Headlines

Azul is not planning on filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Brazilian airline's CEO told Reuters, contradicting reports which caused the carrier's shares to nosedive on Thursday, Reuters reported. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday Azul was considering options ranging from an equity offering to filing for Chapter 11 in the United States in order to address its debt obligations. The report was "misinterpreted," the company responded in a filing, as its Brazil-listed shares sank 24%.

Norse Atlantic ASA will operate a smaller passenger network over the winter season, dropping all services to Los Angeles and paring back flights to New York as the airline works to preserve cash, Bloomberg News reported. The coming months will be pivotal for the Oslo-based long-haul specialist after it burned through half of its cash during the first half of the year. It’s reduced its airline schedule for the slower season, and will hire out more of its fleet to other airlines to provide steady income.

BlackRock Inc. has initiated an auction for German startup SellerX, taking the unusually aggressive step after a loan granted to the Amazon aggregator soured, Bloomberg News reported. An advertisement published Friday in the Börsen-Zeitung newspaper stated that the auction for the L Catterton-backed firm has been scheduled for Sept. 17 at a Berlin hotel. In Germany, such auctions can be used by creditors to seize control of companies after negotiations between an enterprise, investors and lenders have hit an impasse, often wiping out equity held by investors.

South African retailer Spar Group Ltd. is considering an offer to acquire cash-strapped West Pack Lifestyle, Bloomberg News reported. The nation’s second-largest grocer by revenue previously said it plans to expand beyond the food segment and win more market share in South Africa. West Pack, which sells homeware, has gone into business rescue — a local form of bankruptcy protection. The group also sits on a large debt pile that a purchaser would have to take on.

China's largest property developer Country Garden on Friday further delayed the release of its 2023 financial results, as it needed more time amid an ongoing debt restructuring, Reuters reported. The firm had previously delayed the results in March, saying it needed more time to collect information for making appropriate accounting estimates and judgements. "The Group will finalize and publish the 2023 annual results and despatch the 2023 annual report as soon as practicable," the debt-laden property developer said in an exchange filing.

Brazil’s possible cycle of monetary tightening would be gradual, central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Friday as he sought to temper investor bets on large interest rate hikes starting next month, Bloomberg News reported. “If and when there is a cycle of interest rate increases, it will be gradual,” Campos Neto said at an event organized by XP Investimentos. Still, the bank will remain data dependent and refrain from giving guidance on its next steps, he said.

Euro-area inflation plunged to the lowest level since mid-2021 – reinforcing arguments for another cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank in less than two weeks, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 2.2% from a year ago in August, Eurostat said Friday. That was significantly lower than July’s 2.6% and matched the median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Core inflation, which excludes volatile components like food and energy, also eased to 2.8% after three months at 2.9%, as economists predicted.

India’s economy grew at a slower pace last quarter than expected, with risks to the outlook mounting and pressure building on the central bank to cut interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product rose 6.7% in the three months to June from a year earlier, the Statistics Ministry said Friday — the slowest pace in five quarters and below the central bank’s projection of 7.1% for the period. Growth weakened from 7.8% in the January-March quarter.

France’s rate of price rises eased below the European Central Bank’s target this month and the economy grew a little less than previously thought, adding impetus to calls for cuts to interest rates in the eurozone, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 1.9% on year over the month in August, down from 2.3% a month earlier, according to provisional figures published Friday. That was in line with the expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal and marks the first time in three years that inflation has come below the ECB’s targeted 2% rate.

Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo, Russian sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters. Russian companies and officials for a few months have pointed to delays in transactions after Chinese banks tightened compliance following Western threats of secondary sanctions for dealing with Russia. The sources said the problem has intensified this month.