By Nell Mackenzie LONDON (Reuters) – Well-known activist short-selling hedge funds expect to find more companies squeezed by tough economic conditions in 2023, potentially increasing instances where balance-sheet sinkholes are hidden. Some $321 billion worth of U.S. and European speculative-grade debt is due for refinancing over the next 12-14 months. Defaults may double in 2023,…
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Foreign investors continued to offload holdings in China’s onshore bonds for a 10th straight month in November, although some market watchers expect the outflow pressure to ease soon. Foreign holdings of yuan-denominated bonds traded on China’s interbank market stood at 3.33 trillion yuan ($477.3 billion) at end-November, down from 3.38 trillion yuan…
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) – The activist investment firm pushing Freshpet Inc to consider selling itself has told the pet-food company that it plans to launch a proxy fight and run for board seats, according to a regulatory filing made on Thursday. Jana Partners LLC, which owns an 8.9% stake in Freshpet, recently…
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Fidelity National Information Services on Thursday said it will undertake a strategic review and add a new director to its board after pressure from hedge fund D.E. Shaw Group. FIS also said it would speed up management changes, with Stephanie Ferris, who was scheduled to become CEO in January,…
By Yoruk Bahceli (Reuters) -The European Central Bank said on Thursday it would start reducing its 5 trillion euros’ ($5.3 trillion) worth of bond holdings from March, in its next step towards tighter policy as it battles decades-high inflation. It also raised its main interest rates by another 50 basis points each. The central bank…
By Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has slightly increased the amount of capital UniCredit must hold as it takes a fresh look at banks’ assets given risks from the economic downturn and war in Ukraine. The ECB raised UniCredit’s minimum threshold for best quality capital to 9.20% of risk-weighted assets for…
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest domestic bank Lloyds has hired ING’s technology chief to run its operations, Lloyds said on Thursday. Ron van Kemenade will join Lloyds as group chief operating officer in June next year, the British bank said. Van Kemenade will be charged with helping Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn deliver his strategy to…
By Selena Li HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Hong Kong government has named Julia Leung as new head of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), becoming the first female chief of the territory’s securities regulator. Leung, currently deputy chief and head of the intermediaries division at the 33-year-old SFC, will succeed Ashley Alder when his…
By Davide Barbuscia and David Randall (Reuters) – Some investors believe an expected recession will force the Federal Reserve to loosen monetary policy next year, even as the central bank projects it will raise rates higher than it previously anticipated and keep them there longer as it fights to crush inflation. The dynamic came into…
By Hyunjoo Jin SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla shares extended declines to hit their lowest level in more than two years on Wednesday, as investors including a “fanboy” of CEO Elon Musk lashed out at Musk’s distraction from the electric car company following his buy of Twitter. Shares of Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker,…