Tag: reuters

US Treasury To Allow Russia Bond Payment To Go Through In Dollars

Russia says it made a $117 million bond payment — a move to avoid defaulting on its debt — and the US Treasury Department said it would allow the installment.

Russia’s finance minister told state-run media Thursday that the country fulfilled a debt obligation, and noted that it’s up to the US as to whether the payment would be allowed. The Treasury said it would let the payment go through.

Reuters reported Thursday that correspondent bank JPMorgan received the payment and made a credit to the paying agent Citigroup, which is responsible for distributing the money to investors.

Representatives from Citigroup and JPMorgan declined to comment on the matter. A report from Bloomberg said Russia’s finance ministry ordered the interest payment on Monday, ahead of its Wednesday due date.

US sanctions on doing business with Russia’s central bank and other institutions won’t block Moscow from making payments to Americans on dollar-denominated debt until just after midnight on May 25, a Treasury spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Russia earlier said if its dollar payments weren’t allowed, it would repay its foreign debt in rubles. Credit ratings agency Fitch said that could amount to a default as investors expected to be paid in dollars.

So far, the bondholders haven’t received the bond payments yet, sources told Reuters.

Russia has been teetering on its first foreign-currency bond default since 1918, during the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. The $117 million interest payment on two dollar bonds was a key test for a country whose credit rating was recently slashed to junk from investment-grade.

Putin’s forces launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine last month, unleashing a wave of sanctions from the West that have largely cut off Russia from global financial markets and blocked it from accessing about half of its $640 billion in foreign currency reserves.

By: Natasha Dailey

Source: US Treasury to Allow Russia Bond Payment to Go Through in Dollars

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Critics:

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Russia state-run media outlet Russia Today that the country fulfilled its obligations to foreign creditors, though he added that the payments may not go through since they’re at risk of being blocked by the US.

A spokesperson for the US Treasury Department told The Post that Washington would allow the payments to go through.

Siluanov claimed the “possibility or impossibility of fulfilling our obligations in foreign currency does not depend on us.” Siluanov said the US and EU sanctions have frozen some $315 billion worth of foreign reserves.

If the US blocks the payment, Russia could try to pay in rubles, but the currency has been so devalued that the country would have no choice but to default on its debt, according to credit ratings agency Fitch.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, said any default would be “entirely artificial” since Russia had the money to fulfill its debt obligations.

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Credit Suisse To Tighten The Reins After String of Scandals

Credit Suisse will unveil a new centralized structure on Thursday in an attempt to bring its far-flung divisions to heel and draw a line under a string of scandals that have cost the Swiss bank billions of dollars, two sources said.

Over the past year, Credit Suisse has been fined for arranging a fraudulent loan to Mozambique, tarnished by its involvement with defunct financier Greensill, racked up $5.5 billion in losses when U.S. family office Archegos collapsed, and been rebuked by regulators for spying on executives.

Credit Suisse drafted in seasoned banker Antonio Horta-Osorio as chairman in April to stop the rot and he will lay out his charter to reform Switzerland’s second-biggest bank on Thursday when it presents third-quarter results.

One key change is expected to be the creation of a single wealth management division that caters to a global elite, centralizing oversight at the bank’s headquarters in Zurich, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Under the current structure put in place six years ago, wealth management straddles three divisions: a Swiss business, an Asia-Pacific arm catering mainly to rich Chinese and an international arm based out of Switzerland.

Merging the wealth division would make Credit Suisse simpler and potentially pave the way for cost cuts.It would also rein in local bankers who have enjoyed much autonomy, making them more answerable to senior managers who have often been blindsided by the risks that triggered past scandals, the sources said.

One of the people told Reuters that managers at the bank’s headquarters had become very risk averse and they did not want to give leeway to local bankers, regardless of how much profit they were making. A spokesman for Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Credit Suisse’s financial humiliation stands in stark contrast to its cross-town rival UBS (UBSG.S). In the wake of massive losses and a bailout during the financial crisis, UBS successfully pivoted away from investment banking to wealth management and is now the world’s largest wealth manager with $3.2 trillion in invested assets.

Its shares have climbed 57% in the past 10 years while Credit Suisse has slumped 53% over the same period.Shareholders have deserted Credit Suisse this year following the slew of bad headlines. Its shares are down 12% while UBS is up 36% while Wall Street rivals are riding high on the back of a boom in equity trading and M&A.

Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Swiss private bank Vontobel, said it would take more than “minor changes and a new divisional set-up” at Credit Suisse to reverse the trend.The expected revamp at Credit Suisse has also encouraged some high-profile dealmakers to approach the bank’s senior management to suggest it merges with a rival, another person with knowledge of the matter said.

Those ideas have been rejected so far, however, the person said. Nonetheless, the prospect of a challenge by investors demanding the break-up of the bank, or that its shrinking market value makes it a target for a hostile foreign takeover, have long troubled managers, sources told Reuters earlier this year.

‘WARNING SIGNALS’

With a market value of $28 billion, Credit Suisse is worth less than half of UBS and a fraction of Wall Street giants such as JPMorgan (JPM.N) weighing in at half a trillion dollars. But an approach from the United States would not go down well in Switzerland. Relations between Swiss banks and Washington were damaged when the United States pressured them into giving up their strict secrecy code more than a decade ago.

A combination of Credit Suisse and UBS, which has been touted as an alternative alliance, would face its own problems. For one, it would dominate the Swiss market. Another source said that while Credit Suisse had examined a sale or spin-off of its asset management business, that had been shelved. The person said, however, that once further efforts were made to cut costs and boost growth, a sale, or listing of the business on the market, could be back on the cards.

The bank’s drive to centralize its operations is drawing on lessons from some of its recent failures, including Archegos. Earlier this year, Credit Suisse published a report blaming a focus on maximizing short-term profits and enabling “voracious risk-taking” by Archegos for failing to steer the bank away from catastrophe.

Despite long-running discussions about Archegos – by far the bank’s largest hedge fund client – Credit Suisse’s top management were apparently unaware of the risks it was taking.

The bank’s chief risk officer and the head of its investment bank recall hearing about it first only on the eve of the fund’s collapse. “There were numerous warning signals,” the report said. “Yet the business … failed to heed these signs.”

By and ,

Source: Credit Suisse to tighten the reins after string of scandals | Reuters

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Related Contents:

B. H. Meyer; Hans Dietler (1899). “The Regulation and Nationalization of the Swiss Railways

Hill, Kelly (1999). Cases in Corporate Acquisitions, Buyouts, Mergers, and Takeovers. Gale. ISBN 0-7876-3894-3.

Atkinson, Mark (4 August 2000). “Swiss banks agree $1.25bn Holocaust deal”. The Guardian

Grant, Linda (19 August 1996). “Will CS First Boston Ever Win?”. Fortune. pp. 30–34. Archived from the original

Strom, Stephanie (30 July 1999). “Japan Revokes Credit Suisse Unit’s Banking License”. The New York Times.

Kandell, Jonathan (March 2012). “Swiss Banks Adjusting To Radical New Regulations”. Institutional Investor. Vol. 46 no. 2. p. 33.

Crawford, David (8 November 2012). “Germany Probes UBS Staff on Tax-Evasion Allegations”. The Wall

Owen Walker (30 July 2020). “Credit Suisse launches restructuring after trading profit boost

SEC Reportedly Halts Chinese Firm IPOs After Ride-Hailer DiDi Global’s $50 Billion Crash

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped accepting registrations for the issuance of securities by China-based companies until it outlines the risks posed by such investments, Reuters reported Friday, marking the agency’s first set of action after mounting government interference in China this month erased billions of dollars in market value from recently listed DiDi Global and other China-based companies.

Key Facts

The SEC has said it won’t accept new registrations until it has released specific guidance on how companies should disclose the risks posed by China-based investments, unnamed sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. There are reportedly no such IPOs in the works, but it’s unclear how long the guidance may take to develop.

The reported decision comes after SEC commissioner Allison Lee on Tuesday said Chinese companies listed in the U.S. should disclose the risks of Chinese government interference to investors as part of their required reporting disclosures.

Similarly, a group of five GOP Senators on Wednesday urged SEC Chair Gary Gensler to “demand immediate and robust action” addressing a recent crackdown by Beijing officials on Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. The SEC did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

Key Background

In a matter of days, China introduced regulatory actions targeting both ride-hailing app DiDi and the nation’s education companies—harsh measures showing investors how risky investing in the market can be, Tom Essaye, author of the Sevens Report wrote in a Tuesday note. Days after DiDi’s massive U.S. IPO, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered app stores to remove the ride-hailer from their platforms, claiming it “severely violat[ed] regulations around the collection of personal data.

” DiDi stock has plunged nearly 50% since the action, wiping out nearly $50 billion in market value in less than one month. Then, in a weekend order earlier this month, China’s education ministry barred “capitalized operations” among “online training institutions,” saying such companies can no longer turn a profit or raise money in the public markets and triggering a selloff in the space that erased nearly half the market value of many education firms.

Crucial Quote

“Yes, there’s a huge market and lots of growth potential, but obviously there are regulatory risks that seem to be growing larger with every passing month,” notes Essaye.

Surprising Fact

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China index, which tracks Chinese companies trading in the United States, is down 12% this week and nearly 34% over the past six months.

Big Number

$12.8 billion. That’s how much Chinese listings in the United States have raised so far this year, according to Refinitiv data cited by Reuters. Genser said that he was concerned U.S. investors frequently don’t understand the structure of the companies whose shares they are buying.

In cases where China forbids foreign ownership, “many China-based operating companies are structured as Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). In such an arrangement, a China-based operating company typically establishes an offshore shell company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands,” Gensler said.

The Chinese government has taken action against U.S.-listed Alibaba  (BABA) – Get Report and Didi Global  (DIDI) – Get Report in recent months. Days after Didi executed its IPO earlier in July, China forbade the ride-hailing titan from signing up new users.

Further Reading

Exclusive-U.S. regulator freezes Chinese company IPOs over risk disclosures -sources (Reuters)

US-Listed Chinese Tech Stocks Erase Nearly $150 Billion In Market Value This Week As China Stokes Regulatory Fears (Forbes)

The move comes as the SEC works on new guidelines for disclosing to investors the risk of continued regulatory crackdowns by China’s government, knowledgeable sources told Reuters. In a statement Friday, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said “I have asked staff to seek certain disclosures from offshore issuers associated with China-based operating companies before their registration statements will be declared effective.”

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Jonathan Ponciano

Jonathan Ponciano

I’m a reporter at Forbes focusing on markets and finance. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I double-majored in business journalism and economics while working for UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School as a marketing and communications assistant. Before Forbes, I spent a summer reporting on the L.A. private sector for Los Angeles Business Journal and wrote about publicly traded North Carolina companies for NC Business News Wire. Reach out at jponciano@forbes.com. And follow me on Twitter @Jon_Ponciano

Source: SEC Reportedly Halts Chinese Firm IPOs After Ride-Hailer DiDi Global’s $50 Billion Crash

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Critics:

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Didi is contemplating going private to soothe Chinese regulators and make whole investors who have suffered losses as Didi’s shares declined since the IPO. Didi called The Journal’s report “not true.”

In any case, SEC commissioner Allison Lee said Tuesday that as part of their reporting chores, U.S.-listed Chinese companies must tell investors the risks of Chinese government interference in their activity, according to Reuters.

U.S. listings of Chinese stocks have jumped to a record $12.8 billion so far this year, according to Refinitiv. The market’s repeated surges to record highs have attracted Chinese companies. But the move against Didi has slowed things down.

Shares of Chinese companies listed in the U.S. tumbled late last week and early this week amid fears about the government crackdowns.Didi fell 30% from July 21 to July 27. It recently traded at $10.14, up 3%, but has dropped 28% since its IPO. Alibaba recently traded at $194.31, down 2%, and has slumped 15% in the last month.

More Contents:

China would defeat US in war over Taiwan leaving Australia to fight Beijing on its own, ex-Oz general warns

The US and China say they want to avoid military conflict, but no one can agree on how

WW3 fears as China stages massive ‘Taiwan invasion’ drills and boasts it would defeat US and UK in any conflict

Rules to require listed Chinese companies to disclose interference

The SEC has frozen US listings of Chinese companies as it demands new disclosures of government meddling risks

Chinese regulators held talks with global financial institutions to ease jitters caused by Beijing’s crackdown, report says

China’s efforts to calm investor jitters help markets rebound

Goldman Sachs slashes its 12-month forecast for Chinese stocks by 20% after unprecedented regulatory crackdown

SEC to Tighten Disclosure Rules for Chinese Firms

Ford, Tesla and the SEC: 3 Things to Watch Into Happy Hour

Will DiDi Stock Go Private Following China’s App Shutdown?

US regulators step up scrutiny of IPO hopefuls from China

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Here’s Why A Standoff Between Oil Producers Is Fueling Surging Gas Prices

Oil Prices Hit Historic High On Weak Dollar

As oil prices spike to a nearly three-year high, a bitter disagreement between international oil producers has shattered hopes for a deal to increase oil production this year—thereby threatening to further hike up rising oil and gas prices as a broad economic reopening looks to ramp up travel demand.

Key Facts

Following two days of fraught discussions last week, the group of oil producers known as OPEC+ called off an afternoon meeting Monday and set no date to meet again, effectively suspending a planned agreement to raise output by 2 million barrels per day from August to December

Two unnamed sources told Reuters the failed negotiations mean the expected production hikes this year will no longer occur.

The price of U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate—at about $75.31 a barrel—jumped 1.3% Monday after the news and has climbed 5% over the past week’s disagreement, while the price of the United Kingdom’s Brent Crude ticked up 1.1% and 4%, respectively.

The United Arab Emirates, which has invested heavily in its oil production capacity, refused to move forward with the deal because it would also extend oil production cuts through late 2022.

Though the UAE wants to raise its output unconditionally, Saudi Arabian oil producers, who supported the agreement, argued the extended output cuts are necessary to prevent excess oil supply that could tank prices.

The production increase was meant to help curb rising oil prices and buy producers time while they assess the risk of rapidly spreading variants in countries like India once again hurting demand and shuttering economies.

Big Number

60%. That’s how much the price of WTI oil has surged this year alone, while the price of Brent Crude has climbed about 50%.

Tangent

Oil prices crashed last year but recouped all their pandemic losses by March, and they’ve surged roughly 20% higher since. After cutting production by about 10 million barrels per day last year, oil producers are still supplying about 5.8 million fewer barrels per day than before the pandemic. Most recently, OPEC+ in early June agreed to increase oil output by 450,000 barrels per day starting this month.

Key Background

Despite the easing of lockdowns and an accelerating vaccine rollout, producers have been careful to ramp up supply after excess inventories drove prices down to negative territory for the first time in history last spring. That happened after an all-out price war erupted between oil-producing giants Russia and Saudi Arabia in March 2020—just as travel demand began to plummet during the coronavirus outbreak.

Costly-to-maintain storage tanks soon filled up with no buyers, and the price of one American oil futures contract plunged below zero in April 2020. OPEC and its allies agreed to cut production in order to stabilize prices amid the turmoil, but according to the International Energy Agency, those inventories are still being worked off to this day.

Further Reading

OPEC+ resumes oil policy talks amid Saudi-UAE standoff (Reuters)

Oil Producers Agree To Boost Production By 450,000 Barrels Per Day As Travel Picks Up (Forbes)

OPEC Plus Agrees To Ramp Up Production By 500,000 Barrels Per Day Starting January, Ending Bitter Standoff In Bid To Save Oil Prices (Forbes)

Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip.
Jonathan Ponciano

Jonathan Ponciano

I’m a reporter at Forbes focusing on markets and finance. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I double-majored in business journalism and economics while working for UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School as a marketing and communications assistant. Before Forbes, I spent a summer reporting on the L.A. private sector for Los Angeles Business Journal and wrote about publicly traded North Carolina companies for NC Business News Wire. Reach out at jponciano@forbes.com. And follow me on Twitter @Jon_Ponciano

Source: Here’s Why A Standoff Between Oil Producers Is Fueling Surging Gas Prices

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References

CanSino’s COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Approved For Military Use In China

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FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labeled with a “Vaccine COVID-19” sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s military has received the greenlight to use a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino Biologics (6185.HK) after clinical trials proved it was safe and showed some efficacy, the company said on Monday.

The Ad5-nCoV is one of China’s eight vaccine candidates approved for human trials at home and abroad for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The shot also won approval for human testing in Canada.

China’s Central Military Commission approved the use of the vaccine by the military on June 25 for a period of one year, CanSino said in a filing. The vaccine candidate was developed jointly by CanSino and a research institute at the Academy of Military Science (AMS).

“The Ad5-nCoV is currently limited to military use only and its use cannot be expanded to a broader vaccination range without the approval of the Logistics Support Department,” CanSino said, referring to the Central Military Commission department which approved the military use of the vaccine.

CanSino declined to disclose whether the innoculation of the vaccine candidate is mandatory or optional, citing commercial secrets, in an email to Reuters.

The military approval follows China’s decision earlier this month to offer two other vaccine candidates to employees at state-owned firms travelling overseas.

The Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of the CanSino’s vaccine candidate showed it has the potential to prevent diseases caused by the coronavirus, which has killed half a million people globally, but its commercial success cannot be guaranteed, the company said.

Separately, AMS received an approval earlier this month to test its second experimental coronavirus vaccine in humans.

No vaccine has yet been approved for commercial use against the illness caused by the new coronavirus, but over a dozen vaccines from more than 100 candidates globally are being tested in humans.

Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Ana Nicolaci da Costa

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