Carnival Corp’s (CCL) credit rating was cut to non-investment grade or junk status at Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as the rating agency expects the cruise industry to grapple with an extended period of weak demand through at least 2021.S&P downgraded the cruise operator’s secured bonds to BB+ from BBB-, and its unsecured bonds to BB- from BBB-. The overall issuer credit rating was cut to BB- from BBB-. Shares dropped 2.2% to $17.61 in after-market trading on Tuesday.“We forecast that the company’s credit measures will remain very weak through 2021 and anticipate that its adjusted leverage may potentially exceed 10x in 2021 following a significant deterioration in its performance in 2020,” S&P credit analyst Ariel Silverberg said in a statement.The credit rating agency expects Carnival’s EBITDA to be significantly more negative in 2020 due to higher-than-anticipated expenses to repatriate its guests and crew and the incremental expenses associated with its need...
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems plunged over 13% after it announced that it is seeking concessions from lenders on repayment timelines and financial covenants as they worry about a sharp erosion in earnings after Boeing directed to cut production amid coronavirus pandemic....
(Bloomberg) -- Global stocks and equity futures were mixed Wednesday as investors weighed their appetite for risk assets against a continuing acceleration in coronavirus cases across the American sun belt. The dollar remained under pressure.U.S. futures fluctuated, while European contracts retreated. Shares slipped in Tokyo but climbed in Seoul after Kim Jong Un suspended military actions against South Korea. Treasuries were little changed. New Zealand’s dollar reversed gains after the central bank said the balance of economic risks remained to the downside.On Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed well off its earlier 1.2% gain on reports that a surge in cases in several hotspots in the South and Southwest of the U.S. threatened to derail plans to ramp up reopenings. Still, the Nasdaq Composite hit another record high.Investors are betting that trillions of dollars in stimulus by central banks and governments around the globe will shield economies from a resurgence in virus...
(Bloomberg) -- GNC Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection with the aim of selling itself and closing stores after its latest effort to manage its debt load unraveled amid the coronavirus pandemic.The health and wellness company’s Chapter 11 petition filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware allows the retailer to keep operating while it pursues a dual-track process to restructure its balance sheet in a standalone plan or complete a sale, according to a statement.GNC entered into the process with support from a majority of its secured lenders and an affiliate of its largest shareholder, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co., the Pittsburgh-based company said in the statement. The agreement also includes its largest vendor and joint venture partner, IVC. Certain lenders also provided $130 million in additional liquidity to financially support the company through its proposed restructuring.The company’s pre-negotiated plan will shutter stores as it looks to emerge leaner. It also...
(Bloomberg) -- Gold is on the cusp of challenging the hard-to-crack $1,800 an ounce mark, potentially opening the way for a move toward its record price, as a resurgence in coronavirus cases risks impeding the recovery of the global economy and fans demand for haven assets.Futures have rallied to within 1% of the level last seen at the end of 2011, the year bullion notched its all-time high, as newly diagnosed cases of Covid-19 and other indicators of the pandemic’s spread soared in hot spots across the U.S. This is driving city and state officials to consider slowing or reversing reopening plans. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious-disease doctor, warned on Tuesday that he’s seeing a “disturbing surge” in cases.Bullion has jumped this year as the Federal Reserve and other central banks lowered interest rates, while governments worldwide pumped in trillions in stimulus to rescue economies hurt by the pandemic. Aided...
