Global Financial News Recap for July 25, 2019
Snapchat Probe Disappears
US authorities have dropped their case against Snapchat pertaining to a perceived issue with their IPO. The issue was that it was thought that Snap misled investors about competition from Instagram. Reasons for the pause in the case may be to limit any interference that would occur from information becoming public and confidentiality being compromised. Another opinion is that the case has been resolved and there was no injustice.
Kiev an Eye Out in the Black Sea
Ukraine has detained a Russian ship that was involved in a clash between the two nations last year. Tensions remain high between the two countries after the annexation of Crimea. This is the first big event for Ukraine’s new president Zelensky and will be a test to see his response. The Ukraine let the Russian workers on the ship go but kept the ship. It is worried that this may complicate the release of the Ukrainian individuals that were captured in last years conflict.
Tunisia’s President Passes Away
Tunisia’s first democratically elected president, Beji Caid Sebsi, has passed away at the age of 92. He is credited with helping guide the north African country though the Arab uprising. Despite their democracy still being intact following the revolts in 2011, Tunisia’s economy is struggling. His death calls on another election and will test the true stability of democracy in Tunisia. Furthermore, the incumbent president will need to remedy the economic issues Tunisia faces such as unemployment. The way it is set up now is that the president controls the military and foreign relations and a prime minister runs day to day affairs, economic policy, and is the one held accountable for the state of the country. One issue the nation
Nissan Restructures
Following the aftermath of Nissan’s disastrous quarter where profits fell by 95% the automaker will be making radical changes. The firm will cut 12,500 jobs and reduce output by 10% hoping to solve their financial issues they’ve been plagued with since the arrest of their chairman. These job cuts will occur globally in the US, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Spain. Operations in the UK are further complicated with Brexit and there are talks of the plants future.
Russian Putin Critics in Jail
The Kremlin have arrested numerous individuals that oppose their party, particularly Alexei Navalny. He is being charged with organizing protests regarding numerous individuals being barred from their upcoming elections. The protest had quite the turnout with 22,000 individuals showing up The elections are a pivotal moment for Russia as Putin’s approval rating has plummeted due to a decrease in living standards.
Caxton to London
One of the oldest hedge funds in the world, Caxton, has chosen to move its headquarters to London rather than New York. This is big news as the question of whether or not London will remain the financial capital of the world looms. Reasons behind the move are the weak pound, a London based CEO, and increase in hiring in London’s office. Although Caxton predominantly focuses on fixed income, currency, and public equities they are increasing staff in operations, tech, and finance.
More time at Brazilian BBQ?
JBS is a Brazilian meat processing firm that promised longer term debt and lower borrowing costs and they followed through. This marks a growing trend that low credit rated companies are issuing longer dated debt to surpass bad borrowing conditions. As fears loom that that US federal reserve will cut interest rates, some think this is bad news as it might hinder these bond issuers from making payments. Others think that it will be beneficial as it will help these “struggling” firms survive any economic downturn because they wont need to borrow elsewhere.