Norway’s central bank raised borrowing costs to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis and signaled it still plans another quarter-point hike in the current tightening cycle, Bloomberg News reported. Norges Bank lifted its key deposit rate on Thursday by 25 basis points to 4%, the 12th increase since September 2021, as forecast by all analysts in a Bloomberg survey. It said the rate “will most likely be raised further in September,” with Governor Ida Wolden Bache keeping the door open for further hikes, depending on incoming data.
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Norwegian Air has agreed to buy domestic peer Wideroe for 1.13 billion crowns ($106 million) as the reborn airline looks to strengthen its position in its home region, Reuters reported. The deal is the latest reshuffling in the Norwegian airline sector that saw newcomer Flyr file for bankruptcy in January having failed to raise enough cash to survive the winter season. The two companies, which have been collaborating on routes since last year, will continue to operate independently, but the networks will be more closely integrated in the future, Norwegian Air CEO Geir Karlsen said.
The storied brokerage firm of Lorentzen & Co. has declared bankruptcy after years of losses, changing its name and moving in a new direction after more than 100 years in operation, the Maritime Executive reported. Lorentzen & Co. was founded in 1919 by four brothers from the prominent Norwegian shipping family of the same name. It has had a concentration in dry bulk broking, but has had staff working in other segments as well. Its operations have lost money in recent years, and in 2022 it announced that it would be downsizing its team.
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Norway’s central bank accelerated interest-rate increases and pledged more aggressive tightening, intensifying its response to stubborn inflation and a weak currency, Bloomberg News reported. Norges Bank lifted its key deposit rate on Thursday by 50 basis points to 3.75%, prompting the krone to post its biggest advance in two weeks. The decision outcome was anticipated by a large minority of economists, with the rest predicting a smaller move. This is the 11th hike in the Norwegian benchmark since September 2021.
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SAS's rescue has moved a step closer after a U.S. court approved a revised plan from the Scandinavian airline to raise equity, Reuters reported. The long-suffering airline filed for chapter 11 protection last year. The court approval of the fundraising proposal - a key element of the "SAS Forward" rescue plan - means investors may start placing bids for a stake in the airline.
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SAS will not be using the second tranche of its $700 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) term loan in the second quarter of the year, due to stronger than expected development of the airline's liquidity, the airline said on Monday, Reuters reported. SAS may, depending on the development of its liquidity, continue discussions with Apollo regarding access to the second tranche of the DIP term loan at a later stage of the chapter 11 process.
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According to court documents analyzed, Statkraft, the largest renewable energy company in Europe, is on track to become the first multinational corporation to acquire an Indian power company through the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) process after the national company law tribunal (NCLT) approved its Rs 1.80 billion offer for Lanco Mandakini Hydro Energy, Construction World reported.
Loss-making Norwegian airline Flyr said on Tuesday that it would file for bankruptcy after failing to raise the cash it needed for its operations, Reuters reported. "There is no longer a realistic opportunity to achieve a solution for the short-term liquidity situation," the company said in a statement, adding the board's decision was unanimous. More than 400 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the bankruptcy, Flyr founder and board Chair Erik Braathen told Norwegian daily Dagbladet.
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Norway's wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, posted a record loss of 1.64 trillion crowns ($164.4 billion) for 2022, bringing to an end a three-year run of soaring profits as stocks and bonds were hit by the Ukraine war and inflation, Reuters reported. The previous largest loss was 633 billion crowns in 2008. It ends a record-breaking streak for the fund, where annual returns exceeded one trillion crowns in each of the three years from 2019 to 2021, amounting to more than four trillion crowns combined. "We are invested in 9,000 companies in 70 countries.
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Norway will not have to ration power supplies this winter or in the coming spring even in the event of an extended cold period and wider energy challenges in the Nordic region, the country's energy regulator NVE said on Monday, Reuters reported. "Our analyses show that even with significant operational challenges in the Nordics, we will not end up in a rationing situation this winter," NVE director Kjetil Lund said in a statement.
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