Britain has experienced a series of shortages these past few months, from a lack of fuel at gas stations to not enough workers picking the fall harvest, but Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is unlikely to dwell on them when he delivers his annual budget statement on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he is formally known, will instead likely use one of the most high-profile, choreographed events in the country’s political calendar to paint a relatively rosy picture of the state of the British economy following the devastating shock of the pandemic.

The number of companies and freelancers (PFA) that went insolvent in the first nine months this year (January-September) increased by 6.9% compared to the same period in 2020 to 4,307, according to Romanian National Office of the Trade Register (ONRC) data quoted by Agerpres, Romania-Insider.com reported. Most companies and PFAs that went insolvent were in Bucharest, respectively 797, decreasing by 9.64% y/y.

British Brexit minister David Frost said on Monday that the European Union's proposals to solve the problem of trade involving Northern Ireland did not go far enough and significant gaps remained between the two sides, Reuters reported. The two sides are in negotiations to find a common solution to issues with the part of a Brexit deal that governs trade between Britain, British province Northern Ireland, and EU member Ireland. Earlier this month, the European Union presented proposals to fix those issues. "The problem with them is that they don't go far enough.

Three directors have been banned following investigations which found that nearly £100,000 worth of Bounce Back loans had been inappropriately applied for, or misused., according to a press release from the U.K. Insolvency Service. The Bounce Back Loan (BBL) scheme ran to March 2021 and provided loans of up £50,000 to help businesses survive the impact of COVID-19. N&S Solutions Ltd was a cleaning services company incorporated in June 2018. Since October 2018 Rafael Henrique Scher, 38, had been the only director.

The top 10 arrangers for European corporate debt deals typically account for at least 50% of the market. This year is different, Bloomberg News reported. Their share of sales has fallen to 45% so far in 2021, the lowest ever on an annual basis, and about 10 percentage points below the previous decade’s average, according to Bloomberg league table data. It’s because there are more banks fighting for fewer deals, according to Tim Skeet, U.K. regional chair for International Capital Market Association. “The dynamics of the market have changed,” Skeet said.

Italy on Sunday ended talks with UniCredit over the sale of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) in a major setback to years-long efforts by the Rome government to return the ailing Tuscan bank to private hands, Reuters reported. Failure to bridge a multi-billion euro valuation gap between the parties leaves Italy unable to complete the restructuring of its banking system which it started six years ago. Rome will now seek an extension of deadlines agreed with European Union authorities to re-privatise MPS and a Treasury official said it did not expect discussions to be difficult.

Barclays Plc is leading a round of talks with investors to raise the equivalent of 500 million pounds ($691 million) of debt for U.K. supermarket chain Asda after a deal to purchase its forecourt gas pumps business fell through, Bloomberg News reported. The bank is seeking to raise senior secured debt for Asda which could be a mix of bonds and loans. The proceeds, along with 262 million pounds on Asda’s balance sheet, will go to repay a 750 million-pound bridge loan.

France’s 2022 budget deficit will be wider than forecast only a month ago after President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced plans to contain energy prices, hand out checks to more than half the population, and make high-risk investments in future industrial sectors, Bloomberg News reported. With just six months to go until elections, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that around 38 million people earning less than 2,000 euros ($2,330) a month will receive 100 euros in “inflation compensation” to shield them against a surging fuel costs.

Italy has urged the European Union to start work immediately on a plan to create a joint storage system for strategic gas reserves, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Friday, Reuters reported. Speaking to reporters after an EU summit, Draghi said Brussels needed to draw up an inventory of gas reserves that are available today across the bloc. "On energy, Italy underlined the need to intervene immediately at a European level," Draghi said. European gas prices have soared in recent weeks amid tight supply and surging CO2 prices as economies gradually emerge from the health pandemic.

German power retailer Ziegler Strom-Vertrieb said on Thursday it would stop delivering to customers in Kappelrodeck in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg at the end of 2021 due to spiralling wholesale prices, Reuters reported. It is the second small power supplier in Germany this week to announce it will stop operating due to the surge in gas prices. “With our procurement conditions, we can no longer offer customers market-compatible prices,” Ziegler said in a notice on its website.