China Defends Industrial Policy Ahead of Key U.S. and EU Trade Talks 
WestJet Cancels 86 Flights as CUPE Strike Threat Disrupts Travel 
Apple Stock Slides 7% as Weak Sales Forecast Overshadows Quarterly Earnings Beat 
South Korea Exports Surge 62.8% in July on AI Chip Demand 
Trump-Backed Russia Sanctions Bill Faces House Hurdles Over Tariff Powers 
Oil Prices Drop Nearly 5% as Trump Delays Iran Strike, Markets Eye Strait of Hormuz Deal 
Colgate-Palmolive Reaffirms 2026 Sales Outlook Despite Weak North America Demand 
UK Stock Market May Outperform if AI Bubble Bursts, Capital Economics Says 
Roblox Stock Drops 16% as Q3 Bookings Forecast Misses Expectations 
Gold Ends July Higher as Weaker Dollar Offsets Fed Inflation Concerns 
UK Economy Faces 2027 Recession Risk if Strait of Hormuz Stays Closed, EY Warns 
Meta Cuts Wipro Outsourcing by 25% After AI-Led Restructuring 
Alibaba Stock Jumps as Qwen 3.8-MAX AI Model Intensifies China's AI Race 
Novo Nordisk Eyes Turnaround as Oral Wegovy Challenges Eli Lilly in Weight-Loss Drug Race 
Oil Prices Head for 21% Monthly Surge as Middle East Conflict Fuels Supply Fears 
Japanese Yen Rallies as Intervention Hopes and BOJ Outlook Weigh on USD/JPY 
Asian Stocks Rally as AI Optimism Lifts Markets; Yen Holds Gains Ahead of BOJ Decision 
The International Hotels Group, or IHG, which runs the Holiday Inn Hotel, announced on Monday, June 27, that it has decided to withdraw its business in Russia. The hotel and resort company said that it made the decision due to the growing challenges it faces in operating its business in the country amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Aside from Holiday Inn, IHG also owns other well-known luxury hotels, including Crowne Plaza, Hualuxe, and Regent hotel chains that have locations around the world. The company said it had already halted all of its new investments and development activities in Russia, as per Reuters.
The IHG hotel group further revealed that its corporate office in Moscow, the capital of Russia, has been shut down as well. As part of its plans to leave the country, it is also in talks with the owners of IHG-branded hotels to fix and revise their franchise contracts that include long-term management agreements.
“We remain deeply troubled by the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it has caused. Following the outbreak of the war, we announced the suspension of future investments, development activity and new hotel openings in Russia and that we did not intend to resume any investment or development activity in the foreseeable future,” the IHG Group said in a statement.
The company went on to say, “These steps followed significant donations to our humanitarian charity partners and a commitment to work with hotel owners in other countries to shelter refugees.”
Seeking Alpha reported that IHG met up with the owners of at least 28 properties, and the meetings have been going on since April. But in the last couple of meetings, the company ultimately decided to just pull out its operations, and this is the main topic of the talks.
The IHG hotels that will be affected by the company’s decision include the 5-star luxury hotel called Tverskaya located in St. Petersburg, Holiday Inn in Perm, and others located in Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, and Samara. Finally, the share price of the IHG hotel group increased a bit in the waning hours of June 27th’s trading session.
