Headlines

Russian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been hit by a tsunami of problems in just the first few weeks of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, and entrepreneurs that have spent years building up their business are already going to the wall thanks to the multiple shocks hitting the markets, IntelliNews reported. Anecdotal evidence from conversations between bne IntelliNews and business people in the Russian capital is pouring in of widespread difficulties as the war in Ukraine goes into its fourth week.

Tunisia's president said on Monday there would be a national dialogue about the country's political system as he moves to rewrite the constitution after establishing one-man rule, but he gave no details on how it would take place, Reuters reported. President Kais Saied has already held an online consultation to canvas public opinion about the new constitution, and has promised to name a panel of lawyers to draft it and put it to a referendum in July.

Struggling Finnish retailer Stockmann said on Monday it had sold its main department store and head office building in the heart of Helsinki to Finnish pension provider Keva for 400 million euros ($442 million) to pay off debts, Nasdaq.com reported. The 159-year-old retailer initiated a restructuring programme last year to avoid bankruptcy, after struggling for years with debt accumulated from earlier expansions and a consumer shift to online shopping.

A new bidding process for the rescue of provisionally liquidated South African Express will open this week based on a re-evaluation of the airline's "intangible assets," according to the legal representative of the provisional liquidators, ch-aviation.com reported. This comes ahead of a liquidation court hearing of the state-owned regional airline now set for July 4, 2022, after it was postponed seven times since the airline was provisionally liquidated in April 2020.

Taxpayer-backed satellite firm OneWeb has announced it will resume launches after a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, GrampianOnline.co reported. OneWeb canceled a planned launch of 36 broadband satellites earlier this month because it would have used Russian Soyuz rockets and been overseen by the Russian space agency. The firm has now done a deal with SpaceX, and the first launch is anticipated later this year. The move will allow the firm to resume its plans to add further satellites to its constellation in low earth orbit.

A work stoppage at Canadian Pacific (CP) Rail has started, and the timing is unfortunate, says one employer group, HRReporter.com reported. “The timing could not be worse for our members,” say Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of national affairs, and Jasmin Guenette, vice-president for national affairs, at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Indian lenders are set to initiate debt recovery proceedings against Future Retail this week to safeguard their interests after rival Reliance unexpectedly took over some of the retailer's stores, two bankers told Reuters. Future, hit by the pandemic, has been struggling to pay off its debt and is fighting a bitter legal battle with U.S retail giant Amazon. That battle has successfully blocked a $3.4 billion sale of its retail assets to India's largest retailer Reliance, citing violation of certain contracts. Future denies any wrongdoing.

Global equity markets gained on Friday after traders cheered a Russian bond payment that averted a historic sovereign default, while gold prices dropped as demand for the safe-haven metal eased following the start of the U.S. interest rate hike cycle, Reuters reported. The Russian finance ministry announced on Thursday that it had sent funds to cover $117 million in coupon payments on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds that came due this week.

Russian oil market participants have switched their trading tactics, favoring private deals over public offerings due to new Western sanctions, traders said on Thursday, Reuters reported. About a quarter of Russian oil exports, including flagship Urals and ESPO Blend oil grades, is usually sold on a spot basis, normally via public tenders in which a number of companies generally have been invited. As of March 17, Russian oil companies haven't issued any spot tenders for May ESPO Blend, which would normally be offered in tenders by this time.

As foreign companies seek to exit Russia over the war in Ukraine, they face the prospect that Russian bankruptcy law could be used to seize assets and even lead to criminal penalties, Reuters reported. Here is how that could work. In the U.S., bankruptcy laws are meant to give indebted companies a fresh start. Distressed companies in the U.S. usually enter bankruptcy willingly, and the law lets them retain existing management and control over assets. Russia's law, however, generally prioritizes the needs of creditors who are owed money.