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.
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An Australian company that clinched the first U.S. clearance for its at-home Covid-19 test kit has collapsed into liquidation after a sale to a competitor fell through, Bloomberg News reported. Covid-19 test maker Ellume Ltd.’s sale to Hough Consolidated Pty Ltd. unraveled this week, and the company is now winding down operations, according to a statement. Hough had agreed to buy the company in December for $38 million (A$56 million), but the deal fell apart after Hough made repeated requests to extend deadlines tied to the agreement.
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Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, wants a U.S. judge to throw out criminal charges brought against him following his extradition from the Bahamas, Reuters reported. In papers filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for the former billionaire said they asked Bahamas' Supreme Court to bar the country's government from authorizing U.S. prosecutors to move forward on the five charges, until their client has a chance to be heard. The lawyers said that a sixth charge, for violating U.S.
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Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the US, Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, Bloomberg News reported. For the past two days, the Saudi capital has played host to the largest ever Chinese-Arab business gathering. Under the chandeliers and vaulted ceilings of Riyadh’s grandest conference hall, Saudi officials spoke of integrating China into the Arab region and Chinese executives said they stood ready to “de-Americanize” the world’s top oil exporter.
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In mid-May, cryptocurrency exchange Binance got some bad news in a far-flung corner of its sprawling universe. Binance’s payments partner in Australia had abruptly cut it off, meaning local customers couldn’t deposit Aussie dollars on the platform via bank transfer. The hit to business was immediate, with Binance halting all Aussie trading pairs about two weeks later, along with bank withdrawals of the local currency, Bloomberg News reported.
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The cancer-treatment specialist GenesisCare has filed for bankruptcy protection, after struggling under a debt load enlarged by a $1.5 billion takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported. Australia-based GenesisCare said today that it would split its U.S. business from operations in Australia, Spain and the U.K. as part of the U.S. chapter 11 reorganization. GenesisCare didn't say how much debt would be affected by the filing. GenesisCare is backed by the U.S. private-equity giant KKR.
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A growing number of Venezuela-related expropriation claims at U.S. courts pursuing Citgo Petroleum's assets surpass $20 billion, making difficult for the Houston-based refiner to compensate them all, but some payments can be negotiated, said on Wednesday the chief of a board supervising the company, Reuters reported.
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Bankrupt rocket company Virgin Orbit is shutting down after selling its facility leases and equipment to a trio of aerospace companies in an auction, the company confirmed on Tuesday, CNBC reported. “As Virgin Orbit embarks on this path, the management and employees would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all stakeholders,” the company said in a statement. Spun out of Virgin Galactic in 2017 by founder Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit reached rarefied air by flying multiple missions.
If the debt crisis roiling Washington were eventually to send the U.S. crashing into recession, America’s economy would hardly sink alone, the Associated Press reported. The repercussions of a first-ever default on the federal debt would quickly reverberate around the world. Orders for Chinese factories that sell electronics to the U.S. could dry up. Swiss investors who own U.S. Treasurys would suffer losses. Sri Lankan companies could no longer deploy dollars as an alternative to their own dodgy currency. “No corner of the global economy will be spared” if the U.S.
Venator, the Huntsman spinoff that holds the family-owned business’s former titanium dioxide activities, has filed for protection from creditors under U.S. Chapter 11, Chemanager Online reported. The company, which is U.K.-registered but managed from the U.S. state of Texas, said it hopes to exit chapter 11 within approximately two months. CEO Simon Turner said Venator has reached agreement with the “overwhelming majority” of its lenders and noteholders on the terms of a comprehensive recapitalization plan that would equitize nearly all of its funded debt and strengthen its balance sheet.