Lighthouse Immersive Inc., the company behind an interactive Vincent van Gogh exhibition displayed across the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The Toronto-based company filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy in Delaware yesterday alongside affiliates, a move that protects its U.S. assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its home country. While the company is best known for its van Gogh exhibit, it has also launched displays that feature Disney animation, as well as works of Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet.
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Mexico has been hit with three sets of trade arbitration proceedings in the past few days, according to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Reuters reported. First Majestic Silver and Silver Bull Resources, both Canadian companies, as well as U.S. food firm Arbor Confections have filed cases against Mexico, ICSID said in brief statements issued between Thursday and Friday. The proceedings all invoked the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which replaced NAFTA.
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The U.S. dollar being the dominant global reserve currency has been on a slow long-term downward trend, interrupted by upticks — and now we had an uptick, when the dollar gained share, Wolf Street reported. The share of the USD as global reserve currency rose to 59.0% in the first quarter of 2023, after having dropped to 58.6% in Q4, which had been the dollar’s lowest share since 1994, according to the IMF’s recent COFER data. The U.S.
Cineworld Group said on Thursday that Eduardo Acuna, who runs the Americas operations of Mexican theatre operator Cinepolis, will become its CEO when the company emerges from bankruptcy proceedings, expected this month, Reuters reported. The group, which filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in September, said lenders had agreed to appoint Acuna as CEO of the newly formed parent company after its restructuring plan becomes effective. Shares in London-listed Cineworld were trading up 11% at 0.4 pence by 1145 GMT, but remain more than 99% below their all-time high of 310.7 pence hit in 2017.
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The European Commission announced a new data transfer pact with the United States on Monday, seeking to end the legal uncertainty plaguing thousands of companies which transfer personal data across the Atlantic, Reuters reported. However, the move was immediately criticised by non-profit group noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, which said it would challenge the agreement.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appealed to China’s No. 2 leader to not let frustration over U.S. curbs on access to processor chips and other technology disrupt economic cooperation during a visit Friday aimed at improving strained relations, the Associated Press reported. Meeting with Premier Li Qiang, Yellen said Washington and Beijing have a duty to cooperate on issues that affect the world. She appealed for “regular channels of communication” at a time when relations are at their lowest in decades due to disputes over technology, security and other irritants.
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A U.S. court of appeals on Friday rejected Venezuela's bid to prevent six companies from joining a proposed court auction of shares in a Citgo Petroleum parent to enforce judgments for past expropriation of assets, Reuters reported. The decision allows the six to move ahead with their about $3 billion in combined claims against Venezuela state oil firm PDVSA in a Delaware federal court. That court is in the initial steps of preparing an auction as soon as September.
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Washington and Beijing are talking again. The test now is whether they can settle into a new normal that avoids upending the global economy — or fall back into a cycle of acrimony and retaliation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen heads to China on Thursday through Sunday to meet with senior government officials, her department said. The trip comes as tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan prompt both countries to reconsider the deep commercial and investment ties that have defined the relationship for decades.
Cineworld Group is looking at Eduardo Acuna, who runs the Americas operations of Mexico's Cinepolis, as a potential candidate to take the helm at the embattled British cinema chain operator when it emerges from bankruptcy proceedings, Sky News reported. It is not clear whether Acuna was formally in the frame to take the job or how quickly Cineworld's new owners were seeking to make an appointment, the report said.
MSCI's global equities index lost ground on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected overseas data and as investors monitored a heating up of American-Chinese trade tensions while they awaited upcoming U.S. economic data and second-quarter earnings, Reuters reported. Investors shrugged off U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes released on Wednesday that showed a Fed united in its June meeting decision to hold interest rates steady to buy time to assess whether further hikes would be needed. Minutes also showed most members expecting more policy tightening eventually.