British subprime lender Amigo said on Monday it expects court proceedings over its new rescue plan to take at least four months once submitted, and laid out plans for an equity raise to support the business, dragging its shares nearly 30% lower, Reuters reported. Amigo had flagged a potential equity raise in August after London's High Court rejected its older rescue plan that would have cut compensation payouts to customers who complained about Amigo mis-selling loans to them.

Two more energy suppliers in the U.K. have failed, taking the total to 23 companies that have collapsed since the start of August in the biggest shake out of the country’s retail power and gas market, Bloomberg News reported. Entice Energy, with 5,400 customers, and Orbit Energy, which served 65,000 households, announced they are ceasing to trade, according to regulator Ofgem. The watchdog will help find a new firm to take over the accounts. The U.K. energy market is in chaos. The government insists that the tools they have are working to manage the disruption caused by so many bankruptcies.

The liquidators of the Irish arm of failed German electronic payments group Wirecard are focusing their investigation into an almost €400 million fraud on four key areas, its creditors have been told, the Irish Times reported. In a report issued last week to creditors of Wirecard UK and Ireland Ltd, the joint liquidators, Ken Fennell and James Anderson of accountancy firm Deloitte, said they have completed two interim reports for the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) on the Dublin-based company’s collapse.

Britain is open to legislating to stop an explosion in scam adverts online being a significant source of fraud, financial services minister John Glen has told lawmakers, Reuters reported. Victims' groups and campaigners have called for fraudulent adverts to be incorporated in the government's planned Online Safety Bill, which currently only covers user-generated content. "We are very sympathetic to that," Glen told the Treasury Select Committee. "This is a massive problem.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the euro zone is better equipped to face the economic impact of a new wave of COVID-19 infections or the Omicron variant, Reuters reported. Several European countries have introduced restrictive measures due to a new increase in COVID-19 infections. The new coronavirus variant Omicron was detected in South Africa on Friday and has spread rapidly across Europe. "There is an obvious concern about the economic recovery [of the euro zone] in 2022, but I believe we have learnt a lot. We now know our enemy and what measures to take.

Europe’s already fragile economic recovery is at risk of being undermined by a fourth wave of coronavirus infections now dousing the continent, as governments impose increasingly stringent health restrictions that could reduce foot traffic in shopping centers, discourage travel and thin crowds in restaurants, bars and ski resorts, the New York Times reported. Austria has imposed the strictest measures, mandating vaccinations and imposing a nationwide lockdown that began on Monday.

A surge in coronavirus cases in Germany has led to a disappointing start to the Christmas season for retailers in Europe's biggest economy, the sector body said on Sunday, Reuters reported. A survey by the HDE retail association showed that only 20% of 350 companies asked were satisfied with Christmas sales so far. November and December are normally the strongest months of the year for retailers.

Spain on Tuesday approved a year-long extension, until the end of 2022, to restrictions on foreign takeovers of Spanish companies it regards as strategic, Reuters reported. As part of measures to protect Spanish firms in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Madrid imposed a process of authorization for the acquisition by a foreign company of stakes larger than 10% in companies considered to be strategic. The decision to extend the potential veto comes after U.S.

The International Monetary Fund approved a new tranche of aid to Ukraine and extended a $5 billion loan program by six months as the country pledged to progress in implementing reforms, Bloomberg News reported. The program “aims to help the authorities address the effects of the Covid-19 shock, sustain the economic recovery, and move ahead on important structural reforms to reduce key vulnerabilities,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement on its website Monday.

Creditors want to know the identity of the mystery buyer who bought Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co.’s stake in a large European retailer, because the deal has complicated their efforts to take control and sell the Chinese company’s holdings, Bloomberg News reported. A Paris judge will review Shandong Ruyi’s sale of a 16% stake in retailer SMCP SA, the owner of the Sandro and Maje brands.