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Preston Hollow Capital, an independent specialty municipal finance company based in Dallas, outlined its response to the recent ruling by the Delaware Chancery Court, which found Nuveen guilty of using "threats and lies in a successful attempt to damage [Preston Hollow Capital] in its business relationships." The ruling was delivered on Thursday, April 9, 2020 in a 60-page Memorandum Opinion from Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III.Vice Chancellor Glasscock found Nuveen liable for the anti-competitive and injurious actions of its team led by Nuveen Head of Municipals, John Miller, in intentionally and illegally interfering with Preston Hollow's business relations with its primary lender and six major Wall Street investment banks.Jim Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Preston Hollow Capital, stated, "Municipal borrowers deserve a truly competitive marketplace where they are able to select the capital provider that meets their needs in funding their vital projects, not the needs of a large money manager like Nuveen. This is, in essence, the very injustice that the Vice Chancellor exposed. His ruling meticulously details Nuveen's campaign of anti-competitive, untruthful, unfair and destructive conduct carried out by Miller and his team against Preston Hollow in our marketplace. It's important to remember that the real 'winners' are municipal borrowers across the country, as we expect Nuveen to heed the Court's stern admonition that it would be 'exceedingly unwise for Nuveen to mount a similar campaign of malicious behavior' against Preston Hollow going forward."Nuveen said in an emailed statement the firm “respectfully disagree[s] with the court’s finding that Nuveen tortiously interfered with Preston Hollow’s business.”
Summary: Since the global outbreak of coronavirus in early 2020, there has been a move to stockpile food, increase prices, and in some cases, impose export restrictions. In the U.S., as the numbers of those infected and dying rises and unemployment rapidly rockets upwards, consumer behavior has turned more cautious and food distribution centers are swamped by hungry families. This situation is not helped by the closure of restaurants and concerns over distribution systems and the health of drivers who transport food and other household items. There are also increasing questions over food cultivation and the labor needed to bring crops to harvest. Although it is too early to be sounding the alarm regarding a food security crisis, which could lead to social turmoil, the seeds for such a development are possibly being planted. The risk is the creation of a food crisis when there really isn’t one – yet. This issue is likely to become more significant if the pandemic continues through the summer, dimming hopes of economic revival and raising the specter of food shortages.
Summary: Since the global outbreak of coronavirus in early 2020, there has been a move to stockpile food, increase prices, and in some cases, impose export restrictions. In the U.S., as the numbers of those infected and dying rises and unemployment rapidly rockets upwards, consumer behavior has turned more cautious and food distribution centers are swamped by hungry families. This situation is not helped by the closure of restaurants and concerns over distribution systems and the health of drivers who transport food and other household items. There are also increasing questions over food cultivation and the labor needed to bring crops to harvest. Although it is too early to be sounding the alarm regarding a food security crisis, the seeds for such a development are possibly being planted, which could lead to social turmoil. The risk is the creation of a food crisis when there really isn’t one – yet. This issue is likely to become more significant if the pandemic continues through the summer, dimming hopes of economic revival and raising the specter of food shortages.
Summary: It is difficult to escape coronavirus. Between the major cable networks running scoreboards numbering the infected and dead and the barrage of stories on social media, the virus dominates the news flow. The only other major story beyond coronavirus is the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which is causing a considerable amount of discomfort in the U.S. and Canadian oil patches. The virus and the oil price war are a one-two punch to the global economy and are reshaping the world. As 2020 plays out, our approach to cross-border economic relations, travel, urban planning, healthcare and the structure of daily life is changing. The bottom line is that coronavirus is the black swan that most of us failed to see.
David Hitchcock participated in S&P Global Ratings' Webinar on State Ratings and quietly retired at the end of the day. It was a silent send-off for a great analyst. Your correspondent checked in with him the very next day.
At the May 8th Federal Reserve FOMC meeting interest rates were left at 4.25%-4.50%. This was the third consecutive time the US central bank has held rates steady.
Smith’s Research & Gradings supports President Trump’s new approach to federal disaster response in Los Angeles and North Carolina. “The National Infrastructure Advisory Council’s (NIAC) draft report presented last December, recommends exploring the use of Federal Block Grants to States for emergency assistance. The sovereignty of States needs to be the focus during local emergency, which the President has so forcefully inculcated,” according to Terence Smith, founder of Smith’s Research & Gradings.
Trump’s economic policies are a major gamble and will set the tone of global markets, both trade and financial. If nothing else, 2025 will be a year of disruptive change and market volatility and tariffs will play a major role on the global economic stage – for better or for worse.
State budgets are in a sound position entering fiscal 2025, according to Fitch Ratings.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are offering plans that highlight major differences in how they would approach the US economy.
European parliamentary elections were less a shock to the system and more of a signal that many people feel disconnected from what Brussels dictates on the policy front, leaving politics at the national level the place where the action is going to be.
Smith's Research & Gradings focuses on the people, sectors and news that matter the most to you. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets. Our approach was inspired by the need for a consistent analytical approach across all asset classes.
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Smith's Research & Gradings focuses on the people, sectors and news that matter the most to you. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets. Our approach was inspired by the need for a consistent analytical approach across all asset classes. Smith's Gradings are a time-tested, performance proven, and principles-based approach to risk. We go beyond the numbers to connect the dots for the world's decision makers. We can enhance the performance of investments in assets around the globe, while helping to ensure the safety of portfolios here at home.
Let a subscription to The Global Economic Doctor provide you with access to sovereign news, analysis and insights. Concise and powerful, the Global Economic Doctor spans the globe, giving you a read on how today’s market developments and key players are impacting your business around the planet.
