Bloomberg Surveillance 08/15/2023
Tom Keene, Jonathan Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz have the economy and the markets "under surveillance" as they cover the latest in finance, economics and investment, and talk with the leading voices shaping the conversation around world markets. This show is simulcast worldwide on Bloomberg Television and Radio. (Source: Bloomberg) #press
Norway’s $1.4 Trillion Wealth Fund Returns 10% on Tech Surge
Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund returned 10%, or $143 billion, in the first half, indicating it’s back on track following one of the worst years in its history. #press
Credito Real Warns Creditor Deal at Risk Unless Cases Dropped
Credito Real warned the payroll lender plans to terminate an agreement with creditors to file a prepackaged bankruptcy in Mexican courts unless other legal challenges are withdrawn, according to court documents. #press
Apollo Poised to Sign $4B to Struggling Buyout Firms
Apollo Global Management is poised to sign more than $4 billion in so-called NAV loans, as the asset manager steps up unorthodox lending to private equity firms looking to raise cash in a challenging high-cost environment. Laura Benitez has more on "Bloomberg Markets: The Close." (Source: Bloomberg) #press
Ukranian Energy Minister on Euro Gas Supplies
German Galushchenko, Ukraine's Energy Minister, told Alix Steel and Guy Johnson that Ukraine has the largest gas storage in Europe. Galushchenko joined "Bloomberg Markets: Americas" from the Net Zero Initiative ministerial meeting in Seattle.
(Source: Bloomberg) #press
Argentina Bans Beef Exports for 15 Days After Peso Devaluation
Argentina, one of the world’s biggest beef exporters, suspended exports for two weeks as the country reels from a currency devaluation after outsider presidential candidate Javier Milei won a primary election on Aug. 13. #press
Kenya’s Equity Group Defers Bond Sales Due to High Interest Rates
Kenya’s biggest bank by market value has suspended plans to sell its first green bond in its home country and a social bond in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to relatively high borrowing costs. #press
Municipal Bonds Outperform as Investors Rush to Buy Dwindling Supply
A reluctance by states and cities to borrow is making municipal debt a star performer among credit assets and driving investors to scour the market for bonds. #press
Soros, Baupost Among Funds to Buy CRH Ahead of US Listing Pivot
Billionaire investors George Soros and Seth Klarman are building positions in Irish building materials company CRH Plc before it shifts its primary listing to a US exchange from across the pond, a signal that efforts to tap into a larger pool of investors is working out. #press
Kashkari Isn't Ready to Say Fed Is Done Raising Rates
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari says the Fed may be on the way to stop raising rates but is a long way from cutting rates at a conference in Minneapolis. (Source: Bloomberg) #press
McEwen Eyes Copper IPO as Soon as November for Argentina Project
Canadian mining entrepreneur Rob McEwen said he’s weighing financing options for a copper project in Argentina, with an initial public offering possible as soon as November. #press
Debt-Laden German Landlord Adler Quits Berlin Affordable Housing Alliance
Adler Group SA, the indebted landlord that’s attempting to sell off assets and repay long-suffering creditors, is quitting a voluntary alliance with the state of Berlin intended to cap rent hikes at 11% every three years. #press
Daniel Kretinsky to Team Up With RAG Foundation for Steag Bid
Daniel Kretinsky plans to team up with Germany’s RAG-Stiftung foundation to make an offer for utility Steag, a move that may hand the Czech billionaire an edge over rival bidder Asterion Industrial Partners. #press
Latvia Tightens Border Security as Belarus Crossings Rise
Latvian authorities bolstered security at the border with Belarus as the Baltic nation accused its eastern neighbor of organizing migrant crossings over the frontier. #press
Hindenburg Reveals New Short on Brokerage Firm Freedom Holding
Nate Anderson’s Hindenburg Research has unveiled another target: Freedom Holding Corp., an Eastern European retail brokerage firm that the short seller is accusing of fraud. #press
Turkish Banks Jump After Moody’s Lifts Sector Outlook to Stable
Moody’s Investors Service raised the Turkish banking system’s outlook to stable from negative, boosting the nation’s lenders to all-time highs. #press
Canada Home Sales Fall for First Time in Six Months After Hikes
Canadian home sales fell for the first time in six months as the Bank of Canada’s resumption of its rate-hiking campaign started to dampen the market’s nascent rebound. #press
CEO Praised by Investors Exits Latin America’s Largest Utility
The chief executive officer at Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA abruptly resigned on Monday night in a move that puzzled investors in Latin America’s largest utility. #press
Hungary Agrees to Changes in Nuclear Plant Deal With Russia
Hungary will delay interest payments to Russia that it owes in a Moscow-backed financing deal for the Paks II nuclear power plant, and it will make them in euros, the government in Budapest said in a decree published late on Monday. #press
US Retail Sales Rise 0.7% Topping Estimates
US retail sales rose by 0.7% in July topping estimates, highlighting the strength of the consumer. Figures were up in nine of 13 retail categories. Jonathan Ferro and Lisa Abramowicz report on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg) #press
