February, 2020

• 3 February

  Greenpeace ‘targeted’ by Credit Suisse for protest

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse targeted Greenpeace after the environmental group staged a dramatic protest at one of the bank’s events, according to newspaper Sonntagszeitung. After the group’s activists abseiled from the ceiling and unfurled a banner over the podium at the annual shareholder meeting in 2017, Credit Suisse got on Greenpeace’s e-mail distribution list of upcoming protests. The bank then set …

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• 3 February

  Pound slumps before tough Brexit trading negotiations

  

  Bloomberg The pound is back in the doldrums after reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will effectively threaten to walk away from negotiations with the European Union without a formal trade deal. Sterling fell more than 1% to lead losses among Group-of-10 currencies, wiping out last week’s advance. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier is also setting out his planned …

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• 3 February

  Citi doesn’t see oil revival from virus until fourth quarter

  

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc slashed its price forecasts for commodities from oil to copper and iron ore as it said the impact of the coronavirus looks much worse than it initially thought. Oil came in for the most severe downgrades, with the bank cutting estimates for the first three quarters. Citi also reduced its first-quarter copper projection by almost a fifth, …

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• 3 February

  Hedge funds Cerberus, SSG compete over India’s Altico

  Bloomberg Competition for ownership of Indian shadow bank Altico Capital India Ltd has revived with the re-entry of Cerberus Capital Management LP into the race. New York-based hedge fund Cerberus submitted a bid for ailing Altico last week, after getting an extension from an initial deadline in the previous week, said people familiar with the matter. The creditor-run debt restructuring …

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• 3 February

  Reynolds wrap maker soars after raising $1.2 billion in IPO

  

  Bloomberg Reynolds Consumer Products Inc, the maker of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil and Hefty trash bags, rose 9.8% in its trading debut after raising $1.23 billion in the biggest initial public offering by a household goods maker. Reynolds, backed by New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart’s Rank Group, sold 47.17 million shares for $26 each after marketing them for $25 to …

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• 3 February

  Coronavirus may keep Europeans’ travel plans closer to home: Ryanair

  

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc said demand for air travel within Europe could receive an unlikely boost if the Chinese coronavirus epidemic persists, prompting people to holiday closer to home. Trends from 2003, when travellers shunned Asia after the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak, suggest consumers may begin to alter their travel habits, Ryanair Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said. …

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• 3 February

  Levi’s profitability rises on higher prices

  

  Bloomberg Levi Strauss & Co’s profitability rose in its latest quarter, with the jeans maker citing higher prices and fewer sales to off-price retailers. The company also reported continuing weakness in its US wholesale business, however. The shares alternated between losses and gains in late trading. Gross margin, a key gauge of profitability, rose 1.1 percentage point from a year …

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• 3 February

  British mall owner signals further drop in asset values

  

  Bloomberg Intu Properties Plc has written down the value of one of the UK’s largest malls, offering a glimpse at its parlous finances ahead of a planned equity raise. The company notified holders of 485 million pounds ($631 million) of bonds secured against Intu Metrocentre, a large mall in northeast England, that the debt secured against the property now accounts …

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• 3 February

  Luckin Coffee’s value drops as virus forces store closings

  Bloomberg Luckin Coffee Inc, the Chinese challenger to Starbucks Corp, has lost nearly a third of its value since the outbreak of the coronavirus. However, at least one analyst maintains this may be just a blip for the company. The upstart has closed all of its coffee shops in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province and the epicenter of …

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• 2 February

  Opec, allies weigh response as oil plunges on virus panic

  

  Bloomberg The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies considered how to respond to a plunge in oil prices, with Russia signaling for the first time it was open to Saudi Arabia’s push for an emergency meeting. Potential dates being discussed are February 8-9 and February 14-15, though for now the next regular meeting on March 5-6 remains …

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