Headlines

In the first year of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron has pushed business-friendly labor laws through Parliament, made it easier for companies to hire and fire, cut the wealth tax and decentralized collective bargaining, the International New York Times reported. Through it all, France’s most militant unions have resisted. His changes, which set out to reshape the way France’s economy and society work, are now facing increasing pushback from labor groups.

A company set up to operator Brazil’s Viracopos airport filed for protection from creditors on Monday, according to a securities filing, but assured that operations at the major cargo hub will remain normal, Reuters reported. Aeroportos Brasil SA, which in 2012 won the concession for a 51 percent stake in the Viracopos airport, is jointly owned by Triunfo Participações e Investimentos SA, UTC Engenharia SA and France’s Egis Airport Operation. Triunfo and UTC each own 45 percent of ABSA, as the operator is known, while Egis controls a 10 percent stake.

The wait for investors to acquire some of the $210 billion of stressed assets up for grabs in India is likely to get longer. That’s because creditors are afraid to take decisions, Bloomberg News reported. Current and former top bankers from at least four state-run lenders are under investigation for alleged impropriety over their lending decisions, while the Central Bureau of Investigation has started a preliminary inquiry into an alleged nexus between Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot and the spouse of ICICI Bank Ltd. CEO Chanda Kochhar after ICICI extended credit to the conglomerate.

Companies referred to bankruptcy courts may not be allowed to leave the process once bids have been invited or a resolution plan has been accepted, The Economic Times reported. The government is considering setting a time limit for withdrawing cases admitted for insolvency resolution, ending ambiguity on a key aspect of the procedure. A 14-member law committee on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code had recommended allowing retraction of applications if 90% of the creditors voted in favour of withdrawal. However, the panel had not specified a time limit for withdrawal of such cases.

A steep recent slide in Indonesia’s stock markets and currency is rooted in heavy foreign ownership of the country’s government bonds—something officials here have been trying to change. The Indonesian stock market has slid more than 7% in two weeks, while the rupiah has shed 1.4% since mid-April as global investors have pulled funds from emerging markets. The selloff is partly because of ripple effects from Indonesia’s local-currency bond market, which until recently has been a beneficiary of investors’ yearslong search for yield, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Since his 2015 election, President Mauricio Macri has pushed to reconnect Argentina to the global financial system, after years of isolation. His approach — emphasizing lower tariffs, accurate economic data, trade pacts and the freer flow of capital — was largely aimed at coaxing foreign investment back to Argentina and ending the economic exile that followed the country’s default in 2001. But over the last week, Argentina has been reminded that when capital is free to flow in, it can also flow out, creating profound economic implications, the International New York Times reported.

BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA missed out on the trading gains that boosted earnings at some of their U.S. and European rivals in the first quarter, sending their shares tumbling, Bloomberg News reported. Trading income at BNP Paribas, the largest French lender, fell 15 percent as a drop in sales from fixed-income, currencies and commodities outweighed a gain in equities, the Paris-based bank said Friday. At Societe Generale, stock and bond trading both dropped.

The price of crude, long a bellwether for oil-rich, cash-poor Venezuela’s ability to repay debt, is anything but that these days. The correlation coefficient between oil and Venezuela’s benchmark 2027 bond is on the verge of turning negative for the first time since January, Bloomberg News reported. That’s happened only three times in the past decade, apart from the three months after President Nicolas Maduro called for a debt restructuring in November.

Shopping centre landlords Hammerson and Intu are bracing for negotiations with House of Fraser over tenancies and rent reductions after the struggling retailer unveiled restructuring plans that involve store closures, the Financial Times reported. House of Fraser owner Nanjing Xinjiekou, which has not yet disclosed which stores will be affected, said on Wednesday it would look to reach a deal with landlords to reduce its rental bill. Hammerson and Intu are among those landlords that have most exposure to the group.

Brexit and a string of bankruptcies are driving up the cost of UK companies protecting against their customers going out of business, the head of the world’s largest credit insurer has said. Trade credit insurance protects companies against the risk that their customers go bust before paying up for goods or services, the Financial Times reported. More than £340bn of UK trade is being covered by trade credit policies, according to the Association of British Insurers.