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☆ Former McDonald's restaurants reopen without branding in Kazakhstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] A view shows a fast food restaurant, which used to operate under the McDonald's brand and reopened with no branding weeks after the U.S. company left the local market, in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevALMATY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Several restaurants which used to operate under the McDonald's (MCD.N) brand in Kazakhstan reopened on Monday with no branding to serve fast food under generic names such as "Cheeseburger", weeks after the U.S. company left the local market. McDonald's and Food Solutions KZ terminated their licence agreement this month, citing supply issues. Sources earlier told Reuters that McDonald's Kazakhstan had stopped buying supplies from Russia and had trouble replacing them. Food Solutions KZ did not say on Monday whether it has replaced any components such as beef patties with Kazakh produce, and declined to comment on any questions not addressed in its statement.

☆ AMC Seeks New Lifeline After Meme-Stock Bubble Pops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The meme-stock phenomenon is on its last legs, and no company is feeling the comedown more than movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.AMC deftly surfed the meme-stock wave to raise billions of dollars and help it avoid bankruptcy during the pandemic, but its shares have sunk back to roughly where they were trading before the company caught fire in the online trading community. Box-office receipts are falling short, and the meme-stock premium that helped AMC raise fresh capital has all but evaporated.

☆ Russia's rebranded McDonald's may expand into Kazakhstan after McDonald's reportedly banned its restaurants there from selling Russian meat, forcing them to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fast-food chain Vkusno & Tochka replaced some of McDonald's restaurants in Russia after they all closed. Alexander Govor, a Russian businessperson, bought Russia's closed McDonald's restaurants in May and rebranded them as Vkusno & Tochka, which translates as "tasty and that's it." Pavel Mikheyev/Getty ImagesMcDonald's confirmed to Insider that its contract with Food Solutions had been terminated. Kazakh news outlet Tengrinews, however, reported that Food Solutions' director said the company didn't plan to rebrand its restaurants as Vkusno & tochka. The chain said in December, however, that it was working on a substitute for McDonald's trademark Big Mac.

☆ Russia's McDonald's successor applies for trademark in Kazakhstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ASTANA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Vkusno & tochka, the Russian successor brand to McDonald's (MCD.N), has applied to have its trademarks registered in neighbouring Kazakhstan following the U.S. company's exit from its market, the Kazakh government said on Monday. McDonald's and its Kazakh licensee terminated their agreement this month, citing supply issues. Sources earlier told Reuters McDonald's Kazakhstan had stopped buying supplies from Russia and had trouble replacing them. McDonald's closed its Russian restaurants soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine last February, eventually selling to a local licensee, Alexander Govor, who unveiled the Vkusno & tochka brand in June. Reporting by Tamara Vaal; writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 411 is going out of service for millions of Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Starting in January, AT&T customers with digital landlines won’t be able to dial 411 or 0 to reach an operator or get directory assistance. The human telephone operator, a job that came to be dominated by White women during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2021, there were fewer than 4,000 telephone operators, down from a peak of around 420,000 in the 1970s, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. “0” became universal for operator assistance and “411” was the number for directory assistance. By 2004, at the dawn of the smartphone age, 56,000 people were employed as telephone operators.

☆ Cineworld Grapples With Box-Office Slump as It Seeks a Sale in Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Akiko Matsuda | Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bankrupt movie-theater chain Cineworld Group PLC said it continues to miss its box-office projections due to challenging market conditions as it gears up to sell itself out of chapter 11. Joshua Sussberg, a lawyer for U.K.-based Cineworld, owner of Regal Cinemas, told Judge Marvin Isgur of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday that the company’s restructuring effort since its bankruptcy filing in September has been hindered by the lackluster box-office performance.

☆ Financial Firm Beneficient Pushed Boundaries Before Bond Program’s Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ AMC Held Talks About Acquiring Theaters From Bankrupt Cineworld
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. held discussions regarding a potential strategic acquisition of theaters from its rival, the bankrupt Cineworld Group PLC, according to a securities filing by AMC on Wednesday. AMC’s deal talks were held with certain lenders to Cineworld, who have a powerful role in that company’s bankruptcy process. The talks focused on AMC acquiring theater assets of Cineworld in the U.S. and Europe, and how such a deal would be financed.

The deal McDonald's struck with former licensee Alexander Govor included a set of requirements the new brand, Vkusno & tochka, must stick to, including restrictions on branding, colour scheme and product usage. New owner Alexander Govor said this week he and the management team regularly talk over video link to the former parent company. "We are not talking about how they somehow participate in our business, this is already done," Vkusno & tochka, which translates to "Tasty & that's it," CEO Oleg Paroev told Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, McDonald's said it fully exited the Russian market earlier this year. Russian authorities in June said McDonald's has an option to buy back its Russia restaurants within 15 years.

Avaya Holdings Corp. is nearing a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to restructure its balance sheet as it looks to turn around its business and move past problems surrounding the company’s accounting, people familiar with the matter said. Avaya disclosed earlier this week it has reviewed various restructuring proposals from competing creditor groups. One plan, supported by a senior lender group including Apollo Global Management , would significantly reduce Avaya’s debt load through chapter 11, wipe out shareholders and, pending the completion of an internal investigation into controls over financial reporting, provide directors and executives with releases from potential litigation.

☆ Russia’s McDonald’s successor replacing Big Mac with ‘Big Hit’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Starved of Big Macs since McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) closed its Russian restaurants in March, Russians will from next year be treated to an alternative from the burger chain’s successor - the "Big Hit". Vkusno & tochka, or "Tasty & that's it", on Monday said the Big Hit would be available from February and a similar product to the McDonald’s Happy Meal would be making a comeback as "Kids' Combo". McDonald's closed its Russian restaurants soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February, eventually selling to a local licensee, Alexander Govor, who unveiled the new brand in June. Since acquiring Russia's McDonald's restaurants, Govor has snapped up Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki's (HUH1V.HE) Russian business and a logistics firm, set to be renamed "Logistics & that's it". Some Vkusno & tochka restaurants had to take fries off the menu earlier this year when faced with a potato shortage.

☆ Western officials and Ankara are in talks after stand-off on oil tanker pile-up near Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK, US, and EU are working with Ankara to clear an oil tanker pile-up in Turkish waters. EU's $60 a barrel price cap on Russian crude kicked in Monday, which is impacting shipping and insurance. Most vessels in Turkish waters now are loaded with oil from Kazakhstan, not Russia, two Western officials told the Financial Times on Thursday. It is considering several options to counter the price cap, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported Wednesday, citing two sources close to the cabinet. Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko also weighed in on the matter, saying Russia's concerned about the congestion off Turkey.

[1/2] Oil product tanker Lila Fujairah sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk IsikCompanies Ingosstrakh SPAO FollowLONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Western officials are in talks with Turkish counterparts to resolve oil tanker queues off Turkey, a British Treasury official said, after the G7 and European Union rolled out new restrictions on Dec. 5 aimed at Russian oil exports. "The UK, U.S. and EU are working closely with the Turkish government and the shipping and insurance industries to clarify the implementation of the Oil Price Cap and reach a resolution," the official told Reuters. At least 20 oil tankers continue to face delays to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean as operators race to adhere to the Turkish rules. "The (insurers) have agreed that they cannot and should not issue such a letter," UK P&I said in a statement on its website.

☆ FTX Hires Forensic Team to Probe Money Trail
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX’s new management has hired a team of forensic investigators from advisory firm AlixPartners to help track the billions of dollars that have gone missing from the failed cryptocurrency exchange, people familiar with the matter said. The AlixPartners team is led by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Jacques didn’t respond to a request for comment. AlixPartners...

☆ Russia is concerned over oil tankers build-up in Bosphorus - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Maltese-flagged crude oil tanker Minerva Baltica sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoMOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia is concerned about a build-up of oil tankers in the Bosphorus Strait and is discussing the issue with insurance and transport companies, RIA cited Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday. After all, insurance companies insure, not the state," Grushko is quoted as saying. The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February. Kazakhstan, a large oil exporter, said on Wednesday that the build-up of the oil tankers at the Bosphorus is normal during the winter season.

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has opened a hornet’s nest of squabbles between foreign governments and its new U.S. chief executive, John J. Ray III . In Cyprus, the country’s securities regulator is complaining that Mr. Ray’s decision to place FTX in bankruptcy has stymied investigations and is preventing European customers from getting their money back. Officials in the Bahamas, where FTX moved its headquarters last year, are accusing Mr. Ray of making false statements and suggesting that his team is motivated by the prospects of earning hefty legal fees. In Turkey, authorities have seized the assets of FTX’s local subsidiary, an affront to Mr. Ray’s efforts to sweep FTX’s assets into the chapter 11 process in Delaware.

After explosions - whose cause is under investigation - damaged the Nord Stream Russian gas pipeline system to Europe under the Baltic Sea, Putin in October proposed setting up a gas hub in Turkey, building on a southern route for exports. "Does Europe need the project, given the determination of the EU countries to forego Russian gas in the nearest future?" A source in Russia's pipeline gas exporting monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said be believed the hub would facilitate sales. "That will not be Russian gas, but gas from the hub," said the source, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Neither Gazprom, nor the Kremlin provided a cost estimate for the Turkish hub idea.

☆ Krispy Kreme has exited Russia over the war in Ukraine. 'Krunchy Dream' is taking its place.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A chain of new donut shops called Krunchy Dream has sprung up in Russia, where Krispy Kreme once stood. They are owned by the Novikov Group, whose owner Arkady Novikov is Krispy Kreme's only former franchisee in Russia. It then proceeded to shutter all Russian Krispy Kreme shops. Krispy Kreme said in its second-quarter earnings results release that it had closed 30 franchise shops in Russia. Krispy Kreme and the Novikov Group did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment which were sent outside regular business hours.

☆ BlockFi Files for Bankruptcy as Latest Crypto Casualty
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Crypto Lender BlockFi Follows FTX Into Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi Inc. filed for chapter 11 on Monday, following FTX into bankruptcy and spotlighting the contagion effects that the failure of the crypto exchange has unleashed. BlockFi blamed its chapter 11 filing on the downturn in cryptocurrency prices this summer and this month’s failure of FTX, a big exchange with ties throughout the largely unregulated industry. FTX’s affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, defaulted on $680 million owed to BlockFi earlier this month, the firm disclosed in court papers.

☆ Russian McDonald's buyer turns to logistics with HAVI purchase
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - The owner of McDonald's former restaurants in Russia, Alexander Govor, is buying privately-owned Russian logistics company HAVI, which has 14 distribution centres, his firm said on Wednesday. Govor reopened McDonald's restaurants in Russia in June under the brand, Vkusno & tochka ("Tasty, and that's it"). Vkusno & tochka said Govor would retain HAVI's management and more than 1,200 employees, rebranding the firm as Logistika - i Tochka ("Logistics, and that's it"). HAVI was described as "focused on innovation, optimization and supply chain management for the world's leading brands". Govor said HAVI had shown since 2008 that it could be "a reliable partner to ensure the logistics of our business throughout Russia".

Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi Inc. is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing after halting withdrawals of customer deposits and acknowledging it has “significant exposure” to bankrupt exchange FTX, people familiar with the matter said. BlockFi paused withdrawals and limited activity on its platform last week, saying it couldn’t operate business as usual given the uncertainty about FTX. BlockFi is now planning to lay off some of its workers while the troubled firm prepares for a possible chapter 11 itself, people familiar with the matter said.

☆ FTX In Contact With Prosecutors As Bankruptcy May Touch One Million Customers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX Trading Ltd. said in court papers Monday that over the past 72 hours it has been in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and dozens of federal, state and international regulatory agencies, and that up to a million customers may be affected by its sudden collapse into bankruptcy. The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange said that its newly-appointed chief executive, John J. Ray III, has begun working to secure customer assets and FTX property around the world, including by halting trading and withdrawal functions on its exchanges and moving as many digital assets as possible to a new “cold wallet” custodian.

Beleaguered cryptocurrency platform FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, and Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried resigned. FTX and a bevy of affiliates said they had more than 100,000 creditors and tens of billions of dollars in assets and liabilities. It is the largest crypto-related bankruptcy ever, and a demise remarkable for its swiftness as well as its size.

☆ FTX Digital Markets Assets Frozen in the Bahamas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said that it froze the assets of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. and related parties on Thursday and appointed a provisional liquidator. FTX Digital Markets, based in the Bahamas, is a subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd., led by founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The powers of the directors of FDM have been suspended and no assets held by the firm can be transferred without the provisional liquidator’s approval, the commission said.

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