Bankrupt units of a Mexican and Colombian payroll lender have secured court approval to access part of a $45 million loan to fund operations during their chapter 11 case after agreeing to install a chief restructuring officer, Reuters reported. During a virtual hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kate Stickles in Wilmington, Del., signed off on Alpha Latam Management LLC's request to tap $17.5 million of the full loan. A hearing on the rest of the loan will be held at a later date. ALM is an affiliate of Mexico’s Alpha Holding SA de CV, which is not part of the chapter 11 case.
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Container shipping rates from China to the United States have scaled fresh highs above $20,000 per 40-foot box as rising retailer orders ahead of the peak U.S. shopping season add strain to global supply chains, Reuters reported. The acceleration in Delta-variant COVID-19 outbreaks in several counties has slowed global container turnaround rates. Typhoons off China's busy southern coast in late July and this week have also contributed to the crisis gripping the world's most important method for moving everything from gym equipment and furniture to car parts and electronics.
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Shareholders in Mallinckrodt, the Dublin-based but U.S.-run drugmaker in the middle of a bankruptcy reorganization, are being urged by a leading corporate advisory firm to vote against some directors as a parting rebuke over its handling of the U.S. opioid crisis and executive pay, the Irish Times reported. Mallinckrodt filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last October as the company was overwhelmed by lawsuits accusing it of deceptively marketing opioids. The company is pursuing a U.S.
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The U.S. securities regulator will not allow Chinese companies to raise money in the United States unless they fully explain their legal structures and disclose the risk of Beijing interfering in their businesses, the agency said on Friday, confirming an exclusive report by Reuters. In a statement, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he had also asked staff to "engage in targeted additional reviews of filings for companies with significant China-based operations." The development underscores U.S.
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There’s still at least one thing Americans do better than anyone else in the world: Corporate bankruptcies, Bloomberg reported. Since 2013, hundreds of foreign businesses have taken advantage of U.S. bankruptcy courts to slash debt and clean up their balance sheets, according to an analysis of legal filings. The reason is simple, lawyers and former judges say: America has the most company-friendly bankruptcy rules in the developed world. “The lawyers and judges know how to move things through the system quickly,” said Prof.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that a compromise deal that will allow the completion of a Russian gas pipeline to Europe without the imposition of further U.S. sanctions is “good for Ukraine,” the Associated Press reported. The U.S. and Germany announced the deal on Wednesday and committed to countering any Russian attempt to use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a political weapon. They also agreed to support Ukraine and Poland, both of which are bypassed by the project and fear Russia’s intentions, by funding alternative energy and development projects.

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The U.S. and Germany on Wednesday announced a deal to allow the completion of a controversial Russian gas pipeline to Europe without the imposition of further U.S. sanctions, the Associated Press reported. The agreement aims to stanch fears about European dependence on Russian energy, but it was immediately assailed by critics who said it doesn’t go far enough. Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. and Germany committed to countering any Russian attempt to use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a political weapon.

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The Biden administration has reached a preliminary agreement with Germany over a controversial Russia-to-Europe gas pipeline that is vehemently opposed by Ukraine and Poland, as well as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the Associated Press reported. Congressional aides briefed on the outlines of the deal said it would allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline without either Germany or Russia facing new U.S. sanctions. In return, the U.S. and Germany will make certain concessions to Ukraine and Poland, although it was not immediately clear if those would be welcomed.

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Global stock markets swooned Monday, with the Dow slumping more than 700 points, as investors are growing increasingly anxious about a delta-led resurgence in coronavirus cases and its potential to derail the economic recovery, The Washington Post reported. Oil prices also fell sharply. The delta variant is now the dominant strain worldwide and surging rapidly, even in countries with high vaccination rates. New coronavirus infections in the U.S. rose nearly 70 percent in a single week, officials reported Friday, and nearly every state has reported an increase in cases.

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