Russia pays its dollar debt in rubles
The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin is one step closer to bankruptcy.
Bloomberg/rew. Russia will henceforth pay its dollar-denominated government debt in rubles. The government announced this on Wednesday (May 25). Payment in rubles contradicts the terms of a dollar bond maturing in 2026. Coupon payments on this bond must be made this Friday. If these are paid in rubles, a 30-day grace period begins, after which Russia will officially become insolvent.
Russia has to pay its debt in rubles after the US government closed a loophole in its sanctions regime. Previously, American bondholders were allowed to accept payments from Russia in dollars.
Although the new provision applies only to American citizens, the important role American banks play in the global financial system makes it more difficult for Russia to serve other international bondholders. By the end of the year, the Russian government will have to make $2 billion in payments on its national debt.
VW concludes million-dollar settlement in class action lawsuit in diesel scandal
(dpa) After a British class action lawsuit in the diesel scandal, the Volkswagen automobile group has reached a settlement of around 227 million euros. More than 90,000 owners of diesel vehicles from the Volkswagen brands VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda had complained because of manipulated emissions data. The case, which was due to be heard in London’s High Court in January 2023, is believed to be the largest class action lawsuit ever brought before an English court.
As part of the settlement, no admissions of liability, cost causation or loss were made, the group emphasized in a joint statement with the plaintiff on Wednesday. At the same time, VW apologized to its customers for installing the manipulation software and announced that they wanted to regain their trust. “The settlement is another important milestone on the way for the Volkswagen Group to put the deeply regrettable incidents behind us by September 2015,” said VW chief legal officer Philip Haarmann, according to the announcement.
The managing director of the law firm Slater and Gordon, which represented around 70,000 plaintiffs, was “immensely proud” of the result. “The settlement eliminates a long, complex and expensive court case and we are pleased to have reached this settlement for our clients as a result of the class action.”
A so-called defeat device had detected in the EA189 diesel engine installed in millions of cars whether the car was in a test situation. Only then was the nitrogen oxide cleaning fully activated, while many times the pollutants were being blown into the air on the road.
Significantly higher number of company bankruptcies in Switzerland
no. In the first quarter of this year there was a significant increase in corporate bankruptcies in Switzerland. According to a study by the business information service Dun & Bradstreet, 15 percent more companies filed for bankruptcy in the first four months of this year than in the same period last year. There were a total of 1448 bankruptcies.
There were major regional differences: In Zurich, company bankruptcies increased by a full 52 percent, and there were also double-digit growth rates in Mittelland and Northwestern Switzerland. In French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, on the other hand, the number of bankruptcies actually fell slightly.
The number of start-ups has also fallen. In the first five months of this year, five percent fewer new companies were entered in the commercial register than in the same period last year. There were a total of 16,639 start-ups.
Food price increases hit Eastern Europeans harder
Demonstrators in Bulgaria protest against high energy prices. Inflation in the Eastern European country was over 20 percent in April.
(dpa) The recent increases in food prices are having a greater impact on people in the east of the EU than in the west. In Lithuania, prices in April were 22.1 percent higher than a year earlier, the Federal Statistical Office reported current figures from Eurostat on Wednesday. Bulgaria (21.0 percent), Latvia (17.7 percent) and Hungary (17.3 percent) were also well above the EU average of 8.9 percent price increases. Consumers in Germany had to spend an average of 8.5 percent more on food and drink, while prices in Ireland only increased by 3.6 percent.
East Europeans suffer more from the price increases anyway because they already had to spend a relatively large proportion of their income on food. A private household in Romania spends 28.3 percent on food, while in Germany it is only 11.1 percent. The EU average is 15.9 percent. Reasons for the differences are the different levels of income as well as the competitive situation in the food trade. Only people in Luxembourg and Ireland have proportionately lower consumer spending than Germans.
Court decision: Stadler may deliver trains to SBB
After the decision, Stadler can start delivering the trains.
no. Stadler is allowed to deliver 268 trains for regional traffic to the SBB. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court, as the SBB announced on Wednesday (May 25). The French competitor Alstom, who was inferior to Stadler in awarding the contract, had sued.
The order for up to 510 single-deck Flirt multiple units went to Stadler last October. Clients were the SBB and its two subsidiaries Thurbo and Region-Alps. According to the announcement, the court has now confirmed that SBB complied with the procurement law requirements and the equal treatment of providers during the tendering process.
According to Stadler Rail, the order for 286 “Flirt” trains with an order volume of around 2 billion francs is now planned for the first call. The framework contract includes the option of up to 224 additional trains. However, the procedure has delayed their commissioning: instead of the end of 2025, the trains will only be on the rails in the course of 2026.
Ypsomed has almost quadrupled its profit
The Ypsomed plant in Burgdorf (Canton Bern).
no. The medical technology company Ypsomed can look back on a successful 2021/22 financial year. Sales increased by 15 percent to 464.8 million Swiss francs, net profit increased almost fourfold from 5.8 million to 23.1 million Swiss francs. The operating result grew to 28.6 million Swiss francs compared to 9.3 million in the previous year.
Ypsomed thus just about met the expectations of the analysts. However, the estimates for operating and net profit were slightly higher. Nevertheless, the shareholders should be happy about the result: They will receive a dividend of 60 centimes per share.
The company is planning a capital increase to finance further growth. Specifically, it is about the issue of a maximum of one million fully paid-up registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 14.15 each. It is planned to sell the unsubscribed shares as part of a free placement.
As in the previous year, Ypsomed is aiming for double-digit sales growth for the current financial year. In addition, the company expects a significant improvement in the operating result of at least 50 percent.