Tele2 AB on Friday backed its full-year and midterm guidance after posting unchanged first-quarter underlying earnings as end-user service-revenue growth and cost savings were offset by inflation pressures.
The Sweden-based telecom company posted a net profit for the quarter of 850 million kronor ($82.4 million), compared with SEK2.47 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected SEK854 million.
Credit Suisse Investors Challenge Switzerland's $17 Billion Bond Write-Down
Credit Suisse Group AG bondholders have launched a legal challenge in Switzerland against regulators' decision to write down $17 billion in securities as part of UBS Group AG's rescue of the troubled bank last month.
Bondholders holding about 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion) of Credit Suisse's canceled debt want the decision to write down their bonds revoked or amended, according to an outline of their appeal made in a Swiss administrative court and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The bondholders are alleging the total write-down was disproportionately punitive to them and violated their property rights, according to the summary of the legal filing.
Barclays Names HSBC Executive as Compliance Chief
Barclays PLC has hired a new chief compliance officer from rival HSBC Holdings PLC, as the bank navigates a deal-making downturn and continuing regulatory investigations into former Chief Executive Jes Staley's ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
London-based Barclays said Thursday that it has named Kirsty Everett as its new compliance chief, ending a few months of search. Ms. Everett is joining from HSBC, where she was group head of compliance after previously holding other senior compliance roles. She will start July 1, subject to regulatory approval, Barclays said.
Europe's Air-Traffic Agency Under Attack From Pro-Russian Hackers
Europe's air-traffic control agency said Thursday that it was under attack from pro-Russian hackers amid fears that Moscow could interfere with the region's critical infrastructure as its confrontation with the West escalates.
The cyberattack on the agency's website started on April 19, a spokeswoman for the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, also known as Eurocontrol, said, adding that it wasn't affecting the agency's air-traffic control activities.
GLOBAL NEWS
Fed Rethinks Loophole That Masked Losses on SVB's Securities
WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve may close a loophole that allows some midsize banks to effectively mask losses on securities they hold, a contributing factor in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Led by vice chair for supervision Michael Barr, the Fed is considering ending an exemption that allows some banks to boost the amount of capital they report for regulatory purposes, according to people familiar with the matter. Capital is the buffer banks are required to hold to absorb potential losses.
Shopping for Insurance Against a Debt-Ceiling Debacle? Buyer Beware
As the U.S. government nears yet another debt-ceiling crisis, an obscure Wall Street instrument is gaining attention for the first time in 10 years.
It is basically an insurance contract known as a credit-default swap, whose price is commonly interpreted as the probability the U.S. will default on its Treasury debt. As of April 19, investors were willing to pay $9,600 a year to insure $1 million in U.S. Treasury debt, up from $1,400 at the start of the year. That is even more than during major budget fights in 2011 and 2013 when, like now, Republicans in Congress were refusing to raise the statutory ceiling on how much Treasury could borrow unless a Democratic president agreed to reduce spending.
Loretta Mester Says Fed Must Do More to Tackle Stubborn Inflation
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said the U.S. central bank is much closer to the end of monetary policy tightening than the beginning, but it must still do more to lower inflation.
Despite progress in lowering inflation from last year's highs, it remains too high and is proving to be stubborn, Ms. Mester said Thursday during a speech in Akron, Ohio.
Pace of Japan's Consumer Inflation Slowed in March
TOKYO-Japan's overall consumer prices rose at 3.2% from a year earlier in March, slightly slower than the 3.3% increase in February, government data showed Friday.
The pace of price increases has slowed since February due to the government's measures to ease the impact of higher electricity and gas prices.
Glynn's Take: Woe to Those Signing Up to the New RBA Board
SYDNEY-Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers moved to retool the country's central bank this week by throwing out its old policy-setting board in favor of a modernized committee of experts that will look and operate a lot like similar bodies at the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.
For some observers, the change looks like a breath of fresh air for a Reserve Bank of Australia that has grown stale in its way of thinking. For the Australians who lived through a record-breaking streak of 10 straight interest-rate increases over the past year, there is hope that perhaps the new board experts will ease pressure on a crippled mortgage belt.
OPEC Hasn't Fixed the Oil-Price Slump. The Problem Is Demand.
Oil prices have given back almost all of the gains they made after OPEC and its allies surprised the market by agreeing to cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day starting in May. It's a sign that the oil market is more focused on demand now, and doesn't see enough evidence that countries are using more oil.
Weak demand is also weighing on oil stocks, which have had a mediocre month despite OPEC's actions. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (ticker: XOP) is trading flat since before the announcement, and is down 0.8% so far this year even as the S&P 500 has risen 8%.
U.S. Begins Planning for 6G Wireless Communications
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration is beginning to plan for 6G wireless telecommunications, seeking to expand internet access while reasserting U.S. leadership in a sector where China has notched gains.
The White House on Friday will meet with corporate, government and academic experts to begin developing goals and strategies for the new 6G communications technology, which would have the ability to take cloud computing and the mobile internet to true global ubiquity, among other improvements.
Russia Mistakenly Bombs Own City
Russia said it had mistakenly bombed its own territory late Thursday as Ukraine's Western backers were preparing to meet to discuss future military deliveries to the country to assist in Kyiv's expected counteroffensive.
Moscow said that one of its jet fighters had accidentally dropped a weapon over the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, causing an explosion and leaving several injured.
Russia's Wagner Offered Arms to Sudanese General Battling Army
Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group has offered heavy weapons to the leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Force, one of two rival factions battling for control of the East African country, according to a current and a former U.S. official, and a person close to the Sudanese general.
The Kremlin-backed group has offered to send arms, including shoulder-mounted MANPADS antiaircraft missiles, that it has in neighboring Central African Republic, where Wagner has been active in recent years, these people said.
Donald Trump Tops Ron DeSantis in Test of GOP Presidential Field, WSJ Poll Finds
WASHINGTON-Donald Trump has gained command of the GOP presidential-nomination race over Ron DeSantis, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, with the former president building support across most parts of the primary electorate as the Florida governor has struggled on the national stage.
Mr. DeSantis's 14-point advantage in December has fallen to a 13-point deficit, and he now trails Mr. Trump 51% to 38% among likely Republican primary voters in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.
President Biden Plans Video Re-Election Bid Announcement as Soon as Next Week
WASHINGTON-President Biden is looking to formally launch his re-election campaign with a video announcement as early as next week, said people familiar with the planning.
A formal campaign announcement from Mr. Biden, 80, has long been expected, and the president has been vocal about his desire to "finish the job" he started during his first term. But aides have said there was little urgency to make it official, given the lack of a serious Democratic primary challenger and the chaotic Republican field. Tuesday, April 25, will mark the four-year anniversary of the launch of Mr. Biden's last presidential campaign.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-21-23 0609ET
