April, 2016

• 20 April

  Argentina in junk bond spree as emerging issuers line up

  

    Bloomberg Argentina’s blockbuster $16.5 billion bond sale is opening up the floodgates for junk-rated issuers in developing countries. The Latin American country’s return to global capital markets for the first time since its 2001 default brought high-yield issuance from emerging markets to $18 billion this week. That’s more than the previous 11 weeks combined, and money managers from Aviva ...

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• 20 April

  Canadian supplement maker Iovate to seek $1 billion sale

  

    Bloomberg Iovate Health Sciences International Inc., the Canadian maker of “MuscleTech” and “Six Star Pro Nutrition” supplements, is seeking a buyer in a deal that could value the company at as much as $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Ontario-based vendor of weight-loss, muscle-building and nutrition products has hired an adviser to arrange the sale, ...

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• 20 April

  ‘US 10-year yield may fall to record low’

    Bloomberg Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields may tumble to a never-before-seen 1.25 percent as investors seek alternatives to lower interest rates around the world, according to Prudential Financial Inc. “We’re going to be low and range bound,” said Robert Tipp, the head of global bonds and foreign exchange for fixed-income division of the second-largest U.S. life insurer. “This is an ...

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• 20 April

  Obama arrives in Riyadh on fence-mending visit

  

    Riyadh / AFP US President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit on Wednesday hoping to ease tensions with Riyadh and intensify the fight against extremists. He also seeks to focus discussions on efforts to end wars in Syria and Yemen. Dressed in a grey suit, Obama emerged at 1:14 pmand descended the steps of Air ...

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• 20 April

  Egypt blasts UN chief over case of rights groups

    CAIRO / AP Egypt has blasted the UN chief for calling for a fair trial for two prominent rights activists accused of illegally receiving foreign funds for their NGOs. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid says in a statement on Wednesday that comments by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are an attempt to intimidate Egypt’s judiciary and meddle in its affairs. ...

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• 20 April

  Al-Sadr appeals for solution to Iraq’s political crisis

    BAGHDAD / AP An influential Iraqi Shiite cleric has called on the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Countries to help find a solution to the country’s simmering political crisis “even through holding early elections.” In a handwritten statement issued on Wednesday, cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, ordered Sadrist lawmakers to withdraw from a parliament sit-in that demands the country’s ...

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• 20 April

  Yemen rebels to join delayed talks

  

    Sanaa / AP Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their allies have agreed to join delayed peace talks in Kuwait after the United Nations assured them that pro-government forces would abide by a ceasefire. The UN-brokered talks were set to open in Kuwait on Monday but were put off after the Iran-backed insurgents failed to show up over alleged Saudi violations ...

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• 20 April

  South Sudan rebel’s return delay fans fears for peace

  

    Juba / AFP Fragile hopes for an end to South Sudan’s civil war are being tested by the rebel leader’s failure to return to the capital to form a unity government. International pressure is growing after Riek Machar, a former rebel leader turned deputy president who was fired, became a rebel leader again and has now fought his way ...

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• 20 April

  Battle over campaign to boycott Israel goes global

  

    Jerusalem / AFP When word spread that the Ahava cosmetics firm would move its factory from the occupied West Bank, it set off alarm bells among Israelis for reasons nothing to do with its products. There were suspicions that Ahava, which sells Dead Sea minerals and mud around the world, had made the decision because of mounting pressure to ...

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• 20 April

  Don’t give up on the Arabs

  

    As President Obama visits Saudi Arabia, here’s a surprising snapshot of what young Arabs think: They’re scared about the IS and terrorism; they yearn for more freedom and gender equality; they fear that the Arab Spring has made life worse; and they’re increasingly sceptical about the role of traditional religious values. If these Arab reactions seem similar to what ...

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