Canada #61 >>21333541

Zelensky Suspends Ukraine's Foreign Debt Payments Starting Aug 1st

by Tyler Durden Thursday, Aug 01, 2024

Who could have seen this coming? Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a new law which defers public debt payments until October if necessary, Reuters has confirmed. The bill was signed by Zelensky and returned to parliament on Wednesday.

The government now has the authority to postpone payments on external public debt until restructuring negotiations are seen through, which could then see a moratorium held that would formally mark a sovereign default.

"It is necessary to introduce, for the period of transactions to change the terms of borrowing, temporary measures related to the servicing and repayment of debt obligations and a moratorium on satisfaction of creditors' claims," the bill released by the president's office said.

The clock is ticking on debt restructure as a payment freeze agreed upon two years ago will soon expire (on Aug.1), and as Reuters notes: "Earlier this month, Ukraine announced a preliminary deal with a committee of its main bondholders to restructure its near $20 billion worth of international debt."

Bondholders must still approve the deal, which is likely, given the plan has the support of foreign governments.

Exactly one week ago, Fitch Ratings downgraded the country's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating from the "CC" level to the lower "C" level.

"The reported agreement with external commercial creditors constitutes a distressed debt exchange (DDE) under its sovereign rating criteria," Fitch said.

Reuters further reviews that the proposal would see "a 37% nominal haircut on Ukraine's outstanding international bonds, saving Kyiv $11.4 billion in payments over the next three years - the duration of the country's program with the International Monetary Fund, according to government statements."

It was in February 2022 that Ukraine reached a hasty agreement with its creditors to freeze payments of some 23$ billion till August 2024 amid the backdrop of the Russian invasion. Since then Kiev has been almost completely reliant on foreign aid.

This was all long ago predicted, including by EU parliamentarians, given that the longer the war drags on the closer the war-ravaged country is to defaulting…

The Ukrainian state is reeling, unable to finance services its people desperately need. But billions in EU financial assistance are not free; they're loans, which #Ukraine will default on. Meanwhile there is little oversight or assurance the funds are going where they should. pic.twitter.com/CKTRtvXfPk

— Clare Daly (@ClareDalyIRL) December 6, 2022

Following what now inaugurates a period of a short-term debt default, private bondholders are likely agree to push Ukraine's debt payments until 2027, thus seeking to minimize the impact on Ukraine's ability for long-term borrowing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/zelensky-suspends-ukraines-foreign-debt-payments-starting-aug-1st

Canada #60 >>21122771

Ukraine could declare default – The Economist

https://www.rt.com/business/600269-ukraine-debt-restructuring-default/

Canada #58 >>20842758

BlackRock and others form a group to try to pressure Ukraine to start repaying its debts

By Rhoda Wilson on May 8, 2024

https://expose-news.com/2024/05/08/creditors-try-to-pressure-ukraine-to-repay-its-debts/

>>21340845

Olga gets two votes right?

>>21341167

How many more F-15s and 2K pounders do they need to finish the job?

Davis-Monthan could use the space

Chevron Exits California After Policy Disputes With Democrat Leaders

Bloomberg August 2, 2024

By Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg) Chevron Corp. is relocating headquarters to Houston from California after repeatedly warning that the Golden State’s regulatory regime was making it a tough place to do business.

The move announced Friday will end the company’s more than 140 years of being based in the largest US state and comes amid a shake-up in senior leadership ranks apparently aimed at improving results.

Chevron already had slashed new investments in California refining, citing “adversarial” government policies in a state that has some of the most stringent environmental rules in the US. In January, refining executive Andy Walz warned that the state was playing a “dangerous game” with climate rules that threatened to spike gasoline prices.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth pushed back on suggestions that the relocation is being driven by politics, saying “it’s really to be closer to the core epicenter of our industry.”

“We’ve had some policy differences with California,” Wirth said during a Bloomberg Television interview. “But this isn’t a move about politics. It’s a move about what’s good for our company to compete and perform.”

Separately, Chevron missed second-quarter profit estimates, heaping pressure on Wirth to prevail in his $53 billion effort to acquire Hess Corp. Chevron shares fell as much as 2.9%.

Oracle, Tesla

Chevron joins a long list of California emigres that includes Oracle Corp., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and Tesla Inc. While the migration among former Silicon Valley tech giants has been largely driven by tax and and cost-of-living considerations, Chevron has been at loggerheads with state leaders over increasingly tough fossil-fuel rules.

Wirth has been extolling the virtues of the Lone Star State’s business climate for at least half a decade.

“The policies in California have become pretty restrictive on a lot of business fronts, not just the environment,” he said during a 2019 speech in Houston.

California has long been an incongruent state for an oil company to call home. It pioneered the push to cut tailpipe emissions in the 1960s. And in 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping climate measure setting a goal for California to become net zero by 2045, five years ahead of US as a whole.

Frequent droughts and wildfires mean the state is already suffering from catastrophic effects of climate change. California accounts for more than a third of the country’s EV sales. And almost all of America’s renewable diesel, made from vegetable oil and natural fats, is consumed in California.

Three senior executives are departing Chevron, including oil-production chief Nigel Hearne and Colin Parfitt, who oversees pipeline and shipping businesses.

Hearne, 56, will see his duties handed over to Vice Chairman Mike Nelson, a key Wirth lieutenant. Parfitt’s replacement is Walz.

The leadership changes come just months after former Chief Financial Officer Pierre Breber issued a stern warning to employees to improve performance and results. The rebuke followed a year of dismal results stemming from refinery disruptions, weaker-than-expected oil production in the Permian Basin, and cost overruns and delays at a massive project in Kazakhstan.

Breber stepped down in March.

Second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.55 were 38 cents below the median estimate among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The miss was in stark contrast to the outsized profits reported by Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Plc and BP Plc, which capitalized on strong oil and natural gas production.

More:

https://gcaptain.com/chevron-exits-california-democratic-leadership/

>>21341268

Big meeting?

>>21340955

>>21341116

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult