Headlines

A stand-off between drugmaker Mallinckrodt, the Dublin-based but U.S.-run drugmaker, and a small group of dissident shareholders, claiming their rights are being suppressed as the company goes through a restructuring in bankruptcy, is on track to be aired before the High Court in Dublin later this year, The Irish Times reported.

A year ago, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. entered bankruptcy, its car rental business having fallen victim to COVID-related lockdowns, Bloomberg Opinion reported. Now, in a dramatic resurrection, not only has it emerged from protection, but institutional investors have bid up the stock to take control of the venerable company — so much so that Hertz was able to cover its debt in full and supply a handsome payout to shareholders who stuck with it through the bad times. Indeed, it was one of the first meme stocks, with loyalists buying it even as its fortunes tanked.

China's No. 2 mobile chip developer Unisoc is searching for new anchor investors at a high valuation as it tries to distance itself from its troubled parent Tsinghua Unigroup and pave the way for a long-awaited initial public offering, Asia Nikkei reported. Unisoc is hoping to find buyers willing to pay 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) for Tsinghua's 35.2% stake, according to people familiar with the discussions. Tsinghua is under pressure to sell after missing a string of bond repayments since last November.

More Japanese companies have decided against sending executives to Friday’s opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics as concerns about holding the games during the pandemic grow, Bloomberg reported. Senior officials from Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp. will skip the event given that organizers decided to hold the games without spectators, spokespeople for the technology giants said Tuesday, a day after Toyota Motor Corp. announced its top executive wouldn’t attend.

The Biden administration has reached a preliminary agreement with Germany over a controversial Russia-to-Europe gas pipeline that is vehemently opposed by Ukraine and Poland, as well as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the Associated Press reported. Congressional aides briefed on the outlines of the deal said it would allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline without either Germany or Russia facing new U.S. sanctions. In return, the U.S. and Germany will make certain concessions to Ukraine and Poland, although it was not immediately clear if those would be welcomed.

Noble Corp. and a consortium that includes Transocean Ltd. and Dolphin Drilling are competing to acquire the assets of Seadrill Ltd., the bankrupt offshore oil driller controlled by Norwegian-born tycoon John Fredriksen, Reuters reported. Seadrill is trying to emerge from its second U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy in four years: Like many in the industry, it expanded its drilling rigs too aggressively in the mid-2010s to withstand a subsequent plunge in energy prices and rig hire rates.

Global stock markets swooned Monday, with the Dow slumping more than 700 points, as investors are growing increasingly anxious about a delta-led resurgence in coronavirus cases and its potential to derail the economic recovery, The Washington Post reported. Oil prices also fell sharply. The delta variant is now the dominant strain worldwide and surging rapidly, even in countries with high vaccination rates. New coronavirus infections in the U.S. rose nearly 70 percent in a single week, officials reported Friday, and nearly every state has reported an increase in cases.

Tsinghua Unigroup, a would-be microchip champion, is facing bankruptcy, a setback in China’s quest for semiconductor self-reliance, the New York Times reported. In 2015, an obscure company run by a real estate mogul woke up the world to China’s ambitions in semiconductors, the foundational technology that powers computing. Laden with state funding and political backing, the company made jaws drop with a $23 billion bid to buy American chip-maker Micron. Six years on, China’s would-be microchip champion looks more like a national disappointment.

A new weapon is gaining traction in the fight against the economic fallout of Covid-19: Debt sales designed to alleviate suffering, Bloomberg reported. Governments and companies in emerging markets have sold close to $16 billion of so-called social bonds so far this year, on pace to shatter last year’s total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of close on July 19. These bonds, with proceeds earmarked specifically for projects that address human needs — such as health, hunger and education — have already lured fresh investment to Chile and Ecuador, and soon, Ghana.

Mexico sold its own ESG bond in early July linked to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which include gender equality, zero hunger and clean water initiatives, Bloomberg reported. Slovenia, meantime, wowed investors in late June with a sustainability note for either green or social spending, which was more than 10 times oversubscribed. “Sovereigns are looking to undertake more social bonds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Morgan Stanley strategists wrote last month.