France’s AXA doubles 2021 profit
Axa reported a profit that more than doubled from last year. This is with the French insurer recovering from pandemic related claims. Mainly during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. The company is Europe’s second-biggest insurer after Allianz. They said that it expected underlying earnings per share to grow at the high end of its […]
Air France KLM ready to move
Air France-KLM has gained shareholder approval for its proposed capital increase. French financial newspaper Les Echos reported that it is ready to move swiftly. The airline had announced that it plans to raise up to 4 billion euros. Because, it seeks to repay state pandemic handouts, but neither terms nor timing were disclosed. The recapitalisation […]
Russian bonds would weather sanctions
Any tightening of western sanctions on an already stressed Russian domestic bond market would make borrowing more expensive for the government. A deputy finance minister stated this and also said that this can cause significant short-term volatility. But a strong domestic investor base means the market, is where a politically driven selloff has sent benchmark. […]
German minister urges overhaul of EU green energy finance rules
Germany’s environment minister called for a complete overall of proposed European Union rules on which types of energy should be labelled as green. This is after Brussels policymakers ignored German objections to the inclusion of nuclear power. The draft EU plan published last year, that would classify investments in some natural gas and nuclear power […]
Philips expects summer recovery from supply chain woes
Dutch health technology company Philips said that it expects sales to recover strongly in the second half of the year. In the coming months, a steep decline due to global shortage of parts is likely to persist. Earlier this month they had warned that supply chain woes would hit their profit. A ventilator recall needed […]
EDF hit by cap on power prices
The French government said that it had ordered state-owned utility EDF. This is to sell more of its cheap nuclear power to smaller competitors. So that, they can limit the increase of electricity prices in France. EDF said that the measure could cost it up to 8.4 billion euros. It dropped its earnings guidance. The […]
Italy’s Fiat need not pay $30 MLN in back taxes
An adviser to Europe’s top court stated that Italian carmaker Fiat Chrysler need not pay 30 million euros ($33.95 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg. The Fiat case was part of European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on deals between European Union countries and multinationals. In this, the highest profile of which were Apple’s Irish […]
Siemens Gamesa looks to raise cash from wind farm business
Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa is expecting initial bids for the wind farm development unit. It is looking to sell as it focuses on returning its core business to profitability. A deal could be worth 300 million euros ($340 million) or more. Countries are clamouring for renewable energy infrastructure. This is for helping curb climate […]
Evergrande, Kaisa cut by Fitch to default
Ratings agency Fitch downgraded property developers China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group. They stated that they had defaulted on offshore bonds. Also, Kaisa had started work on restructuring its $12 billion offshore debt. The downgrades to the restricted default status come even though Evergrande. And Kaisa have not officially announced defaults that could result in […]
WHO, partners seek $23.4 BLN for new Covid war chest
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups appealed to leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies to fund a $23.4 billion plan to bring COVID-19 vaccines, tests and drugs to poorer countries. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Group of 20, whose leaders are meeting in Rome, had the political and […]