Morning Bid: No Messi magic for markets

Soccer fans enjoyed an extraordinary final of the World Cup on Sunday as high emotion and intense drama gave way to Lionel Messi leading Argentina to victory against France in a penalty shootout.
Improbable bets on break of Hong Kong dollar peg adding up

It’s what is known in the markets as a “tail risk”: a highly unlikely scenario in which Hong Kong’s currency peg suddenly snaps. Yet market pricing suggests bets on such a shock are building in the hedge fund world, and some traders say it makes a lot of sense.
Italy’s Enel to sell assets and focus on six main markets

Enel plans asset sales worth 21 billion euros ($21.5 billion) to reduce net debt and focus its transition to cleaner energy on six core countries, the Italian utility said on Tuesday.
FTX collapse being scrutinized by Bahamas authorities

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX is the subject of scrutiny from government investigators in the Bahamas, who are looking at whether any “criminal misconduct occurred,” the Royal Bahamas Police said on Sunday.
EXCLUSIVE Sea’s Shopee shuts operations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico -sources

Sea Ltd’s (SE.N) e-commerce arm told employees on Thursday it was shutting local operations in Chile, Colombia and Mexico, and leaving Argentina entirely, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter and an internal email.
Mexican used-car startup Kavak expands outside Latin America

Mexican used-car platform Kavak is investing $180 million to open offices and make its platform available in four new countries, including Turkey – its first location outside Latin America, the company said Wednesday.
EXCLUSIVE India makes record U.S. soyoil purchases as drought parches South America

Indian traders have contracted to import a record 100,000 tonnes of soyoil from the United States because of limited supplies from drought-hit South America, at a time when prices of rival palm oil are scaling record highs, three dealers told Reuters.
Bunge quarterly profit rises 17% on agribusiness boost

Global farm commodities trader Bunge Ltd (BG.N) reported a 17.1% rise in fourth-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday as large oilseed crops in North America and Europe and strong demand for processed meal and oil bolstered its core agribusiness.
Analysis: Argentina’s strategy toward IMF deal hits a wall of doubt

Argentina’s insistence on its deficit spending plan is putting it on a fresh collision course with the International Monetary Fund, though analysts predict the country will be forced to change tack and clinch a deal to avoid a bigger crisis.
Argentina’s economy rebounds strongly in third quarter

Argentina’s economy expanded 11.9% on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2021, the country’s statistics agency said on Thursday, in line with expectations of a sharp rebound from the 10.2% contractionin the same period last year.