Loaded with tons of live crab, lobster and prawns, the trucks headed south from the Scottish town of Oban had to reach their destination in Spain within 72 hours to be sure the cargo would survive the trip. But with Britain operating new post-Brexit trading rules, a journey that used to be routine is now a high-stakes gamble for the exporter Paul Knight, managing director of PDK Shellfish, the New York Times reported. “It is like roulette,” said Mr.

French carmaker Renault in December drew down an extra 1 billion of its 5 billion euro ($6.1 billion) government-guaranteed loan arranged due to the COVID-19 crisis, Deputy Chief Executive Clotilde Delbos told an online presentation on Thursday, Reuters reported. Renault has now tapped 4 billion euros of the loan, Delbos said, adding that the company felt it was wise to use the means at its disposal. Read more.

Estonia’s president on Thursday tasked the leader of the main opposition party to form a new government, a day after Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Cabinet stepped down in the wake of a corruption scandal in Ratas’ ruling Center Party, the Associated Press reported. Kaja Kallas, chairwoman of the center-right Reform Party that emerged as the winner of the 2019 general election, will have 14 days to put together a new Cabinet, President Kersti Kaljulaid said.

A former leader of Italy yanked his party’s ministers on Wednesday from Premier Giuseppe Conte’s government, triggering a political crisis in the middle of a pandemic that could lead to a revamped Cabinet, a different coalition leader or the early election eagerly sought by right-wing opposition parties, the Associated Press reported. Matteo Renzi, who served as premier from Feb. 2014 to Dec.

An investment spree billed as an income generator to protect frontline services in a cash-strapped London borough has provided a cautionary tale about the perils of over-reach as local authorities across Britain face mounting financial and social pressures, the Financial Times reported. Twice in the past two months, the Labour-run council in Croydon, on London’s southern fringes, has issued a Section 114 notice — announcing de facto bankruptcy — after failing to fulfil a legal duty to balance its books.

A report recently by La Vanguardia says that La Liga giants Barcelona are in debt to the tune of €420m (£375), which must be paid by the end of this year or they could face insolvency, with the report describing the club as having let things spiral out of control, according to EuroWeeklyNews.com. Apparently, there is a straight €480m (£428m) long term debt, repayable over one year, and then another debt of €420m (£375m) in the short term, making a total debt of almost €900m (£803m) at the club.

Bonds issued by French supermarket group Carrefour SA took a pounding on Wednesday as a takeover approach from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. sparked concerns that a deal would swell the combined company’s debt burden, Bloomberg News reported. A 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) note maturing in 2027 was indicated 1.1 cents lower at 115.4 cents, marking the biggest one-day price drop since issuance last March, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s the worst-performing bond in the euro high-grade market Wednesday, followed by other bonds issued by the French grocer.

EU antitrust regulators have cleared the London Stock Exchange’s $27 billion acquisition of data company Refinitiv, subject to a number of conditions including the sale of its Borsa Italiana operations, Reuters reported. The European Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 27-nation European Union, said on Wednesday that the purchase had been approved after its investigation found a number of concerns.

The local court of Aschaffenburg today approved the application of Adler Modemärkte AG and opened preliminary insolvency proceedings in self-administration pursuant to Section 270b (1), (2) of the German Insolvency Code, new version, according to a press release. Within the scope of the preliminary self-administration, the business operations of Adler Modemärkte AG shall be continued in their entirety and the company shall be restructured by means of an insolvency plan. The management board of the company will continue to have the power of administration and disposition.