Emerging and developing economies will shrink this year for the first time in at least six decades, according to the World Bank, underscoring the mounting economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic as it spreads across the world, the Financial Times reported. The bank’s forecast is that as many as 100m people in the developing world will be tipped into extreme poverty by a projected 2.5 per cent contraction in emerging markets’ gross domestic product, with incomes per capita set to shrink 3.6 per cent globally. The bank defines extreme poverty as an income of less than $1.90 a day.

Swissport Belgium SA/NV, a loss-making unit of Swissport International AG which provides ground services at Brussels airport, will file for bankruptcy after attempts to turn around the business failed, Swissport said on Monday, Reuters reported. Its Belgian cleaning business will also file for bankruptcy, but the group’s separate cargo business in Brussels and Liege is unaffected, Swissport added in a statement. Swissport, owned by China’s HNA Group, is the world’s largest provider of airport ground services and air cargo handling with operations at 300 airports in 47 countries.

Intu shopping centre in Milton Keynes could begin an insolvency process by the end of the month as debts have worsened during the Covid-19 crisis, it has been revealed, the MK Citizen reported. The shopping giants, who also owns the Trafford Centre and Lakeside, have put administrators on standby, Sky News has reported. All the centres are said to be in jeopardy unless the company can strike a deal with lenders over the next couple of weeks. Intu Properties is at a critical phase in negotiations and has lined up KPMG to act as administrators if the talks fail, says Sky News.

Europeans have begun to return to work, shopping and dining out, suggesting the worst of the economic damage inflicted by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns has passed, but overall activity remains well below normal standards, pointing to the long haul back to recovery the region faces, the Financial Times reported. High-frequency data indicators such as mobility and consumer spending suggest that the sharp economic contraction that has gripped major European economies since March began to ease in May and early June.

An investment company backed by billionaire banker Joseph Safra is considering a takeover bid for airport foreign exchange provider Travelex Holdings Ltd, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing financial industry sources, Bloomberg News reported. The Safra bid comes after Finablr-owned Travelex appointed PWC to find a buyer for the unit. On April 30, Finablr disclosed that its debt burden stood at around $1.3 billion, “materially above” the levels of indebtedness previously given to the board.

Housebuilders in the UK are collapsing at an accelerating rate, threatening the much-needed supply of new homes, the Financial Times reported. Last year 368 companies in the sector filed for insolvency, according to data obtained from The Insolvency Service under the Freedom of Information Act. That compares with 207 in 2016, with the number rising each year since. The builders filing for insolvency were overwhelmingly small and medium sized enterprises, according to accountants Price Bailey, which obtained the data.

Switzerland has opened a probe related to $2 billion of loans to Mozambique that were organized by banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and VTB Bank PJSC, in a scandal that has already attracted the attention of prosecutors in the U.S, Bloomberg News reported. The criminal probe started in February against “persons unknown” on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the credit, the Office of the Attorney General said on Friday. The target of the proceedings is not any specific person or entity, the office said.

Businesses centring on travel and hospitality have endured a nightmare start to 2020. With the global outbreak of coronavirus, and the international lock-down ushered in to slow its spread, every aspect of the leisure sector has been battered by Covid-19-related headwinds, Consultancy.uk reported. In the airline segment for example, 700 of Lufthansa’s fleet of 760 planes have been grounded amid the coronavirus lock-down, with the number of passengers falling by 99%.

The U.K. car industry joined in a round of job cuts that has swept Europe, with auto companies looking to downsize to cope with lower sales following the Covid-19 pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc said Thursday it plans to eliminate almost 20% of the workforce, or as many as 500 positions, to cope with a slump in demand for luxury cars. Manchester-based vehicle-distributor Lookers Plc will close 12 sites and shed about 1,500 employees, while McLaren Group Ltd. said last week the supercar maker is seeking to cut about 1,200 jobs.

The UK government could face hefty losses on loans made to struggling businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its new insolvency law that can force lenders to accept unfavourable terms during a debt restructuring process, Reuters reported. The new ‘Restructuring Plan’, part of the government’s Corporate Insolvency & Governance Bill being debated in parliament this week, empowers one class of creditors to force a debt restructuring plan on another class of creditors, in what is known as a cross class cramdown.