prices in recent months.
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