As foreign companies seek to exit Russia over the war in Ukraine, they face the prospect that Russian bankruptcy law could be used to seize assets and even lead to criminal penalties, Reuters reported. Here is how that could work. In the U.S., bankruptcy laws are meant to give indebted companies a fresh start. Distressed companies in the U.S. usually enter bankruptcy willingly, and the law lets them retain existing management and control over assets. Russia's law, however, generally prioritizes the needs of creditors who are owed money.

The European Central Bank will take action if it sees second-round inflation effects and a de-anchoring of medium-term inflation expectations, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos told German newspaper Handelsblatt, Reuters reported. Earlier this month, the ECB accelerated its exit from unconventional stimulus, and investors have been ramping up their bets on higher ECB rates. De Guindos told Handelsblatt that second-round effects and de-anchoring of price expectations would be "deciding factors" for the central bank. "If we see those, then we will act," he said.

Western companies that maintain a presence in Russia to provide essential goods such as food and medicines are trying to strike a balance between President Vladimir Putin's government and advocates of Ukraine pulling them in opposite directions, Reuters reported. More than 400 companies have withdrawn from Russia since the launch of its attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to a list compiled by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management.

A truck drivers' strike for better working conditions has caused disruptions at some supermarkets and certain industries in Spain, with dairy food producers complaining on Thursday of some supply shortages as they received less milk, Reuters reported.

Some creditors have received payment, in dollars, of Russian bond coupons that fell due this week, two market sources said on Thursday, meaning Russia may for now have averted what would have been its first external bond default in a century, Reuters reported. The Russian finance ministry said earlier that it had sent funds to cover $117 million in coupon payments on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Tomislav Pili writes, Russian bankruptcy, which is increasingly likely to occur soon, will not be felt by the Croatian financial system, and global finances should not be shaken by such a scenario either, according to Croatian analysts, Croatia News reported. After announcing on Monday that the Russian Ministry of Finance will pay out interest to foreign investors in rubles instead of dollars, the story coming out of Moscow altered Russia's state treasury has announced an order has been sent to pay 117.2 million U.S.

HSBC is buying a plot of virtual real estate in an online gaming space called The Sandbox for an undisclosed sum, the bank's first major foray into the metaverse as it shrinks its UK branch network, Reuters reported. The digital push will enable HSBC to engage with sports, e-sports and gaming fans via its slice of turf in The Sandbox, a virtual space majority-owned by Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands.

Russians are starting to feel the economic pinch after Western countries imposed an unprecedented set of sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. Following weeks of mounting tensions, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a land, sea and air invasion on February 24, triggering a wave of financial restrictions that have plunged the value of the rouble, skyrocketed inflation and left many jobless.

Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo will detail the impact of the Ukraine conflict on its 2022 earnings when it reports first-quarter results in May, its CEO told a financial conference, according to a person who attended the event, Reuters reported. Addressing the Morgan Stanley European Financials conference on Thursday, CEO Carlo Messina confirmed the bank's financial targets but said details on the net income impact for this year would be provided when Intesa next reports earnings.

The Bank of England raised interest rates on Thursday for a third meeting running, as expected, but softened its language on the need for further increases from here, Reuters reported. Eight out of nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to raise the Bank Rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to raise borrowing costs for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe voted to keep rates on hold, warning of a big hit to demand from higher commodity prices.