Despite strict economic sanctions, shrinking currency reserves and nervous banks, Russia has kept up with payments for government debt, confounding expectations from just a few weeks ago, when the ratings agencies believed a default was imminent and the government said it might repay its international loans in rubles, the New York Times reported. “People look at this and are scratching their heads,” said Michael Bolliger, the chief investment officer for emerging markets at UBS Global Wealth Management. He said they were asking: “How is this possible?

Euro zone business growth got a boost last month from the re-opening of economies following the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a survey which however showed soaring energy costs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine threaten the recovery, Reuters reported. S&P Global's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), seen as a good guide to economic health, dipped to 54.9 in March from February's 55.5 but was ahead of a preliminary 54.5 estimate. "March's final euro zone PMI surveys confirmed that output expectations fell sharply, with Germany experiencing the biggest drop.

Spain's state rescue fund FROB has increased its stake in the country's "bad bank" Sareb to more than 50%, in line with a European Union order to count its liabilities as public debt, Reuters reported. FROB said on Tuesday that it had bought a 4.24% stake in Sareb, set up in 2012 to take on bad loans after the financial crisis, to raise its holding to 50.14%. No price was given but several sources with knowledge of the matter said it was merely symbolic.

A High Court application seeking approval of a financial arrangement that would write off the bulk of restaurateur Jay Bourke’s €13.7 million debts has been withdrawn, the Irish Times reported. The withdrawal came following an objection from Pepper Finance, which is owed €12.2 million from a contingent liability arising from Mr Bourke’s loans on Co Meath hotel Bellinter House, which he co-owned. Pepper would be paid less than 1 per cent of its debt under his proposed insolvency arrangement. Mr.

Credit Suisse said on Monday that litigation related to Greensill supply chain finance funds (SCFF) could take around five years and warned that some investors would not be able to recover their money, Reuters reported. Credit Suisse racked up a 1.6 billion Swiss franc ($1.73 billion) loss last year when it was hit by the implosion of investment fund Archegos and the collapse of $10 billion in SCFFs linked to insolvent British financier Greensill.

The European Union said on Monday it has widened access for U.S. exchanges and clearing houses to investors in the bloc, a move which contrasts with Brussels' intention to shut off clearing houses in London in 2025, Reuters reported. The EU's executive European Commission said a number of exchanges in the United States which trade derivatives and are supervised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can now be used by investors from the EU. It also broadened EU market access for U.S. clearing houses, also known as central counterparties or CCPs, to allow EU investors to clear U.S.

A U.K. financial adviser who owed more than £350,000 to clients for services he never provided has been served with a nine-year restriction by the Insolvency Service, the Financial Times reported. Marc Jones worked as a self-employed adviser in Cardiff from January 2012 until October 2018, after which he worked on behalf of a financial institution selling various financial products for a year. The regulator said when Jones worked for himself, he “failed” to supply his customers with services they had paid for.

Spain's labour market withstood soaring inflation and a crippling truckers' strike in March to see a drop in unemployment, data showed on Monday, helped in part by reforms aimed at cutting the use of temporary contracts, Reuters reported. The number of people registering as jobless in Spain slipped 0.09% in March from February, or by 2,921 people, leaving 3.11 million people out of work, Labour Ministry data showed. Spain added 23,998 net jobs during the month, a 0.12% rise from February.

Britain’s insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into P&O Ferries to look into the company’s decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Friday, Reuters reported reported. The probe comes after P&O Ferries admitted to breaking the law in the manner in which it terminated about 800 staff last month to hire cheaper agency workers, a move that has since caused major backlash from politicians and workers.

At least a hundred companies worldwide have delayed or pulled financing deals worth more than $45 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. These include initial public offerings, bonds or loans and acquisitions. U.S. equity market deals were the worst hit by global volatility in the first quarter as a crop of firms postponed listings, while Japanese and European debt markets also suffered from delays.