Economy

Here are Northvolt’s creditors listed in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and outstanding principal amounts:NORTHVOLT AB UNSECURED DEBT FACILITIES Total (EPA:TTEF) Northvolt AB Debt: $3.9 billion* Volta Convertible Instrument: due Aug. 17, 2027; $2.76 billion* KfW Convertible Instrument: due June 30, 2028; $670 million * VW Convertible Instrument: due Dec. 31, 2025; $330 million * Shareholder Bridge Facility: due Aug. 14, 2025; $154 million SECURED DEBT FACILITIES FOR NORTHVOLT ETT, ITS ONLY OPERATING BATTERY FACTORY IN NORTHERN SWEDENTotal Northvolt Ett Debt: $1.74 billion* Euler Hermes Covered Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $470 million* Northvolt Ett Second Lien: due June 30, 2030; $405 million * EIB Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $313 million * NEXI Covered Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $131 million * Revolving WC Facility: due Dec. 31, 2029; $110 million * KEXIM Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $87 million * Northvolt Ett Inventory Financing: due Jan. 24, 2025; $72 million* BPIAE Covered Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $67 million * Commercial Uncovered Term Loan: due Dec. 31, 2029; $45 million * Northvolt Ett Second Inventory Financing: due March 18, 2025; $42 millionCANADIAN SECURE DEBT FACILITY * Northvolt Canada Land Loan: due Oct. 31, 2038; $181 millionUNSECURED CREDITORSNorthvolt’s unsecured creditors include its largest shareholders Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), whose brands Scania, Porsche and Audi are customers of the battery maker. Volta, a company which tests battery systems, is its largest creditor.* Volta: $3.85 billion* KFW: $696.0 million* Volkswagen: $355.3 million* Nordic Trustee and Agency: $154.0 million* SFA Engineering: $30.2 million* BHP Billiton (NYSE:BBL) Marketing: $30.2 million* Axima Concept Sweden Filial: $21.5 million* Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment: $19.7 million* Easpring Technology (Changzhou) New Material: $16.9 million* Bravida Sverige: $10.0 million* Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT): $8.9 million* Jiangsu Easpring Material Technology: $7.1 million* LF: $6.3 million* Tianqi Lithium Kwinana: $6.1 million* Sodexo (EPA:EXHO): $5.9 million* Skellefteå Kraftaktiebolag: $5.5 million* BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY): $5.2 million* RJ And Collab: $5.0 million* Goldman Sachs Bank Europe: $4.8 million* Stena Recycling: $4.6 million* Senior Material (Europe): $4.5 million* Randstad (AS:RAND): $4.3 million* Kedali Sweden: $4.2 million* Hanwha Momentum: $4.1 million* Ventpartner I Västmanland: $4.1 million* Kataoka Corporation: $4.0 million* Axima Concept: $3.9 million* J.P Morgan: $3.7 million* CIS: $3.7 million* Vakanta: $3.5 million More

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean lawmakers submitted a bill on Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law in the country, a major U.S. ally, before rescinding the decision hours later after a chaotic standoff between parliament and the army.Parliament rejected Yoon’s surprise declaration of martial law, which attempted to ban political activity and censor the media in Asia’s fourth largest economy, as armed troops forced their way into the National Assembly building in Seoul.Six South Korean opposition parties later submitted a bill in parliament to impeach Yoon, who had already faced accusations of heavy-handed leadership from his opponents and from within his own party, with voting set for Friday or Saturday. A plenary session to formally introduce the bill was scheduled to begin shortly after midnight (1500 GMT) on Wednesday.”We couldn’t ignore the illegal martial law,” DP lawmaker Kim Yong-min told reporters. “We can no longer let democracy collapse.”Civic and labour groups held a candlelight vigil in downtown Seoul on Wednesday evening, calling for Yoon’s resignation- a reminder of the massive candlelight protests that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017. They then began marching towards the presidential office.The leader of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party called for Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun to be fired and the entire cabinet to resign. Kim has offered to resign, the defence ministry said.Yoon told the nation in a television speech late on Tuesday that martial law was needed to defend the country from pro-North Korean anti-state forces, and protect the free constitutional order, although he cited no specific threats.Troops tried to seize control of the parliament building, but stood back when parliamentary aides sprayed them with fire extinguishers, while protesters scuffled with police outside.Within hours of the declaration, South Korea’s parliament, with 190 of its 300 members present, unanimously passed a motion for martial law be lifted, with 18 members of Yoon’s party present. The president then rescinded the declaration of martial law, around six hours after its proclamation.Protesters outside the National Assembly shouted and clapped. “We won!” they chanted, and one demonstrator banged on a drum. “There are opinions that it was too much to go to emergency martial law, and that we did not follow the procedures for emergency martial law, but it was done strictly within the constitutional framework,” a South Korean presidential official told Reuters by telephone.There has been no reaction yet from North Korea to the drama in the South.Yoon was embraced by leaders in the West as a partner in the U.S.-led effort to unify democracies against growing authoritarianism in China, Russia and elsewhere.But he caused unease among South Koreans by branding his critics as “communist totalitarian and anti-state forces” as his approval ratings slipped. In November, he denied wrongdoing in response to influence-peddling allegations against him and his wife and he has taken a hard line against labour unions.MARKETS VOLATILESeoul appeared largely normal on Wednesday, with the usual rush hour traffic in trains and on the streets.But Hyundai Motor (OTC:HYMTF)’s labour union announced plans to stage strikes on Thursday and Friday and some major employers, including Naver Corp and LG Electronics Inc (KS:066570), advised employees to work from home.South Korean stocks fell about 1.3% while the won was stable but close to a two-year low with dealers reporting suspected intervention by South Korean authorities.Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong held emergency meetings overnight and the finance ministry promised to prop up markets if needed.”We will inject unlimited liquidity into stocks, bonds, short-term money market as well as forex market for the time being until they are fully normalised,” a government statement said.Sales of canned goods, instant noodles and bottled water had soared overnight, said a major South Korean convenience store chain, which sought anonymity. “I’m deeply disturbed by this kind of situation, and I’m very concerned about the future of the country,” 39-year-old Seoul resident Kim Byeong-in told Reuters.    The National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of lawmakers vote in favour. A trial by the constitutional court follows, which can confirm the motion with a vote by six of the nine justices.Yoon’s party has 108 seats in the 300-member legislature.’DODGED A BULLET’If Yoon resigned or was removed from office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would fill in as leader until a new election was held within 60 days.”South Korea as a nation dodged a bullet, but President Yoon may have shot himself in the foot,” Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute think tank in the United States, said of the first martial law declaration in South Korea since 1980.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he welcomed Yoon’s decision to rescind the martial law declaration.”We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” Blinken said in a statement.South Korea hosts about 28,500 American troops as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War.Planned defence talks and a joint military exercise between the two allies were postponed amid the broader diplomatic fallout from the overnight turmoil.South Korea’s political situation is an “internal matter” for the country, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters.Russia said it was following the “tragic” events in South Korea with concern.Yoon, a career prosecutor, squeezed out a victory in the tightest presidential election in South Korean history in 2022, riding a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars.But he has been unpopular, with his support ratings hovering at around 20% for months and the opposition captured nearly two-thirds of seats in parliament in an election in April.Martial law been declared more than a dozen times since South Korea was established as a republic in 1948. In 1980, a group of military officers forced then-President Choi Kyu-hah to proclaim martial law to crush calls for the restoration of democratic government. More

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hinted that four interest rate cuts could be in the pipeline over the coming year.
Bailey told the Financial Times that inflation had come down faster than the central bank had been anticipating.
Markets are currently pricing in three rate cuts from the Bank of England over the next year, with investors expecting the institution to hold rates steady at its December meeting.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, at the central bank’s headquarters in the City of London, U.K., on Nov. 29, 2024. 
Hollie Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Wednesday signaled that the U.K. could be on track for four interest rate cuts over the next year, if inflation continues on a downward path.
Asked during a Financial Times video interview whether the central bank would be poised to carry out four quarter-point cuts over the coming year, if its projections of “a little bit of [inflation] persistence” come to fruition, Bailey responded, “Exactly.”

Markets are currently pricing in a hold on interest rates at the Bank of England’s December meeting, according to LSEG data, followed by three 25-basis-point rate cuts. If all four trims materialize, they would bring down the bank’s key interest to around 3.75%, adding to the two BoE reductions this year to date. The institution began cuts over the summer, with Bailey telling reporters in November that the bank would need to take a “gradual” approach to lowering rates.
“Monetary policy will need to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation returning sustainably to the 2% target over the medium term have dissipated further,” he said at the time.
Surveying the inflation picture on Wednesday, the BoE governor added that consumer prices had come down faster than the central bank had anticipated.
“A year ago, we were saying that inflation today would be around 1% higher than it actually is,” he said during the interview. “And that, I think, is a good test of the [central banking] regime.”
U.K. inflation surprised markets with a rise to a sharply higher-than-expected 2.3% in October, up from the 1.7% of September.

Sterling was trading flat on Wednesday morning, reaching $1.2671 by 11:52 a.m., erasing some of its earlier losses.
Meanwhile, the yield on the U.K.’s 10-year gilts was flat at around 4.273%. More

Political uncertainty in France is impacting the country’s services sector, according to a recent survey. The HCOB France services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 46.9 in November, a decrease from the 49.2 recorded in October, signaling a contraction in the sector’s activity. The final reading, however, did show a slight improvement over the flash services PMI of 45.7 points reported earlier in November.The broader final composite PMI, which encompasses both services and manufacturing, also experienced a decline, registering at 45.9 points in November, down from 48.1 points in October. This marks a continuous loss of momentum for France’s services sector, which has seen three consecutive months of declining ground. The temporary boost in business experienced during the summer, attributed in part to the Paris Olympics, has since been overshadowed by growing political concerns.Hamburg Commercial Bank economist Tariq Kamal Chaudhry commented on the downturn, noting the fleeting nature of the positive trends observed during the summer months. Chaudhry highlighted that the recent data underscores the vulnerability of business sentiment amid the political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government. The potential collapse of Barnier’s minority government, particularly due to a budget deadlock, is adding to the anxiety within the French business community.Furthermore, the survey indicated that French business confidence in November fell to its lowest level in over four years, reflecting the apprehension felt by businesses in the face of the political instability. The situation with the government and the subsequent impact on the euro zone’s second-largest economy remains a focal point of concern for investors.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

German companies operating in China are experiencing unprecedentedly low business sentiment due to increased competition and a slowing Chinese economy, according to the German Chamber of Commerce in China. A survey conducted by the chamber revealed that over half of the German businesses reported a deterioration in industry conditions this year. Additionally, a mere 32% anticipate any improvement by 2025, marking the most pessimistic outlook since the survey’s inception in 2007.Clas Neumann, chair of the German Chamber of Commerce’s east China chapter, highlighted the challenges faced this year, leading to a negative revision of future expectations. Despite this, he noted that a significant 92% of German companies are committed to sustaining their presence in China’s vast economy.Germany serves as China’s largest European trading partner, with major companies like Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), BMW (ETR:BMWG), and Bosch (NS:BOSH) having substantial investments in the country. This troubling sentiment among German firms echoes similar concerns raised by a British business survey conducted the previous day, which also depicted a gloomy scenario.Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, though only a small fraction of the country’s total investment at 3%, has seen a decline for two consecutive years. This trend suggests waning confidence from international investors. The chamber’s findings show that 87% of the 51% of German businesses planning to increase their investment in China over the next two years are doing so primarily to compete with local firms. This represents an annual growth of eight percentage points in investment motivation.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

In November, the euro zone experienced a sharp decline in business activity, with a significant contraction in the services sector adding to the downturn already seen in manufacturing. The final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key indicator of economic health, compiled by S&P Global for the currency union, dropped to 48.3, down from October’s neutral score of 50.0.Although the November figure was marginally above the preliminary estimate of 48.1, it remains below the crucial 50 threshold that distinguishes economic expansion from contraction. The downturn in services is particularly concerning as it had previously been supporting the overall economy. This marks the sector’s first contraction since January, as noted by Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, who highlighted the negative implications for growth prospects within the major euro economies.The services PMI fell to 49.5 in November from 51.6, indicating the first contraction in the sector this year. Moreover, the composite new business index, which measures overall demand, saw a steep decline to 46.8 from 47.9, reaching its lowest point in 2023.Despite the overall downturn, there was a slight increase in employment within the services sector, with the employment index inching up to 51.0 from the previous month’s 50.3. This suggests that services firms are still recruiting even amidst reduced business activity.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its economic growth forecast for Germany, predicting a slower rate of 0.7% in 2025, a decrease from the previously projected 1.1%. Isabell Koske of the OECD highlighted the nation’s expected underperformance, stating, “In 2025, Germany will bring up the rear among OECD countries.”This downgrade comes in the wake of political turmoil following the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition last month, which is anticipated to exacerbate economic challenges. The recent victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has also heightened concerns over potential trade conflicts with the United States, Germany’s key trading ally.The OECD pointed to the heightened medium-term uncertainty stemming from the inability to finalize the 2025 budget and the disintegration of the coalition governmentAs a result of the political instability, several economic stimulus measures planned by the government are now unlikely to be enacted before the early elections scheduled for February 2025.Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is expected to trail the euro-zone’s average growth rates of 1.3% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025. Despite the near-term challenges, the OECD foresees an uptick in economic activity for Germany in 2026, with growth accelerating to 1.2%.Supporting factors for the economy include low inflation and increasing wages, which are projected to bolster real incomes and private consumption. The OECD also anticipates a gradual recovery in private investment, fueled by high corporate savings and a slow decline in interest rates. However, persistent policy uncertainty is likely to continue dampening investor confidence, according to the OECD’s economic outlook.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has indicated that a series of gradual interest rate cuts is likely to occur over the coming year, asserting that the decline in inflation is solidly taking hold. In remarks made at the Financial Times Global Boardroom event, Bailey emphasized that while inflation had decreased to the Bank’s target during the summer, expectations were set for a subsequent rise above the target level.Despite a drop in British inflation that aligned with the Bank of England’s 2% target over the summer months, October saw a larger-than-anticipated increase, propelling inflation rates above the target once more. The acceleration of underlying price growth was also noted.Following Bailey’s interview, the British pound experienced a downturn against the U.S. dollar. The Bank of England had factored in financial market expectations of four interest rate reductions in the next year into its latest economic forecasts. Bailey clarified to companies anticipating these cuts that the Bank’s projections are based on current market rates, which had indeed suggested four cuts, and he stressed the term ‘gradual’ in the Bank’s report.Bailey also addressed the complexities of predicting inflation in the context of increased protectionism and the potential rise in trade tariffs should Donald Trump return to the White House. He stated that while trade tariffs influence traded prices, the overall impact on inflation is complicated and depends on various factors, including the responses of other countries and the behavior of exchange rates.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More