Most of Envision's term lenders have been looking for ways to fend off a possible debt deal between the company and Pacific Investment Management Co., said people familiar with the matter. Pimco, which holds roughly $900 million of the loans, broke away from other lenders earlier this year and has been negotiating with the physician-staffing company one-on-one, exploring a deal to raise more than $1 billion in new secured debt, the people said.
Eurozone Growth Remained Strong in March; Challenging 2Q Seen Ahead
The eurozone economy maintained a strong rate of growth in March, easing slightly from February's five-month high as looser pandemic restrictions continued to accommodate rising levels of business activity, S&P Global said.
The eurozone composite purchasing managers index was 54.9 in March, a slight decline from 55.5 in February but still indicative of strong growth in business activity across the eurozone, as readings above 50.0 signal an expansion.
Private-Equity Giants Back New Nonprofit Promoting Employee Ownership
A group of large private-equity firms has agreed to get stock into the hands of more employees at companies they own in an effort to address income inequality.
A coalition of more than 60 groups that also includes banks, pension funds and others has signed on to back a new nonprofit aimed at promoting broad-based stock ownership, officials told The Wall Street Journal.
In Australia, Central Bank Reveals More Hawkish Stance
SYDNEY-The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its official cash rate at emergency settings, but nudged open the door to an interest-rate increase in the months ahead with a more hawkish outlook.
The country's central bank on Tuesday said it would keep its benchmark rate at 0.10%, as economists had expected, but dropped remarks that it was prepared to be patient from policy guidance as it acknowledged signs that wage growth could accelerate.
How Hackers Target Bridges Between Blockchains for Crypto Heists
A $540 million cryptocurrency heist revealed last week marked the latest in a string of eye-popping hacks hitting a technology seen as a linchpin to building a more decentralized internet.
Hackers moved the funds by exploiting the Ronin Network, software that allows users of the online game "Axie Infinity" to transfer digital assets across different blockchains. Growing sums of money exchanged over such bridges has turned them into targets.
U.S. and Allies Vow Action Over Reports of Russian Atrocities in Ukraine
BUCHA, Ukraine-Western leaders vowed to investigate alleged war crimes in Ukraine and impose new penalties on Moscow over purported Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians that have sparked international condemnation and outrage.
President Biden called for a war crimes trial over the accounts of rape and killings of hundreds of civilians in Bucha and other formerly Russian-occupied towns around the Ukrainian capital and said Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable.
SEC Weighs Path Forward for Crypto Trading Platforms
WASHINGTON-The Securities and Exchange Commission is studying ways to make it more feasible for cryptocurrency trading platforms to register with the agency as exchanges, Chairman Gary Gensler said Monday.
Mr. Gensler has been urging crypto-trading platforms such as Coinbase Global Inc. to submit to SEC oversight for months, saying the firms allow investors to buy and sell assets that meet the legal definition of securities. The trading platforms have refused. They dispute the assertion that they list securities and cite a variety of technical reasons why they view SEC regulation as impractical.
Senate Advances Judge Jackson Nomination With Three Republicans Supporting Her
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson cleared a procedural hurdle on her way to all-but-certain confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, as three Republicans joined all 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats in voting to move her nomination forward Monday night.
The 53-47 tally likely previews Judge Jackson's confirmation vote later this week, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska ensuring her nomination will have bipartisan support in an era of deep polarization on Capitol Hill.
Shanghai's Covid-19 Cases Rise Above 13,000 as City Extends Lockdown
Rather than emerging from a two-stage lockdown on Tuesday as planned, most of Shanghai's 25 million residents remained homebound as the city's daily Covid-19 cases continued to rise.
Shanghai reported over 13,000 new local infections Tuesday, more than tripling the number reported nine days ago, when it said it would close down half of the city at a time for four days. The part of the city locked down in the first phase had been scheduled to emerge Friday. The second stage was due to end at 3 a.m. Tuesday.
U.S. Seizes Yacht, Seeking Forfeiture and Ratcheting Up Pressure on Russian Oligarchs
U.S. and Spanish authorities seized a $90 million super yacht in Spain that they said is owned by a sanctioned oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking the first such seizure in the Biden administration's efforts to hunt down the luxury real estate, private jets, yachts and other assets of Russian elites stashed around the globe.
Unlike a handful of seizures of yachts and villas in Europe since Moscow invaded Ukraine, U.S. officials said Monday they would seek the yacht's forfeiture, alleging it represents the spoils of a crime. Governments have wide latitude to sanction individuals, subjecting their assets to potential freezes as long as the sanctions remain in effect. Such moves typically don't require proof of criminality. They can be challenged, but the process can take years.
Congressional Negotiators Settle on $10 Billion for Covid-19 Tests, Treatments
WASHINGTON-Senators unveiled a $10 billion deal to further fund the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic with money repurposed from earlier aid rounds, well below what the White House originally requested for vaccines and therapeutics.
The package will allow the U.S. to purchase supplies, including more tests and vaccines, that the Biden administration said would be needed to continue to fight the virus. The $10 billion pulls from unused money in earlier bills passed by Congress, rather than representing new spending.
Sacramento, Calif., Shooting Suspect Arrested, Victims Identified
Police in Sacramento, Calif., have arrested one suspect in connection to Sunday's deadly mass shooting that sent late-night revelers in a popular bar district running for cover amid wild gunfire.
Dandrae Martin, 26 years old, was taken into custody and charged with assault and illegal firearm possession, Sacramento police said Monday.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
- Nothing major scheduled
Economic Indicators (ET):
0815 Mar Official International Reserves
0830 Feb International merchandise trade
Stocks to Watch:
Lion Electric Shares Climb Nearly 6% on Order for 50 Electric School Buses
Lion Electric Co. shares gained 5.85% to $8.38 in after-hours trading after the company said it received an order for 50 electric school buses from Autobus Campeau in Quebec.
Lion, a Montreal electric truck and bus maker, said it plans to deliver the EV school buses in the first quarter of 2023.
Shares of Lion advanced 17.7% in the past month.
Other News:
Canadian Companies Anticipate Pervasive Price Rises, Bank of Canada Survey Finds
A record number of Canadian companies expect significant rises in the prices they pay for goods and what they charge customers as a result of labor shortages, supply-chain constraints and robust consumer demand, according to the Bank of Canada's latest business-outlook survey.
Some economists say the report published Monday, which includes a special section on the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, likely cements the case for a half-point increase in the central bank's benchmark rate on April 13, when it is scheduled to announce its latest policy decision. Annualized inflation in Canada rose 5.7% in February, a three-decade high, and there's worry that price pressures are broadening.
More than two-thirds of businesses surveyed for the quarterly publication said they expected inflation above 3% for the next two years. A separate online survey the Bank of Canada conducted in early March, related to the conflict in Ukraine, indicated half of companies expect the war to affect their operations, mostly through higher costs for commodities and relevant supply-chain difficulties.
"Many firms plan to pass conflict-related cost increases on to their customers," the central bank said.
Market Talk:
Ruby Pipeline Bondholders Concerned About Bankruptcy Governance
Bondholders of Ruby Pipeline LLC are concerned about the company's governance as it investigates legal claims against its owners Kinder Morgan Inc. and Pembina Pipeline Corp., a bondholder lawyer says Monday. Ruby's unsecured bondholders should either be refinanced and paid off or else given the keys to the company, their lawyer Damian Schaible says during the company's debut appearance in bankruptcy court. The pipeline, which takes gas from the Rocky Mountain basins to the Pacific Northwest, filed for bankruptcy last week after talks with bondholders broke down. Schaible says a management committee acting for Ruby has input from its owners, which took hundreds of millions of dollars out of the company in recent years. "We have very real concern about that," he says. The transfers to Kinder Morgan and Pembian are being investigated.
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
00:30/JPN: Mar Japan Services PMI
06:00/RUS: Mar Russian Services PMI
06:45/FRA: Feb Industrial production index
07:45/ITA: Mar Italy Services PMI
07:50/FRA: Mar France Services PMI
07:55/GER: Mar Germany Services PMI
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
04-05-22 0617ET
