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(Bloomberg) — Wirecard AG’s main banks are facing potential losses on about 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) of loans to the scandal-hit fintech after it started insolvency proceedings.A group of about 15 banks led by ABN Amro Bank NV, Commerzbank AG and ING Groep NV had been negotiating next steps with the firm on a 1.75 billion-euro facility that was about 90% drawn, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this week. Talks on next steps with lenders came to an abrupt halt with the insolvency filing that surprised some of the banks, people with knowledge of the matter …read more […]

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Thursday, June 25, 2020. …read more […]

* Founded in 1999, Munich-based Wirecard has 5,800 employees in 26 countries around the world. * Wirecard’s expansion was driven by its long-serving chief executive and leading shareholder Markus Braun, an Austrian who led the company since 2002 until he resigned last Friday. * In Feb. 2019, Singapore police said they were looking into reports by the Financial Times of alleged financial irregularities at Wirecard’s local office, allegations that had driven its shares sharply lower. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Wirecard AG filed for insolvency proceedings on Thursday after a massive accounting scandal brought the payments company to its knees.Wirecard management cited over-indebtedness as the reason behind the decision to seek for court protection in Munich, according to a statement. The company also said is considering whether the insolvency proceedings should also be applied to its subsidiaries.The company’s rapid fall from grace comes after it admitted that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) went missing from its balance sheet, and is a major setback for Germany’s burgeoning tech scene and a debacle for investors. In less than a week, …read more […]

Wirecard said on Thursday it was filing for insolvency after disclosing a $2.1 billion financial hole in its accounts, becoming the first sitting member of Germany’s blue-chip share index to go out of business. Shares were suspended by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the news. Wirecard said in a two-paragraph statement that its new management had decided to apply for insolvency at a Munich court “due to impending insolvency and over-indebtedness”. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s biggest stockholder said he’d vote in favor of a 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) government bailout, giving the rescue plan a shot of momentum and boosting the airline’s shares and bonds on the eve of a crunch vote.Billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he’d support the package at Thursday’s special shareholder meeting, ending days of frenzied speculation about his intentions. He had earlier criticized a steep discount being granted to the German government on a 20% stake, and held the votes to single-handedly stop the share sale.“I will vote in favor of the …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Germany’s financial watchdog took more than a year to report Wirecard AG for suspected market manipulation after receiving a tip-off from a whistle-blower about irregularities at the payments company.BaFin received documents on Wirecard from an anonymous source in late January 2019 and evaluated them along with a Financial Times report on alleged accounting issues at the company, Germany’s Finance Ministry said in a written response to questions from lawmakers.The ministry’s reply, which is dated April 9, didn’t specify what the documents contained and on what day BaFin received them.The German regulator has come under intense criticism for its …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son ended his company’s annual shareholder meeting with a surprise Thursday by announcing he’s stepping down from the board of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.The billionaire said his departure shouldn’t be interpreted as signifying any disagreements, even though Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma is quitting SoftBank’s board at the same time. Ma and Son have maintained a close friendship since the Japanese entrepreneur was an early investor in Alibaba and helped it along to its current value of roughly $600 billion, calling it the crown jewel of SoftBank’s portfolio.“It’s not like we …read more […]

Lufthansa shares jumped by 10% on Thursday after investor Heinz Hermann Thiele dropped his objections to a 9 billion euro ($10.12 billion) government bailout to rescue the carrier hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. “I will vote for the proposal,” Thiele, who recently increased his stake in Lufthansa to 15.5%, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily on Wednesday. Shareholders are due to vote on the bailout at Lufthansa’s virtual extraordinary general meeting on Thursday. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon unveiled a list of companies it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, opening them to increased scrutiny in the latest spat between the world’s biggest economies.The 20 companies included Huawei Technologies Co. and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., as well as a number of state-run enterprises. In letters to lawmakers dated June 24, the Pentagon said it was providing a list of “Communist Chinese military companies operating in the United States,” which was first requested in the fiscal 1999 defense policy law.This list includes “entities owned by, controlled by, or affiliated with China’s government, …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks dropped and U.S. equity futures retreated as worries about a surge in virus cases in multiple U.S. states and some other countries saps appetite for riskier assets. The dollar extended gains.Japanese, Australian and Korean shares were all down more than 1%. China and Hong Kong are closed for holidays. Futures on the S&P 500 dipped, while Treasuries edged up. The risk-off moves followed daily records for new cases in Florida and California, with Texas also suffering. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are requiring visitors from virus hot spots to self-quarantine. Australia recorded its largest spike …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s biggest telecom operators chose Ericsson AB and Nokia Oyj as their main 5G network providers, leaving China’s Huawei Technologies Co. with less significant contracts in the city state.Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. chose Ericsson while a group that includes StarHub Ltd. opted for Nokia after the city-state gave final approval for the rollout of nationwide 5G coverage in the country Wednesday. Huawei, which has been a point of contention in the tensions between the U.S. and China, still has a foothold in the market as a provider for TPG Telecom Pte’s smaller, local network system.The final awards were issued …read more […]

Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) relentless march forward has resulted in outsized market gains for five consecutive years. No matter the macro climate and attendant headwinds, the stock just keeps performing. 2020 has been no different, although by AMD standards, relatively muted compared to recent years. Still, shares have appreciated by 19% year-to-date.But the upward movement must come to an end at some point, right? Maybe, but not anytime soon, according to RBC analyst Mitch Steves. In a recent report to clients, the 5-star analyst dissects why AMD’s gaming console segment is set to act as a catalyst over the next …read more […]