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☆ World Bank’s green overhaul is slowly taking shape
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

BRUSSELS, Aug 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - To step up the fight against climate change, World Bank President Ajay Banga wants to overhaul the lender’s balance sheet without overturning its credit rating. Earlier this year, the World Bank pledged $50 billion over 10 years via changes to how it manages its equity to loan ratio. Such backing has been used before, for example by the UK to fund $1 billion of World Bank projects in India. The central banks would hold those bonds as liquid reserves, while the World Bank could use the SDRs for financing its operations. All of these options are more complicated than if the World Bank’s shareholders simply increased its paid-in capital outright.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Janet Yellen, Lawrence Summers, N.K, Singh, Joe Biden, Yellen, ”, Guarantors, Brad Setser, Stephen Paduano, George Hay, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, World, Treasury, World Bank, Reuters Graphics, Mastercard, Citigroup, AAA, U.S, Bank, London School of Economics, International Monetary Fund, European Union, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, U.S, Asia, Banga, India, Japan, China, European, Marrakech, Singh

☆ Saudi binge is fiscal free kick for European clubs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Streisand Neto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Saudi binge may help European teams raise funds and meet tough new financial rules. The Roshn Saudi League is a top scorer in the football transfer market. UEFA, the governing body for European football, has introduced new rules limiting clubs’ spending on wages, transfers and agent fees to 70% of revenue. European clubs should take the money before the referee's whistle blows. Saudi clubs have spent over 550 million euros buying players from European clubs in the 2023/2024 transfer season, according to Transfermarkt.

Persons: Al Hilal's, Neymar, Fahd bin Saad Al, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, Germain, Rúben Neves, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Len Blavatnik, China’s, Oscar, Marouane, Hilal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neil Unmack, Thomas Shum, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Soccer, Al, Saudi Pro League, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Paris Saint, Saudi, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Britain’s Premier League, Premier League, Deloitte’s Sports Business, UEFA, Deloitte, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC, Thomson Locations: Al Hilal, Paris, France, Saudi, Hilal, Saudi League, Al, Ittihad, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Kingdom, Saudi Arabian

☆ ECB core obsession raises risk of policy mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Headline inflation in the euro zone has halved in the past nine months and was 5.3% in July. Granted, both headline and core inflation are currently above the ECB’s 2% target. In fact, core tends to follow headline inflation because its narrower composition makes it stickier. That’s because, as the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell said recently, headline inflation is “really what the public experiences”. ECB President Christine Lagarde has pledged to be “data-dependent”.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Martin Heidegger, that’s, Joachim Nagel, Germany’s Bundesbank, Klaas Knot, Lucrezia Reichlin, Michele Lenza, Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Klaas, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic, Streisand Neto Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, ECB, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Financial Times, U.S . Federal, Eurostat, Central, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, German, Ukraine

☆ BAE’s stratospheric space deal has sound logic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People gather at the BAE Systems' booth during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Symposium & Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BAE (BAES.L) is showing off its deep pockets. On Thursday, the $37 billion maker of war ships and armored vehicles said it will splurge over $5.5 billion in cash on Ball Corp’s (BALL.N) aerospace arm. BAE CEO Charles Woodburn beat off private equity bidders including Blackstone (BX.N) to seal the deal, which bulks up his exposure to civil and military space surveillance solutions. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Cheney Orr, Ball, Charles Woodburn, Woodburn, Woodburn’s pricey, Aimee Donnellan, EY’s loveless, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: BAE Systems, Association of, United States Army, Global, REUTERS, Reuters, BAE, Blackstone, Ball Aerospace, Twitter, TPG, Thomson Locations: Huntsville , Alabama, U.S

☆ High services costs make UK rate-cutting laggard
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey speaks as he attends a press conference for the Monetary Policy Report August 2023, at the Bank of England in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK inflation is slowing, according to many metrics. Unfortunately, those are not the ones the Bank of England values the most. Prices in that category grew 7.4% in July, faster than June’s 7.2%, due to more expensive restaurants, hotels and airfares. Policymakers keep a close eye on services’ prices and wage growth, which hit a record in the three months to June.

Persons: Bank of England Andrew Bailey, Alastair Grant, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, Francesco Guerrera, Exor’s Philips, Bain, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Bank of, Office, National Statistics . Services, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Twitter, FC Barcelona’s, Messi, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England, June’s

☆ Exor’s Philips bet looks well-timed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Agnelli family’s investment company on Monday said it bought a 15% stake in the toothbrushes-to-defibrillators group for 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion). Philips’ shares are down some 62% since the peak in April 2021, and it now looks much cheaper than the sum of its parts. Based on peer multiples, its diagnostics business could be worth 14 times 2024 EBITDA, while its connected care unit, which helps hospitals manage patient data, might be valued at 18.5 times EBITDA. Lastly, throw in the consumer division, which makes toasters and TVs, and could fetch 12 times EBITDA. Using Refinitiv forecasts, that would imply a total enterprise value of 33 billion euros, and equity of some 24 billion euros, after taking off debt and 2.4 billion euros for legal costs estimated by Bernstein analysts.

Persons: John Elkann, Agnelli, Philips ’, EBITDA, Bernstein, Roy Jakobs, Philips, Karen Kwok, Bain, BoE, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Koninklijke Philips, U.S . Department of Justice, Philips, Twitter, FC Barcelona’s, Messi, Siemens, Thomson

☆ UK GDP jump offers little relief to BoE
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The larger-than-forecast 0.5% rise in GDP in June meant that output grew 0.2% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months. That’s a modest acceleration but not enough to force the Bank of England to hike rates again in September. Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s finance minister, was quick to claim credit for the GDP numbers. Less rational is the sharp jump in sterling and UK bond yields, fuelled by market expectations that the BoE will now have to raise rates in September. Sure, June GDP numbers were strong but they were flattered by the absence of the bank holiday that had depressed May’s figures.

Persons: That’s, Jeremy Hunt, BoE, Francesco Guerrera, Aimee Donnellan, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, England soccer, Bank of, Conservative, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, Britain

☆ Stingy UK bank saving rates may become a non-issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Banks are keeping the fruits of higher interest rates for themselves. Between January 2022 and May 2023, the Bank of England hiked rates by 4.25 percentage points. The nine largest UK banks boosted the interest on easy-access savings accounts by 1.18 percentage points, the FCA found. The upshot is that they’ll have to bid more aggressively for funding in the future, for example by raising interest rates on savings accounts. Second-quarter results suggest it too is paying more for funding: interest expense almost doubled between the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.

Persons: juicier, BoE, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Authority, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of, FCA, Monday, Reuters Graphics Reuters, NatWest, Barclays ’, Lloyds, Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, European Central Bank, Bank of England, ECB, Spanish, Financial, HSBC, Santander UK, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, Thomson Locations: Britain, Spain, Bank of England, Italy, Hungary

☆ Italian bank tax flip-flop leaves lasting scars
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Italian government has raced to soothe bank investors spooked by its ill-thought-out bank windfall tax. The government has now said that the levy will be capped at 0.1% of total assets. If so, and applied to banks’ Italian businesses, then the total haul would be just under 2 billion euros, according to UBS. Still, bank shares have only partially recovered. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: tanking, Siena, That’s, Giorgia Meloni, Neil Unmack, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Banca Monte dei, UBS, Banca, Banco, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson

☆ Italy’s bank tax may be anything but “one-off”
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini attends the upper house of parliament ahead of a confidence vote for the new government, in Rome, Italy, October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneLONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - As summer surprises go, the one Matteo Salvini sprung on Italy’s banking sector on Monday evening was as unwelcome as they get. In a late-night press conference, Italy’s deputy prime minister announced a windfall levy on lenders’ profits to help pay for cheaper mortgages and income tax cuts. The government is looking to raise less than 3 billion euros from the tax, Reuters reported citing sources close to the matter. Shares in Italy’s two largest banks – Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) – dropped more than 5% in morning trading.

Persons: Matteo Salvini, Guglielmo Mangiapane, –, Siena, Francesco Guerrera, headwinds, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: Italy's, REUTERS, Guglielmo Mangiapane LONDON, Reuters, Banco, Banca Monte dei, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Spain, Hungary

☆ Sweaty Europe can kill two birds with one pump
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

What may be less immediately obvious is that heat pumps are the best way to do both. In Europe, currently only 16% of residential buildings use heat pumps, according to a study from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) based on data from 21 countries including non-EU Britain and Norway, with 20 million heat pumps installed. On average buying and installing a heat pump could cost up to $13,000 compared to $2,500 for a gas boiler. Heat pump sales rose 35% in Italy last year, making it Europe’s second-biggest marketplace after France, EHPA data shows. To meet net-zero targets by 2030 EHPA estimates Europe would need 60 million more heat pumps installed by 2030.

Persons: Remo Casilli, Olaf Scholz’s, Joe Biden’s, António Guterres, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Streisand Neto Organizations: Popolo, REUTERS, Remo Casilli LONDON, Reuters, International Energy Agency, IEA, European Union, Pump Association, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Energy Information Administration, Carrier, Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin Industries, El, El Corte Inglés, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, EU Britain, Norway, France, Germany, Poland, Brussels, Britain, United States, U.S, U.N, El Corte

☆ Maersk has ways to grow again despite headwinds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Container ship "Evelyn Maersk" is loaded during snowfall at a container terminal in a harbour amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Hamburg, Germany, April 6, 2021. Arch rival and privately-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is deploying cash reserves on acquisitions to diversify away from container shipping. Maersk also needs to strengthen its logistics and services unit, where organic revenue fell 19%, dragged down by lower retail demand, particularly in North America. Last year's purchases of Pilot and LF Logistics helped prop up the division, but Maersk needs to invest more. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Evelyn Maersk, Fabian Bimmer, A.P, Moller, Boss Vincent Clerc, EBITDA, Clerc, Pamela Barbaglia, Pierre Briancon, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Fabian Bimmer LONDON, Reuters, Maersk, Walmart, Nike, Unilever, CMA CGM, Mediterranean Shipping Company, LF Logistics, Twitter, Adidas, InBev, Thomson Locations: Hamburg, Germany, North America

☆ UK net-zero ‘pragmatism’ is an odd way to get real
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yet official UK figures do not suggest the way to get real on climate change is to go any slower. Sunak himself has defended Britain’s record on climate and says he cares about reaching its 2050 net-zero target. As such the net cost of net zero may be more like 344 billion pounds over three decades, or perhaps only 0.4% of GDP per year. Policy certainty will meanwhile encourage foreign investors to help pay for Britain’s transition, reducing its exposure to gas price shocks. UK energy secretary Grant Shapps said on Aug. 2 that the government remained “absolutely committed” to hitting its net-zero carbon targets by 2050.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, dawdling, Andrew Forrest, ”, ” Sunak, Michael Gove, Grant Shapps, “, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Sunak’s Conservative Party, Budget, Reuters Graphics Reuters, ’, McKinsey reckons, Britain, Conservatives, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, China, United States, North

☆ LSEG’s dealmaking payoff arrives in installments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) CEO David Schwimmer speaks during the Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., December 1, 2022. Yet two and a half years after CEO David Schwimmer got the keys, the London Stock Exchange operator is growing revenue and mostly beating its targets. The deal increased LSEG’s exposure to selling data, typically a more predictable source of revenue. Annual subscriber value, a closely watched metric which measures the recurring revenue in LSEG’s data division, rose nearly 7% in the first six months of the year. Schwimmer’s dealmaking is paying off, but the former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker has a few more installments to collect.

Persons: David Schwimmer, Brendan McDermid, Blackstone, Schwimmer, dealmaking, Goldman Sachs, LSEG, Thomson, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, Reuters, REUTERS, Brendan McDermid LONDON, London Stock Exchange, London Stock, Thomson Reuters, Microsoft, Deutsche, Jefferies, P, Revenue, Blackstone, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Refinitiv, Breakingviews

☆ Klein's UK SPAC deal is more swan song than encore
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The northern English county is the home of serial acquirer CorpAcq, led by the brother of “Take That” singer Jason Orange, which Klein’s Churchill Capital Corp VII (CVII.N) special-purpose acquisition company vehicle now hopes to buy. The deal, which values the investor in plumbing to fork-lift leasing groups at $1.6 billion including debt, may struggle to relight the fire of the depressed SPAC sector. Klein’s planned deal comes amid a growing lack of patience by SPAC investors. CorpAcq could yet be magic for SPAC investors. Churchill’s sponsors, including Klein, will waive most of their founder shares, which typically vest when a deal is done.

Persons: Peter Rawlinson, Michael Klein, acquirer, “, Jason Orange, Klein’s, SPACs, Klein, Simon Orange’s, Pamela Barbaglia, Aston Martin, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Lucid, Churchill Capital Corp, Nasdaq, Lucid Motors, Reuters, Blank, Cotton Traders, Twitter, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Cheshire, Stockholm, Brexit, Japan

☆ Soaring StanChart still has lots of work to do
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bill Winters’ bank is finally getting its act together – to an extent. London-listed Standard Chartered (STAN.L) on Friday reported its highest first-half revenue and earnings since Winters joined as CEO in 2015. The upgraded 12%-14% top-line growth for this year, from 10% previously, caught investors' eyes, as did a chunky $1 billion share buyback programme. Winters managed to get costs down to 61% of revenue in the first half, close to his 2024 target of around 60%. Even after Friday’s bump, StanChart trades at just two-thirds of 12-month forward tangible book value, using analyst estimates gathered by Refinitiv Datastream.

Persons: Bill Winters, Winters, It’s, Refinitiv Datastream, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, “, HSBC, DBS, Twitter, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, London

☆ Kering dons Valentino scent to ease Gucci malaise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Adding the maker of pricey Rockstud bags could help it reduce its dependency on tottering star brand Gucci. Kering’s stake purchase values the whole brand at 5.7 billion euros, or 16 times its EBITDA of 350 million euros last year. Kering will pay 1.7 billion euros for the stake in cash. Valentino had revenue of 1.4 billion euros and a recurring EBITDA of 350 million euros in 2022. Kering’s star brand Gucci rose just 1% on an organic basis.

Persons: Henri Pinault, Valentino, Gucci, Valentino Garavani, LVMH, Sabato De Sarno, Alessandro Michele, Marco Bizzarri, Kering, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Oliver Taslic Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, Thomson

☆ Neste's output snafu dents net-zero aviation goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Neste’s production woes are a big headache for Chief Executive Matti Lehmus but also for the aviation sector. That includes up to 1 million tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is key to make planes greener as it cuts carbon emissions by up to 80%. Neste is now predicting that it will produce 230,000 tons less of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel in the second half of 2023. Neste's production problems will further complicate the aviation race to net zero. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Matti Lehmus, Pamela Barbaglia, Lisa Jucca, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thales, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Neste

☆ Government’s NatWest meddling crosses risky line
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meddling ministers crossed a line, and may struggle to retreat back onto the right side of it. Its shares fell a modest 3% on Wednesday morning – compared with 1% on average for Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and Virgin Money UK (VMUK.L). Rose’s strategy of cutting costs, continuing to scale back risky trading and focusing on core UK retail banking was working. Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, that “it is right that the NatWest CEO has resigned”. Domestic rivals Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Virgin Money UK were down 2% on average.

Persons: Alison Rose, Rose, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Nigel Farage, Andrew Griffith, Coutts, aren’t, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, George Hay, Pranav Kiran, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Economic, NatWest, BBC, Royal Bank of Scotland’s, UK Government Investments, . Mortgage, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Virgin Money, Lloyds, Domestic, Thomson Locations: NatWest’s

☆ Thales cyber push meets investor shoulder shrug
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - France's Thales (TCFP.PA) is doubling down on cybersecurity with its $3.6 billion purchase of U.S. firm Imperva. Thales's boss Patrice Caine briefly considered buying Atos's (ATOS.PA) cybersecurity arm last year, but didn’t go through with it. The purchase values the Thoma Bravo-backed group at 17 times forecast 2024 operating profit, according to Thales. Meanwhile Caine’s push into the racy cyber sector doesn’t seem to register in the group’s valuation. That means investors are sceptical that Thales’s efforts to crack the war against hacking will work out for shareholders.

Persons: Patrice Caine, Thoma, Caine’s, Refinitiv Datastream, Pamela Barbaglia, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Thales, Thoma Bravo, BAE Systems, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, Spain

Both theory and past practice suggest that higher interest rates weigh on investment and consumption, crimping companies’ profit and forcing them to reduce hiring or lay off staff. It could also be that higher interest rates weigh on prices by pushing up borrowing costs and weakening financial markets, without requiring widespread layoffs. But economic forecasters have wrongly anticipated layoffs and higher unemployment for much of the past year. Until disinflation becomes less immaculate, the central bank has the unholy problem of choosing between lessons from history and those of the last 12 months. The U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 3.6% in June, the BLS announced on July 7.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Powell, There’s, Ben Winck, Francesco Guerrera, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Federal Reserve, Wall, U.S, Fed, UBS –, Bank of International, Workers, United, Refinitiv, Consumer, of Labor Statistics, BLS, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, payrolls, Washington, London

☆ Saudi Mbappé bid even less rational than it looks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet a possible outlay of 1 billion euros, including compensation, takes the country’s sporting tactics to surreal new heights. Added to the transfer fee, that takes the outlay to around 1 billion euros. Spain’s LaLiga generated about 900 million euros in international broadcast revenue in the 2020-2021 season, according to Deloitte. CBS Sports reported that Al Hilal was also offering Mbappé a total one-year compensation package worth 700 million euros. The Guardian reported that Mbappé’s one-year salary would be 200 million euros, rising to 700 million euros after including other commercial arrangements and proceeds from image rights.

Persons: Al Hilal’s, Kylian, Germain, Declan Rice, Mbappé, Mbappé aren’t, Al Hilal, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Paris Saint, Arsenal, Saudi Pro League, Guardian, Deloitte, English Premier League, Saudi, Newcastle United, Premier League, Economics, Regional, Qatar, Britons, Al, Financial Times, Bloomberg, CBS Sports, Thomson Locations: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Paris, China, Saudi, France’s, Saudi Arabian, French

☆ Spain vote stalemate requires winner to drop out
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - After Sunday’s election, neither the conservative People’s Party nor the governing Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party are likely to have enough support to rule. But he could shorten the pain by declining to form a government, paving the way for another poll in the autumn. The snap election called by left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in May failed to deliver either bloc the 176 parliamentary seats needed to govern. Since Sánchez is also unlikely to muster enough support, that would give Spaniards another chance to choose a leader in cooler conditions. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Pedro Sánchez, King Felipe VI’s, Mariano Rajoy, Francesco Guerrera, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, People’s Party, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, El, Vox, PSOE, Spanish, Twitter, Thomson Locations: “ El Gobierno, el aire, El Pais

☆ SSAB profit hit flags EU steel's parlous state
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - SSAB (SSABa.ST) has kicked off European steelmakers' quarterly earnings season with a profit drama. Poor demand in Europe, declining steel prices and severe rises in energy and production costs are to blame. With steel consumption expected to decrease further in the second half of the year, investors sent SSAB stock down more than 15%. Without a deal, trade tariffs, which have been temporarily frozen, would return in December along with retaliatory measures from the EU. For SSAB, whose heavy plate business in North America was relatively stable during the second quarter, that would take things from bad to worse.

Persons: SSAB, steelmakers, Valdis Dombrovskis, Pamela Barbaglia, whir, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, SSAB, European Central Bank, Union, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Europe, U.S, North America

☆ Buyout barons feast on excesses of last boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That opens up plenty of potential loopholes which could allow borrowers to keep their old loans even after a deal. Lenders explicitly allow a company’s so-called “permitted holders” - typically its management or long-time investors - to assume responsibility for the debt. For example, one definition of a change of control is where the majority of board seats change hands. That means the company’s debt can stay put, news service 9fin reported. Interest rates for loans provided by private lenders have risen from 6.2% to 11.6% over a similar time frame.

Persons: Clayton, Rice, Breakingviews, 9fin, Cooper’s, Blackstone, Datacenters, Murray, dealmakers, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Partners, P, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Cornerstone, Focus Financial, Stone, Point, Smart, Securities, Exchange, NRG Energy, QTS Realty Trust, Foresight Energy, American Consolidated Natural Resources, Foresight, P Global Market Intelligence, Thomson, & $ Locations: Dubilier, Delaware

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