Headlines

European Central Bank policymakers are gathering on Thursday for what may have become a crisis meeting as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens to derail economic growth in the euro zone and complicate the ECB's path out of negative interest rates, Reuters reported. The ECB's "informal get-together" was aimed at preparing a decision on March 10 on the likely end of the ECB's bond-buying stimulus programme, paving the way for the first rate hike in more than a decade to tackle surprisingly high inflation.

British retailers reported slower sales growth in February but said demand was better than normal for the time of year as the Omicron wave of coronavirus cases eased, according to a Confederation of British Industry survey published on Thursday, Reuters reported. The CBI's monthly retail sales balance halved to +14 in February from +28 in January, a bigger fall than economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll for a small decline to +25. However sales for the time of year improved sharply in February from January, with the balance rising to +16 from -23.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG has told pilots that it could launch a new airline to save on costs if negotiations on a new union contract collapse, Bloomberg News reported. While it could lead to walkouts, such a move would be aimed at increasing Lufthansa’s leverage after months of talks that have failed to produce an agreement on pay. A fresh operating certificate would enable the German company to dismiss pilots, cabin crew and ground staff working under the old structure, then offer to rehire them with less costly contracts.

Brazil's federal public debt grew 0.05% in January from December to 5.616 trillion reais ($1.12 trillion), the Treasury said on Wednesday, with interest rates rising as the central bank tightens monetary policy to fight double-digit inflation, Reuters reported. The average interest rate on the domestic federal debt increased to 8.9% in January from 8.49% in December, the Treasury said, and the average rate on the new domestic debt issued in the 12 months to January rose to 8.92% from 8.75%.

Argentina’s economy capped a strong second half of growth as it emerged from a long recession last year ahead of an expected new deal in the coming weeks with the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. Economic activity in December rose 0.9% from the prior month, in line with economists’ expectations. From a year ago, the economy expanded 9.8% in the final month of the year, according to government data published Wednesday. The annual figure was below expectations for an 11% gain. In December, tourism and transportation posted the largest annual gains.

The trial of a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of helping loot Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund will be paused due to late disclosure of some evidence by prosecutors to the defense, the judge in the case ruled yesterday, Reuters reported. Roger Ng, Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and to violate an anti-bribery law. Prosecutors say Ng received millions of dollars in kickbacks for helping embezzle funds from 1MDB.

South Africa’s government plans to restructure state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt before elections in 2024, and will only provide additional support if the company sells assets and cuts jobs, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said, Bloomberg News reported. Eskom, which supplies almost all of South Africa’s power, has 392 billion rand ($26 billion) of debt. The utility has said the liabilities need to be cut to 200 billion rand for it to be sustainable and accept support pledged by rich nations to help reduce South Africa’s dependence on coal and cut carbon emissions.

Samarco Mineracao faces a possible creditor standoff at a meeting which has been scheduled for March 10 to vote on debt restructuring proposals which would allow the Brazilian iron ore miner to exit bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. Creditors of the iron ore joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Group were expected to vote on Wednesday on the latest proposals to restructure some $5 billion in financial debt. But due to a lack of quorum, the meeting was rescheduled, Samarco said in a statement.

SAS AB risks a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor’s if the Scandinavian airline follows through with plans announced this week to convert debt into equity, Bloomberg News reported. This week, the Stockholm-based airline said it planned a number of measures, including a rights offering and swapping hybrid and unsecured debt for equity, to raise capital and lower its debt levels, while repositioning the business coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday set aside an NCLT order that rejected an appeal by Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (RARCL) to initiate insolvency proceeding against Narendra Plastics. The NCLAT also directed the NCLT to initiate the insolvency proceedings against the company, the Economic Times of India reported.