Europe

Altice France’s Unhappy Creditors Tap Advisers to Improve Terms

A group of secured creditors of Altice France SA, unhappy with the deal arranged between the company and a majority of its creditors to cut about €8.6 billion ($9 billion) of debt, have tapped advisers to find ways to improve their terms, Bloomberg News reported. These creditors — which hold debt maturing in 2028 and 2029 — are working with law firm Ashurst LLP and boutique French advisory firm Ceres Partners.
France
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Eurozone Labor Market Stays Resilient Despite Weak Economy

The eurozone’s job market continued to show resilience at the start of the year, defying signs of weakness in the economy that are of growing concern for policymakers at the European Central Bank, Bloomberg News reported. The number of unemployed workers in the 20-nation bloc fell by 42,000 in January, leaving the unemployment rate at the record low of 6.2% where it has been since October. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a jobless rate of 6.3%.
Europe
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Bundesbank Urges Looser German Debt Rules to Free €220 Billion

Germany should loosen constitutional borrowing limits to free up as much as €220 billion ($232 billion) of fiscal space through 2030 to boost infrastructure and military spending, according to the Bundesbank, Bloomberg News reported. In a report Tuesday discussing options for the country’s so-called debt brake, it recommends significantly higher ceilings of as much as 1.4% of gross domestic product for structural net borrowing — primarily to fund investment.
Germany
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ECB Primes Fresh Rate Cut as Inflation Begins to Ease Again

The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone cooled for the first time in five months during February, reassuring news for policymakers at the European Central Bank as they prepare to meet later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 2.4% higher in February than a year earlier, the EU’s statistics agency said Monday. That was a slower rate of inflation than the 2.5% recorded in January and followed four straight months of steadily faster price rises.
Europe
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BOE’s Bailey Is a Top Candidate to Lead Global Finance Watchdog

The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey is a leading candidate to become the next chair of the Financial Stability Board, a move that would upend how the watchdog traditionally rotates its leadership at a fraught time for global policy making, Bloomberg News reported. While Bailey is considered a frontrunner for the role, the group remains in discussions about who should take over for the Dutch National Bank’s Klaas Knot when his chair term expires in July, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public deliberations.
United Kingdom
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