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’Regal fades away (updated)
(Updating to reflect change in Timis shareholding and rig contracts detail)
It looks like the end is nigh for Regal Petroleum, the exploration company that launched the career of entrepreneur, businessman and charity worker Frank Timis.
No need to worry about Belarus gas
Russia and gas disputes go hand-in-hand.
And the latest dispute of this nature is focused on Belarus.
Russia’s Gazprom claims the country owes it $192m in unpaid gas payments. On Monday, therefore,
CDS report: Peripheral panic
It was a record-breaking day in the sovereign CDS market, though not for reasons that any government would welcome. Spreads blew out on a day of unprecedented volatility. Greece was was at the epicentre,
No sex please, we’ve got an IMF loan to rearrange
News came to us on Wednesday, via the Daily Mail (yes, sorry), of an interesting twist in the saga of Ukrainian reform.
According to the report, the country’s new prime minister, Mykola Azarov, made a strategic decision when appointed to form an all-male cabinet because,
Daitiye nam rizyku!
Here’s a telling factoid from BNP Paribas’ Emerging Markets team on the state of global risk appetite.
A Ukrainian local debt auction on Tuesday attracted what the analysts described as “spectacular and unprecedented demand from international investors”.
The SDR effect on the dollar, and gold
Here’s a small sample of what the world’s central banks are doing with their newly inflated SDR reserves.
Mexico, via Bloomberg:
The $4 billion in special drawing rights Mexico is getting from the International Monetary Fund is providing the central bank more room to continue selling dollars while reaching its goal of ending this year with international reserves around last year’s levels,
Ukraine in $1.3bn bank bailout
The Ukrainian government will take controlling stakes in three banks and inject a total of $1.26bn of capital, Yulia Tymoshenko, prime minister, said on Wednesday, reports Reuters. Five Ukrainian banks have been identified as being in financial trouble.
Sing-a-long Russian/Ukrainian gas crisis
Talk about non-seasonal events. The world is used to the routine energy crisis that is the annual January gas-spat between Russia and Ukraine, as the two renegotiate contract terms. But this is May. Surely some mistake eh Russia?
First,
The battle of Ferrexpo
Things are hotting up at the Ukrainian iron-ore pellet maker that is actually based in Switzerland.
Company statement, May 19:
The Board of Ferrexpo announces that a circular convening a general meeting (the “General Meeting”) is being posted to shareholders today.
CDS report: Markets go into reverse
After an expected bounce in the market for credit default swaps on the back of rally in equities, sentiment in the debt markets has deteriorated.
European credit derivative indices were trading wide of their closing levels on Tuesday.
CDS update: Telecoms hit by eastern European exposure
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit indices were resilient today in another session dominated by the eastern part of the continent. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was slightly tighter at around 171bp,
Domino theory, Eastern Europe edition
From today’s FT:
Ukraine’s name, by some accounts, means “at the edge” – which is where its economy finds itself today. Austria’s finance minister warned last week of the risk of an economic “catastrophe”
Russia vs Ukraine, the costs
Right, it’s the 15th January – the annual Ukraine/Russia gas stand-off should be over by now.
But it’s not.
Not to over-escalate the affair but it’s actually getting quite bad. For Russia in particular.
Russian gas cut latest
The gas pipes from Russia may be turned off but, according to Goldman Sachs, there’s still no need to worry. In fact, Goldman says Europe stands better prepared to face disruptions this year than any other.
The big European energy freeze
Natural gas flows from Russia to Europe are down sharply on the back of the Russian Ukrainian pricing dispute.
Should we be concerned? For the time being, analysts say no. European nat gas and power prices yesterday staged a small rally,
IMF approves $16.4bn Ukraine loan
The IMF board on Wednesday approved a $16.4bn bailout package for Ukraine intended to stabilise the country’s banking system and mitigate the impact of a collapse in the price of steel, one of its biggest exports.
IMF unveils plans for $16.5bn Ukraine loan
The IMF yesterday announced an outline $16.5bn loan agreement with Ukraine, which is struggling to restore confidence in its currency and banking system. The loan, yet to be approved by the IMF’s executive board,
Investors flee emerging markets as instability fears mount
Consider Iceland. Or Pakistan. Or Hungary. Or Ukraine. Or South Korea.
Investors are pulling money out of emerging market bond and equity funds, and it’s not hard to see why.
Funds dedicated to emerging markets endured one of their worst weeks on record in terms of outflows,
Hungary, Ukraine look to IMF
The global credit crisis took a fresh turn on Thursday as Hungary and Ukraine approached international institutions for support in an effort to avoid following Iceland into financial turmoil. The mood in Europe was unsettled as Budapest received a €5bn credit facility from the ECB and Kiev said it was seeking an IMF loan of up to $14bn to “stabilise Ukraine’s financial system”.