Altice France Creditors Seek Say in Board, Asset Shuffle Fix

Altice France’s creditors are demanding the return of shuffled assets and a say in future board appointments as part of negotiations with the company over its €23.7 billion ($24.4 billion) debt pile, Bloomberg Law reported. A group of secured creditors in talks with the distressed telecommunications firm is seeking a return of assets to an entity within their reach and the right to appoint independent directors to the company’s board.
France
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Russia's Lavrov Says Potential Bankruptcy or Sale of Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline Operator Would Be Theft

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the potential bankruptcy or sale of the operator of the completed but never launched Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would amount to "theft," Reuters reported. Lavrov, speaking at a news conference in Moscow, was commenting on the matter after a court in Switzerland extended the deadline for Nord Stream 2 AG, a unit of Russia's Gazprom to restructure its debts to May 9 from Jan. 10. The court also said that Swiss-registered Nord Stream 2 AG had to pay off its debts to small-scale creditors in full within 60 days.
Russia
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U.K. Inflation Eases in Boost to Rate-Cut Chances

The U.K.’s annual rate of inflation cooled at the end of last year, making it more likely that the Bank of England will continue to lower its key interest rate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 2.5% higher in December than a year earlier, down from 2.6% in November, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. Economists had expected annual inflation to stay unchanged, according to a poll compiled by The Wall Street Journal.
United Kingdom
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Germany’s Economy Contracts for Second Straight Year as Tariff Threat Looms

Germany’s economy contracted for a second year in a row in 2024, underlining the scale of the challenge that will face a new government after elections due in February, including the possibility of fresh tariffs on exports to the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Economic output in Europe’s largest economy sank 0.2% last year after it declined 0.3% in 2023, the first two-year contraction since 2003, the federal statistics agency said Wednesday. That performance contrasts with the U.S., where growth has been surprisingly rapid over the same period.
Germany
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U.S. Financial Deregulation Would Raise Crisis Risks, French Central Bank Chief Says

Any moves to pursue financial deregulation by the incoming U.S. administration would increase the risk of a financial crisis occurring one day, France's central bank governor warned on Wednesday, Reuters reported. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to office has raised the prospect of radical changes to the U.S. regulatory framework built up over decades to oversee financial services and banking, as well as digital currencies.
France
United States
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