Debenhams has been wound up by a judge in a specialist court. Judge Daniel Schaffer made a winding-up order at an online hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court on Monday, the Mirror reported. He described the retailer as a "rudderless ship" drifting in an "ocean of insolvency" which needs to be brought into port. The judge said the Official Receiver now should assess the position. He had been asked to consider Debenhams' position by lawyers representing a shareholder and debtors. The judge said he was making a winding-up order of his own motion.

Now that Britain is firmly outside the European Union, Britain's auto industry could be on the verge of dwindling even more, the New York Times reported. The Brexit deal worked out with the European Union last month avoided cross-channel tariffs that would have been disastrous for auto manufacturing in Britain. But the pact will create more customs paperwork and slow down supply chains, while creating disincentives for global carmakers to continue investing in British factories as they begin retooling for electric vehicles.

Amigo said it would be insolvent if a proposed cap on customer payouts fails as the subprime lender published details of its plan, Sharecast.com reported. The company has written to customers and the financial ombudsman with details of a scheme of arrangement that would limit payments to customers and the ombudsman. Creditors will be asked to vote for the plan at a meeting on 30 March. If the scheme fails there will be no money for creditors whereas under the plan creditors will get a share of £15-£35m plus a share of Amigo's profit over the next four years, it said.

Britain’s economy will shrink over the longer term as the EU-UK Brexit trade deal “lacks substance” in vital areas, credit analysts warn in a report released on Monday, the Irish Times reported. Their assessment comes as Irish businesses on both sides of the Border continue to wrestle with difficulties caused by the UK’s exit from the world’s biggest trade bloc this month. Credit ratings agency Moody’s, which assesses organisations’ and states’ abilities to pay their debts, says a trade deal struck between Brussels and London on Christmas Eve is skewed in the EU’s favour.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday that he would resign, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil, Politico reported. By stepping down, Conte will avoid a humiliating defeat in parliament in a vote on judicial reforms later this week. He narrowly won the backing of parliament in a ballot last week after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the small Italia Viva party, withdrew his ministers from the ruling coalition, forcing a confidence vote.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde sounded a cautiously optimistic note on Europe’s economic recovery despite a wave of Covid-19 infections that has closed shops, schools and businesses across the region, triggering a selloff in eurozone government debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. At a news conference on Thursday, Ms. Lagarde said a resurgence of the pandemic in Europe was squeezing business investment and crimping consumer spending.

Carnival Corp.’s flagship cruising brand extended its pause on U.S. departures through the end of April and shelved operations in Australia through mid-May amid lingering pandemic concerns, Bloomberg News reported. Carnival Cruise Line also canceled European trips on Carnival Legend that had been poised to start in May, and delayed trips on Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral, Fla., until the end of that month, according to a statement on Friday. The announcement is the latest in a long line of delays since the entire industry essentially went on hold in mid-March.

Vijay Mallya, who is due to be extradited to India, has applied for "another route" to be able to stay in the UK, the embattled liquor tycoon's barrister representing him in bankruptcy proceedings in the High Court here confirmed in the court for the first time, the Deccan Herald reported.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo Group Plc is set to acquire collapsed British department store group Debenhams in a cut-price deal that will result in the closure of the group’s remaining department stores, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, according to Reuters. The purchase price is expected to be about 50 million pounds ($68.39 million) and a deal could be announced in the next few days, the newspaper reported, citing two people with knowledge of the transaction.