Cineworld Reaches Conditional Pact With Lenders to Exit Bankruptcy - Update
Cineworld Group PLC said Monday that it has reached agreements with its lenders to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S.
The cinema operator said it has entered a restructuring support agreement and a backstop commitment agreement with lenders holding and controlling around 83% of its loans due 2025 and 2026 and revolving credit line due 2023. The proposed restructuring is anticipated to reduce indebtedness by around $4.53 billion, raise $800 million and provide $1.46 billion in new debt financing.
Swiss Prosecutors Probe State-Backed Credit Suisse Takeover by UBS
Switzerland's prosecutors are probing the government-orchestrated takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG by rival UBS Group AG.
The federal prosecutor has reached out to national and local authorities and "issued investigation orders" to analyze and identify if any criminal offenses took place under the deal, which also involved the government, the financial regulator, Finma, and Switzerland's central bank, a spokeswoman said in a statement.
Finland's Sanna Marin Defeated in Election Ahead of NATO Ascension
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin suffered defeat in Sunday's general election, days before the country was set to enter NATO, after a campaign dominated by the economic and security aftershocks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Petteri Orpo, the leader of the center-right National Coalition Party, claimed election victory and was projected to gain about 20.8% with nearly all the votes counted. Ms. Marin's Social Democratic Party came third with 19.9% of the vote, narrowly behind the right-wing populist Finns Party gaining 20%, in its best result to date.
Deadly Shipwreck Shakes Italy's Anti-Immigration Government
STECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy-At 4 a.m., as seawater poured into Summer Love, a rickety wooden boat packed with migrants, Assad al-Mulki grabbed his little brother, ran upstairs to the deck and jumped.
In the rough, cold sea, Mr. Mulki, a 22-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, held his 6-year-old brother Sultan with one arm and a piece of flotsam with the other. The coast of Calabria was just a few hundred feet away.
Russian Shelling Kills Six in Ukraine as Zelensky Criticizes Moscow's U.N. Role
Kyiv, Ukraine-Russian forces shelled a town near the eastern city of Bakhmut on Sunday, killing six people, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's presidency of the United Nations Security Council was undermining the body's credibility.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the regional administration in the eastern Donetsk region, said Russian forces had struck the center of Konstantynivka, damaging high-rise and residential buildings. Eight people were wounded in addition to the six fatalities, said the chief of Ukraine's presidential staff, Andriy Yermak.
Israelis Keep Pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu With Fresh Protests
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities across the country Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul, seeking to sustain a movement that pressured the premier to delay the divisive plan and engage in negotiations over a compromise.
Saturday night's protests mark the 13th straight weekend that Israelis have come out to demonstrate against the plan in what has become a weekly ritual for many people here. Around 230,000 people demonstrated in downtown Tel Aviv, protest organizers estimated.
Egypt, Syria in Advanced Talks to Restore Diplomatic Relations
Egypt and Syria are in advanced talks to restore full diplomatic relations more than a decade after ties broke down, people familiar with the matter say, as Arab states warm up to Damascus in fast-evolving developments that are reshaping the Middle East's geopolitics.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could meet soon after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends in late April, the people said. The date and location for a possible summit between the two leaders haven't been completed, they added.
In Croatia, U.S. Campaigned to Stop Chinese Bid on Key Port
RIJEKA, Croatia-On Rijeka's waterfront, vast piles of scrap metal stretch for hundreds of yards, the byproduct of an ongoing construction project to renovate the port in the northern Adriatic Sea.
When a deal to remake the port emerged three years ago, it set off alarm bells in Washington: Three Chinese state-owned companies had won a bid for a 50-year deal to build and operate a modern new ship-container terminal at Rijeka, a deep-water port with easy access to central Europe's markets.
GLOBAL NEWS
S&P 500's Resilience in the Banking Crisis Is Largely Thanks to Tech
Big technology stocks are back in the market's drivers seat.
The S&P 500 has gained 2.9% since March 8 when trouble began brewing ahead of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. That is largely thanks to a big rally in the index's information-technology and communications-services groups.
Rising Rates Take Some Shine Off Private Markets
After years of shifting money into private market investments, public pension and investment funds are taking a fresh look at publicly traded debt, thanks to the highest yields in more than a decade.
"Bonds are back," said California State Teachers' Retirement System investment chief Christopher Ailman. He predicted that public pension funds will shift an additional 2% to 5% of assets into publicly traded debt, reversing a multidecade trend of shrinking fixed-income portfolios.
World Bank Warns of Lost Decade for Global Economy
Over the past year, governments around the world have announced tax breaks, subsidies and new laws in a bid to accelerate investment, combat climate change and expand their workforces.
That might not be enough.
China Caixin Manufacturing PMI Falls to Neutral Level
A private gauge of China's factory activity fell to a neutral level that separates activity expansion from contraction in March.
The China Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 50.0 in March from 51.6 in February, according to data released Monday by Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global. That is down from the eight-month high reached in February and signals a moderation of activity in the sector.
Analysis: China's Property Market Shows Signs of Life, but Struggles May Persist
Chinese property developers' earnings are likely to remain under pressure in 2023, with a recent uptrend in property sales more reflective of pent-up demand caused by Covid-19 curbs than a sign of an industry turnaround, analysts said.
Real-estate developers, from big names to smaller players, are fresh off their worst earnings season in a decade. Country Garden Holdings Co., Agile Group Holdings Ltd., Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Co. and others have suffered sharp revenue declines and recognized billions of dollars of impairment charges on property investments and projects that severely dented their bottom lines.
Evan Gershkovich's Arrest Marks a New Era of Hostage Diplomacy
More Americans in recent years have been detained by foreign governments on what the U.S. considers to be bogus or politicized charges than have been taken captive by terrorism groups or criminal gangs, according to U.S. authorities and private assessments.
The latest is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week by Russian authorities and charged with espionage. The 31-year-old journalist who had covered the rapidly escalating new era of state hostage-taking has suddenly become the face of it.
Trump, N.Y. Prosecutors Prepare for Arraignment as GOP Rallies to His Side
New York prosecutors, former President Donald Trump, his political allies and foes are all gearing up for a historic week that will feature his surrender and arraignment in a Manhattan courtroom on hush-money charges.
Mr. Trump, who is set to turn himself in on Tuesday, is experiencing a boost among Republicans, with new polling showing him widening his lead among prospective 2024 White House GOP rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In Beijing, Japan's Foreign Minister Warns Over Russia-China Military Ties
TOKYO-Japan's foreign minister raised concerns in Beijing about increasing Russian and Chinese joint military activity on a day when Tokyo formally opened its closest missile base to China.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, that China should play a responsible international role and called for the release of a Japanese citizen detained in China, according to Tokyo's account of the meeting.
Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com
Write to us at newsletters@dowjones.com
We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-03-23 0610ET
