Aurelia Butler

In a letter to the editor published https://www.wsj.com/articles/idb-inter-american-development-bank-argentina-imf-loan-commitment-11658761650?page=1 by The Wall Street Journal, Mauricio Claver-Carone said the bank has a “duty to help members like Argentina,” but is also “eager for Argentina to meet commitments to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to improve macroeconomic conditions.”Claver-Carone said Argentina is asking to approve a new $500 million unconditional loan, and that the bank has disbursed $2.5 billion to the country since late 2020 for healthcare, clean water and infrastructure projects.”As much as the IDB wants to approve new funds for Argentina, it cannot rubber-stamp requests to do so without prudently ensuring it has a development impact,” he said.Argentina, which faces a challenging macroeconomic scenario with spiraling inflation and a currency at record lows against the dollar, already has a $44 billion program sealed with the IMF.”The commitments, much more modest than those required of other countries, are key to promoting sustainable growth and ensuring the IDB can offer Argentina fresh financing,” Claver-Carone added.The IDB comments came ahead of an IMF meeting with Argentina’s newly appointed economy minister Silvina Batakis, who was sworn in less than a month ago after her predecessor abruptly resigned. More

Walmart has issued its second profit warning in 10 weeks, signalling a further deterioration in the US retail environment as inflation weighs on the price-sensitive consumers on whom the world’s largest retailer depends. “The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting how customers spend,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive. He said the company had made “good progress” clearing inventory in “hardline” or consumer durable categories such as appliances and furniture but was having to increase markdowns on clothing in its US stores.In a statement made after the close of New York trading on Monday — just three weeks before the company is due to report earnings for the three months to July — Walmart warned its operating income would fall by 13 to 14 per cent in the quarter and 11 to 13 per cent over the full year as it discounts merchandise to clear excess inventory. In May, at its last earnings announcement, it had flagged that operating income would be “flat to up slightly” in the second quarter and down only 1 per cent for the full year. It had given similar guidance for earnings per share, which it now expects to fall 8 to 9 per cent in the second quarter and 11 to 13 per cent in the full year on an adjusted basis.Walmart’s warning sent its stock down almost 10 per cent to $118.97 in after-hours trading, cutting about $35bn from its market capitalisation. That prompted a sell-off in shares of rivals including Target, Costco and Home Depot, while those of Amazon fell more than 4 per cent. In May, Walmart shares suffered their biggest one-day drop since 1987 when it cut guidance for the coming quarters for the first time. Investors have grown increasingly concerned that retailers will have to discount unsold products as rising prices and a shift in spending from goods to services coincide with stores’ efforts to bring in holiday merchandise early to avoid the supply chain disruptions that bedevilled the sector earlier in the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re seeing this rotation in spending away from retail and we’re seeing a slowdown in spending as consumers are squeezed by high inflation and rising rates,” said Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. “That squeeze is likely to continue.”Weakening demand in the face of such pressures may force retailers to offload unsold stock and accept lower margins, added James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. “While not good news for the businesses, it could help the Federal Reserve out as it desperately tries to get inflation heading back towards [its target] of 2 per cent,” he said.Walmart said that comparable sales in its US stores would be higher than previously expected, up 6 per cent in the second quarter excluding fuel, although this reflected higher spending on food, for which inflation is running in double digits and the company makes lower profit margins.

“This is affecting customers’ ability to spend on general merchandise categories and requiring more markdowns to move through the inventory, particularly apparel,” it warned. Walmart said it had made progress cutting inventory in the second quarter and was “managing prices” to reflect inflation and higher supply chain costs. McMillon added he was also encouraged by the start of the back-to-school season, but warned the company was expecting more pressure on general merchandise sales in the second half of the year.As with other US multinationals, Walmart is suffering from the strength of the dollar, which led to a “headwind” of about $1bn on its second-quarter sales. Based on current exchange rates, it expects a currency hit of $1.8bn in the second half of the year. More

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) banker, a former FBI agent trainee, and a technology executive were among those charged on Monday with insider trading in separate schemes that together generated millions of dollars in profits, U.S. prosecutors said. “Each of the defendants charged today corrupted the integrity of the markets,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and one of Wall Street’s main cops, told reporters. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed related civil charges over the trading schemes. Among those charged were former Goldman Sachs Vice President Brijesh Goel, who faces six counts of securities fraud and obstruction of justice for allegedly giving a co-conspirator non-public information about potential mergers and acquisitions beginning in February 2017. He now works at private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO).The co-conspirator, identified by the SEC as Goel’s friend Akshay Niranjan, used the tips to trade in securities of some of the companies targeted for deals – including Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) Inc and drugmaker Patheon – and split $280,000 in profits with Goel, prosecutors said.Goel’s attorney, Reed Brodsky, said Goel “looks forward to demonstrating his innocence.” A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Goel’s alleged conduct was “egregious and illegal” and violates the firm’s standards. The bank is cooperating with the SEC and Department of Justice, the spokesperson said.A spokesperson for Apollo said Goel was “immediately placed on indefinite leave” when the company learned about the allegations on Monday, and that the alleged behavior took place before he joined the firm around a year ago.Prosecutors also charged Seth Markin, the former FBI trainee, with insider trading for allegedly buying shares of Pandion Therapeutics Inc before a February 2021 tender offer for the company by Merck & Co.Markin allegedly learned of the deal by reviewing documents belonging to his then-romantic partner, who worked at a law firm representing Merck. In a third case, prosecutors said Amit Bhardwaj, a former executive at laser specialist Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE) Inc, bought shares in Coherent (NASDAQ:COHR) Inc after learning Lumentum planned to acquire the company. Lawyers for Markin and Bhardwaj did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors separately announced charges against former U.S. Representative Stephen Buyer for insider trading ahead of a major telecoms tie-up.Williams, who took office last year after being nominated by President Joe Biden, said the cases showed his office is still focused on insider trading in publicly traded securities, even though recent financial fraud cases have involved private funds and digital assets. So far this year, Williams’ office charged Bill Hwang with fraud and racketeering related to the meltdown of Archegos Capital Management, the private investment firm he founded, and reached a $6 billion settlement with Germany’s Allianz (ETR:ALVG) SE over the collapse of funds run by its U.S. asset management unit.Williams’ office also has brought its first-ever insider trading cases involving cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). More

Ukraine hopes to start implementing a deal to export millions of tonnes of grain from blockaded Black Sea ports as soon as this week, even after Russian missile strikes hit the key Ukrainian port city of Odesa and threatened to unravel the agreement.Preparations include demining essential areas for maritime traffic and setting up special naval corridors for the safe passage of merchant vessels, as well as the setting up of a co-ordination centre in Istanbul, where the deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, was inked on Friday. The plans are moving ahead, a Ukrainian official said on Monday, despite the Odesa strikes, which Ukraine previously described as violating Russia’s promise not to attack grain infrastructure and calling the entire deal into question. Russia said it targeted military infrastructure in the port.“Hopefully, it will be implemented in the coming days when the special co-ordination centre would be open in . . . Istanbul,” Ukraine’s minister for infrastructure Oleksandr Kurbakov said at a briefing on Monday. “Some time this week, we hope this whole process will start.” Kurbakov stressed the importance of the exports for Ukraine’s economy, describing the free export of grain as “a matter of survival” for Ukraine’s agricultural sector, in turn the second-largest contributor to the country’s economy. “Under such dire economic circumstances, it’s important that Ukraine gets an inflow of hard currency by de-blocking ports,” he said. He added it brought $1bn to the country’s budget per month, citing finance ministry and national bank data.President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey said on Monday evening that Ankara remained committed to its end of the agreement and that work continued on operations that would be based in Istanbul. “We can see how sensitive the process is with the attack on the Odesa port on Saturday,” Erdoğan said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT. “We are saddened by this happening, and a failure here will be to everyone’s detriment. We are reminding them of this.“We expect everyone to stand by their signatures and to act in line with the responsibilities they assumed and to avoid actions that are contrary to the agreement’s words and spirit,” he said.Since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, Russia’s navy has blockaded Ukraine’s commercial sea routes, launched missile strikes on its ports and grain storage infrastructure, and attacked civilian grain transport ships. This trapped 22mn tonnes of wheat, corn and other grains in the country, with the conflict leaving as many as 47mn people globally at risk of acute hunger, according to the World Food Programme.The deal should introduce a “de facto ceasefire” with Ukraine and Russia agreeing not to attack merchant vessels, civilian vessels or port facilities covered by the agreement.

But it will be tested by the conflict. Demining the maritime routes would also be difficult, Kurbakov noted. Even second world war mines were detected from time to time, he said. “All of the ships will be convoyed by the Ministry of Infrastructure boats leading the way and it’s not going to be an easy process.”Speaking during a visit on Sunday to Egypt, which has historically relied on Ukraine and Russia for most of its wheat imports, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sought to counter accusations that Russia had been “exporting hunger” with its Black Sea blockade. Lavrov also provided further details about the deal, saying it would be implemented via a co-ordination centre in Istanbul, Ukraine would be “engaged in demining, letting the ships into the open sea”, and “Russia, Turkey and another participant to be determined, [will] escort the ship to the Bosphorus [Strait].”Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley in Ankara More