The long-awaited bump in bankruptcy filings has arrived, as submissions under chapter 11 rose 77% in July. There were 637 filings under chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code last month across the U.S, compared with 359 at the same time last year. It is the most monthly new chapter 11 filings in nearly three years. Source The Wall Street Journal
The European Union is backing former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to head the World Trade Organization, sending a signal of trust in Africa, an EU official said on Monday.
Okonjo-Iweala and South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee are vying to be the first female leader in the WTO’s 25-year history, replacing Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who quit a year earlier than expected at the end of August. Source Reuters
The US State Department on Oct. 20 widened the scope of sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and warned companies involved in the final installation that they face sanctions if they do not wind down activities within 30 days. Source Spglobal
Whether or not S&P Global Ratings downgrades Italian debt this week is a coin toss, according to Deutsche Bank AG.
“We think it’s a 50-50 call as both an unchanged outlook as well as a downgrade could be justified,” wrote Ioannis Sokos, a strategist at Deutsche, citing S&P’s outlook criteria from April. Source Bloomberg
