Headlines

Italy won’t lose its investment-grade status at Moody’s Investors Service for now after the company chose not to issue a new assessment on one of Europe’s most indebted countries, Bloomberg News reported. In a boost to Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government, a possible announcement scheduled for Friday didn’t materialize, as already happened in September last year. Moody’s currently assesses Italy at Baa1, just one notch above junk, with a negative outlook. A spokesperson said there’s no plan to publish a report on Friday.

Latin America’s top central bankers are meeting in Brazil on Friday as pressure mounts on them to begin cutting interest rates in response to slowing inflation, Bloomberg News reported. Political leaders, investors and businesses across the region that led the world into an aggressive monetary tightening campaign after the Covid-19 pandemic are now anticipating — and in some cases demanding — imminent rate reductions. That is testing the resolve of central bankers who remain hesitant to declare victory even as they appear to have gained the upper hand on consumer price increases.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem suggested April's inflation increase - the first in 10 months - was an anomaly and said consumer prices would continue to come down, prompting markets to pare expectations for another hike, Reuters reported. The central bank has been warning Canadians that rates could go higher. April's unexpected acceleration in inflation to 4.4% from 4.3% in March has some economists forecasting a hike later this year. "Inflation has come down. It is coming down.

Crypto investment firm Hashkey Group plans to raise funds at a valuation above $1 billion, taking advantage of Hong Kong’s digital asset push to try and entice potential investors, Bloomberg News reported. Hashkey, which operates one of the city’s only two licensed digital coin bourses, is in early-stage talks to raise $100 million to $200 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal is progressing but terms such as size and valuation could change because they aren’t finalized, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private negotiations.

Some Hong Kong-based staff with U.S. consultancy Mintz Group have left the city after the firm's Beijing office was raided by Chinese police in March, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Reuters reported. Investigations by Chinese authorities into Mintz, as well as U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co and mainland consultancy Capvision Partners, have sent a chill through companies that deal with China, with many unclear where red lines stand as Beijing prepares to introduce stricter anti-espionage laws in July.

A committee appointed by India’s top court said that it doesn’t see any regulatory failure or signs of price manipulation in the rise and fall of the Adani Group’s stocks, in an interim report that’s a reprieve for the embattled conglomerate, Bloomberg News reported. All 10 Adani Group stocks rose in Mumbai trading on Friday after the six-member panel’s report was made public, with flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. recovering the day’s losses to close around 3.5% up.

The Mexican government sent in marines Friday to take over part of a private railway line in southern Mexico, the Associated Press reported. It was not clear whether the seizure of the rail line on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec constituted an expropriation. The government said that it would compensate the owners for what it called the “temporary occupation” of the railway run by a Mexican company, Grupo Mexico Transportes.

The bankruptcy court has dismissed an application filed by IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Dish TV's promoter group company Direct Media Distribution Ventures Pvt Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. Former Dish TV chairman and MD Jawahar Goel, along with his family, is a promoter of Dish TV. Goel is Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra's younger brother.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted JC Flowers Asset Reconstructions' application to initiate insolvency proceedings against Tulip Hotels over defaults of ₹900 crore, the Economic Times of India reported. The application was originally filed by Yes Bank, the lender. The debt was subsequently assigned to JC Flowers, which filed a substitution application that was allowed on March 6. Tulip Hotels had challenged this debt assignment. However, the same was dismissed on March 23.

A panel tasked with overseeing the credit default swaps market said that the writedown of Credit Suisse Group AG’s Additional Tier 1 notes will not trigger an insurance payout, Bloomberg News reported. The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee ruled at a meeting on Wednesday that the controversial wipeout of the high-risk bonds won’t lead to a payout of the default swaps tied to the bank’s subordinated debt, according to a notice on its website.