Russia said on Wednesday that it made a debt payment in rubles this week, a move that may not be accepted by Russia’s foreign debtholders and could put the country on a path to a historic default, the Associated Press reported. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that it tried to make a $649 million payment toward two bonds to an unnamed U.S. bank — previously reported as JPMorgan Chase — but that payment was not accepted because new U.S. sanctions prohibit Russia from using U.S. banks to pay its debts.

Britain has frozen the assets of Russia’s biggest bank, banned outward investment to the country and promised to end imports of Russian oil and coal by the end of this year, the Irish Times reported. The measures are part of a new package of sanctions in response to alleged war crimes by Russian forces which Boris Johnson described as coming close to genocide. The move against Sberbank was coordinated with the United States, which also announced on Wednesday that it was freezing the bank’s assets.

Russia's lower house of parliament has passed in a third and final reading on Wednesday a bill on delisting of companies that are registered in Russia and have depositary receipts traded on foreign bourses, Reuters reported. Their depositary receipts will be converted into equities traded in Russia, the bill showed. Several major Russian companies have listings abroad, which has always been a matter of prestige for them. But since Russia began what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, Western bourses have halted trading of Russian securities.

French financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected tax fraud by American management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the Associated Press reported. The national financial prosecutor’s office said Wednesday the investigation was launched last week for alleged “money-laundering aggravated by tax fraud.” French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “shocked” by the suspicions of tax evasion on the part of consulting firms. “The response will be European, since we have passed a reform which will allow ...

Prime Minister Mario Draghi plans more borrowing to aid Italy’s economy, but also wants to shrink its huge debt pile by bringing down the deficit to the European Union’s limit within three years, Bloomberg News reported. That balancing act will be pursued with a shortfall of 5.6% of output in 2022, incorporating almost 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of fresh spending to protect families and businesses from energy price spikes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the new economic and financial plan presented by Draghi and Finance Minister Daniele Franco in Rome on Wednesday.

Public transport largely ground to a halt in the Greek capital on Wednesday and state-run services remained shuttered as workers walked off the job in a 24-hour general strike to protest rising prices, the Associated Press reported. The strike left ferries to and from Greek islands tied up in port, and left Athens without a subway, tram, trolley or suburban railway, while buses were to run for 12 hours from 9 a.m.

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.