Amadeus continues to raise financing in the current difficult situation. The EIB’s loan’s principal will be used to finance research and development activities for a variety of new technology solutions for airlines, airports, travel agencies and railways. The company will carry out this R&D in 2020-2021.
Carsten Menke, Head Next Generation Research, Julius Baer | The gold rally continues. Prices pushed higher yesterday, approaching USD 1,800 per ounce for the first time since 2011. Looking back, there were just 26 days in gold’s history on which it traded above that level, almost all of them occurring in August and September 2011, i.e. during the eurozone debt crisis. Holdings of physically backed gold products, our preferred gauge of safe-haven demand, recorded 95 tonnes of inflows in June, taking the year-to-date total to more than 710 tonnes. These are the biggest inflows ever.
Colonial has limited the impact of the coronavirus crisis to 2% of the total rent it charges for its office buildings. Depending on how the situation evolves, this percentage could rise to a maximum of 6% for the year as a whole, according to chairman Juan José Brugera. This rate is equivalent to about 21 million euros, in virtue of the 352 million euros in rental income recorded in 2019.
Santander Corporate & Investment | The launch of the MSCI ESG Screened Europe iTraxx Index, based on the MSCI iTraxx Europe Series 33 Index and the application of three MSCI filters, took place with great fanfare on June 21. Enel and Iberdrola have AAA ratings from MSCI for their ESG (environmental, social and governance) characteristics, but they have presumably been excluded from the index because of their involvement in nuclear and coal-fired energy production.
The main reasons for the downgrade are the economic deterioration in the regions where the bank is present, especially Mexico and Spain. However, it also flags that even after losing a rating notch, BBVA has sufficient financial cushion, geographical diversification and a good competitive position in its reference markets to avoid being affected by new downward revisions in the short term.
Through one of its subsidiaries, Siemens Gamesa has received a conditional order from Innogy SE for the supply of 100 units of the SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine. The order, with a total potential of 1.4 GW, is for the Sofia wind farm, located 195 km off the UK’s northeast coast. The deal also includes a service and maintenance contract. The order represents 4.9% of Siemens Gamesa’s portfolio at end-March.
Moody’s has warned that over half of Spain’s non-financial companies rated by the credit agency are at risk of being downgraded in the next 18 months. This is in light of the prospect that their solvency will continue to weaken, even after the government relaxes restrictions on mobility and travel and eases social distancing. In fact, the ratings agency highlights that between March and May 2020, it took 29 negative actions on the ratings of Spanish non-financial companies.
Adam Vettese (eToro) | Bitcoin is not the top cryptoasset, according to a new Chinese report that ranked global cryptoassets based on their technical merits. According to a report from China’s Centre for Information and Industry Development (CCID) Bitcoin, the world’s oldest and largest crypto asset by market cap, ranked 12th.
Prointec, Indra’s civil engineering subsidiary, will participate in the largest railway infrastructure project in Europe, Rail Baltica. This is a rail network for passengers and goods linking the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-t). In consortium with German engineering consultancy Obermeyer Planen + Beraten GmbH, it will design a 93.5 km section of the works for a total of €10.8 M.
Mona Mahajan (Allianz GI) | With equities rallying more than 30% since late March, driven most recently by cyclicals, financial markets were perhaps due for a period of consolidation. New risks could emerge, but we continue to believe in the ongoing economic re-opening story — so cyclical sectors may remain market leaders in the near term. Markets could be supported further as elevated levels of cash are put back to work.