Spanish bonds have returned 3.5 percent over the last three months, the best performance of anywhere in the euro region. Neighboring Portugal is the opposite. Italy also looks a riskier alternative as it faces a referendum in the fourth quarter that may cost Prime Minister Matteo Renzi his job. Source: Bloomberg
The world’s largest group of shipping insurers will not insure vessels involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipeline projects because of the threat of U.S. sanctions. Source Reuters
Italy expects debt to rise to about 160% of gross domestic product by the end of this year despite a smaller-than-forecast contraction of the economy, officials familiar with ongoing budget talks said. The new figures, which are provisional and still subject to change, see the economy expanding 6% in 2021, the officials said, asking not to be named discussing confidential deliberations. Source Bloomberg Quint
It is less than two months since U.S. President Donald Trump travelled to Texas to declare that the U.S. energy industry, laid low by this year’s oil price crash, was back on its feet. “We’re OK now,” the president told the assembled crowd.
But bankruptcy numbers released this week tell a different story. Another 16 upstream U.S. oil and gas companies — producers and service providers — hit the wall in August, the same number as in July, according to law firm Haynes and Boone. Source Financial Post
