Czech Airlines (CSA), part of the Czech airline group Smartwings, has filed in a Prague court for a reorganisation under solvency law as it grapples with a calamitous drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The airline sector has been among the worst hit by the pandemic and CSA, one of the world's oldest airlines, said its revenue last year dropped to a fifth of the previous year's total and led to a loss of 1.57 billion crowns ($72.7 million).

Central banks from Asia to Europe escalated their efforts to calm panicking markets, pledging to buy more bonds and signaling more policy accommodation, after U.S. Treasury yields surged to the highest level in a year, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank of Australia waded in with more than $2 billion of unscheduled purchases, while Korea announced buying plans for the next few months. European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said more stimulus could be added if the surge in yields hurts growth.

FBD said on Friday it estimates that gross claims and expenses arising from a landmark Covid-19 business interruption pubs test case ruling earlier this month will amount to €150 million, the Irish Times reported. The figure includes claims that will ultimately be picked up by reinsurance companies that have shared the risk with FBD. Meanwhile, the Dublin-listed insurer increased provisions for its net exposure to pubs claims to €65 million from €30 million that had been set aside last summer. The charge includes €11 million of expected payments to reinsurers to reinstate protection.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak signaled he’s prepared to raise taxes to fix the U.K.’s battered finances, while also vowing to maintain support for businesses and workers as long as the coronavirus pandemic lasts, Bloomberg News reported. Sunak promised to be “honest” with the public in his budget statement on Wednesday. He said he’ll outline a blueprint to address the budget deficit in a “fair” way -- government advisers project it to reach 19% of gross domestic product.

An agreement on the overhaul of cross-boarder corporate tax rules is within reach by a summer deadline now that Washington has dropped a proposal that could let U.S companies opt out of the future deal, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday after a meeting with G20 counterparts, Reuters reported. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday told the G20 meeting that Washington was dropping the former Trump administration’s demand for a “safe harbor” clause in talks to reform global taxation rules, which other countries said would make a deal impossible.

The head of Germany’s accounting watchdog, under fire for failing to spot wrongdoing ahead of the collapse of the payments company Wirecard, is stepping down, Reuters reported. The agency, formally known as the Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP), said in a statement on Wednesday that President Edgar Ernst is leaving his post at his own wish, effective Dec. 31. Ernst has also come under criticism for potential conflicts of interest because he held seats on supervisory boards of major corporations, including real-estate company Vonovia, retailer Metro and tour operator TUI.

The U.K. faces significant challenges in shouldering the burden of regulation it had previously outsourced to Brussels, the government has been warned, Politico reported. A new report by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank says that the fresh autonomy provided to the U.K. by the Brexit trade deal will lead to duplication of many of the EU’s rules. But it finds British regulators may not have enough resources to do the job.

Polish manufacturer of steel foundations for offshore wind farms, ST3 Offshore – which declared bankruptcy in March 2020 – has been put up for sale by the Official Receiver of the company in insolvency, OffshoreWind.biz reported. A tender has been issued for the sale of ST3 Offshore with a reserve price of the company amounting to PLN 234,680,000 net (around EUR 52 million). To participate in the tender procedure, bids (unconditional and written in Polish) should be submitted in two copies until 14:00 on 10 March.

Britain’s financial regulator on Thursday censured Premier FX, a now defunct company that once operated in Portugal, Spain and Dubai, for “seriously misleading” customers, failing to safeguard their money and for misusing its payment accounts, Reuters reported. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it would have imposed a substantial fine on the company if it had not already been in liquidation or owed its 136 creditors - most of which are consumers - roughly 9.2 million pounds ($13 million). Premier FX was regulated by the FCA for money transfers.

Massive Covid-19 bailouts probably kept some “zombie” companies alive when they would normally have gone bust, the European Union’s top antitrust official said on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. Regulators usually screen state subsidies to avoid “undesirable effects” such as life support for unprofitable businesses, Olivier Guersent, the head of the European Commission’s competition unit, said at an online conference for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.