Shares in Carnival plc, the UK domiciled holding company in the Carnival Corporation & plc group, fell nearly 3% in London to close near their 52 week low on general market turmoil and news of a new $1.0 billion debt issue.

The shares dropped 2.96% to 976p on Friday - shares on the London market are traded in pence rather than pounds - only a fraction above their 965p low of the past 52 weeks.

Leading stock indices closed higher in London on Friday, but the market has faced high volatility on concerns over inflation and the prospect of a recession. 

Carnival Corporation, the US listed and Panama domiciled holding company in the Carnival group, said yesterday it has issues $1.0 billion  worth of new debt at an interest rate of 10.50%, which would mature in 2030 and which would be used to refinance existing borrowing. 

Some market commentators noted that the new debt issue shows that the cruise industry has not left challenging times behind its back yet.

On the other hand, another market commentator noted that people are spending their money rather on experiences, such as travel, rather than at shops after two years of Covid-19 restrictions.

Senior executives of the three largest listed cruise shipping companies - Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH - have all said in their latest conference calls that the booking environment is encouraging.