Cineworld shuts UK, U.S. theaters, impacting 45,000 jobs

Cineworld will close all of its UK and U.S. movie theaters later this week, leaving as many as 45,000 workers unemployed for the foreseeable future as it strives to survive the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the film industry.

Confirming weekend reports on the closures by Reuters and UK media, the company's statement on Monday spelt out the scale of the job losses, which take in ancillary staff including cleaners and security as well as its own employees.

The world's second-biggest cinema chain, which reiterated it was looking at all ways of raising additional funds, said it was suspending operations at all of its 536 Regal theatres in the U.S. and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK from Oct. 8.

"Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time, when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status," the UK-listed company said.

It said its main commercial priorities now were to cut costs and hold onto the cash it has.

Cineworld began reopening in July after virus-related restrictions started to ease, but the further postponement of James Bond film "No Time To Die" and other releases including Marvel's "Black Widow" have left the months ahead looking bleak.

London brokerages estimated shares in the company, which have plummeted more than 80 percent this year, would drop another 30 percent from current levels when the market opens on Monday.

-reuters-

Creditors take control of struggling Cirque du Soleil

MONTREAL, Canada - A group of Cirque du Soleil creditors has announced it will take control of the heavily indebted Canadian circus troupe.

Suitors had until Tuesday afternoon to better the proposal of the dozen lenders, led by the Canadian fund Catalyst Capital Group.

The world's most famous circus troupe, placed under the protection of the courts, later said that the proposal -- estimated at more than $1.2 billion -- had not been topped, according to Canadian media.

The creditors' offer will still have to be validated by the Quebec courts in the coming weeks.

According to the Globe and Mail, the creditors will inject $300 million to $375 million into the circus and also agree to reduce the circus's guaranteed debt from $1.1 billion to $300 million. 

Gabriel de Alba, managing director of Catalyst, welcomed the "great result for Cirque", its employees, artists and partners, in an email sent to AFP.

"Now with the company's recent missteps put behind, we are eager to close the transaction quickly and support the company as it rekindles the magic and artistry that have made Cirque du Soleil an iconic global brand and creative force," he said.

Founded in Quebec in 1984, the troupe of acrobats had to cancel 44 productions around the world in March, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It has laid off 4,679 acrobats and technicians, 95 percent of its employees.

The agreement with the group of creditors, announced in mid-July, replaces the takeover offer that it concluded at the end of June with its current shareholders, the American TPG and Chinese Fosun, as well as the Caisse de deposit and placement of Quebec (CDPQ).

Agence France-Presse

Gold hits record high on haven demand as markets rally sputters

HONG KONG -- Gold hit a record high Monday as investors rushed into the safe-haven on concerns about China-US tensions, a spike in virus infections around the world and a lack of progress on a new stimulus bill in Washington.

After months of healthy rallies across equity markets -- fuelled by trillions of dollars in government and central bank support -- traders are beginning to step back as they weigh the long-term economic impact of the coronavirus.

With vast monetary easing measures put in place by the Federal Reserve pushing the dollar lower against most other currencies, gold is flying, hitting an all-time high of $1,944.71, well above its previous record of $1,921.18 seen in 2011. It later pulled back slightly.

Eyes are on the Fed's next policy meeting this week, with some predicting further measures to boost the economy -- possibly negative interest rates -- that could put more pressure on the dollar and send bullion above $2,000.

There are also concerns that a worse-than-forecast reading on second-quarter US gross domestic product could spark another dollar sell-off.

While the weak dollar has been a key catalyst for the metal's advance, gold has also been boosted by its attractiveness as a haven in times of turmoil with China-US relations souring by the day.

"Strong gains are inevitable as we enter a period much like the post-global financial crisis environment, where gold prices soared to record levels as a result of copious amounts of Fed money being pumped into the financial system," said Gavin Wendt, senior resource analyst at MineLife.

The greenback was down against most other currencies, with the euro at its highest since September 2018, while higher-yielding units such as the South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah were also up.

US stimulus struggle

Stock markets were mixed as investors fret over the impact of the virus on the economy.

Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and Wellington were all in the red, while Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Jakarta were higher.

The tech-rich Taipei market ended at a record high thanks to a 10 percent surge in heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactuirng Company, which has been riding a rally in the sector thanks to people working from home during the virus.

London, Paris opened with losses, but Frankfurt was up.

Investors are growing concerned about slow progress on a new US stimulus programme, with Republicans still to present proposals worth around $1 trillion, which is less than a third of the plan set out by Democrats.

There are concerns an agreement could take some time, hitting millions of Americans whose much-needed extra unemployment benefits are about to come to an end.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's stock market launched a new index Monday tracking China's tech giants. The Hang Seng Tech Index tracks the top 30 tech firms listed in the city, including Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent, Xiaomi and Meituan Dianping.

Hong Kong has become an increasingly attractive place for Chinese tech companies to list, especially as they face greater scrutiny and restrictions in the United States.

Agence France-Presse