The world’s leading economies need to ease trade tensions and act decisively to prevent a descent into a low-growth trap from which it would be difficult to escape, the OECD warned on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. Labelling the economic outlook as “increasingly fragile and uncertain”, the Paris-based international organisation forecast that Britain would fall into recession if it left the EU without a deal and eurozone growth would slow to close to zero.

For the umpteenth time, Deutsche Bank AG is ensnared in an alleged regulatory blunder. Except this time, the stakes are greater than its own integrity: Confidence in its regulator, the European Central Bank, is on the line too, a Bloomberg View reported. The ECB is considering whether to probe Germany’s biggest bank for trading in its riskiest debt without the regulator’s approval, according to the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. In an effort to maintain liquidity in the bonds, the firm’s securities unit continued to make a market in the notes well after they were sold to investors.

Thomas Cook’s attempt to secure a £900m rescue deal have been hampered by demands from its lending banks to secure an additional £200m funding, the Financial Times reported. The 178-year-old tour operator, which has been negotiating with its debtholders and largest shareholder Fosun on a rescue deal, had to delay a crucial hearing on the deal this week as banks including RBS and Lloyd’s pushed for an extra credit facility to be put in place to see the holiday provider through the winter season.

Kier plunged to a £245m loss as the government contractor pushed ahead with an expensive restructuring as questions lingered over its financial health, the Financial Times reported. The group, which is working on Facebook’s King’s Cross headquarters and the HS2 railway, said it had “experienced a difficult year” after it launched a £250m rights issue in December 2018 to strengthen its balance sheet. It announced the departure of chairman Philip Cox, who oversaw the appointment of the group’s new management team and is leaving after just over two years.

British department store group Debenhams said on Thursday that its company voluntary arrangement (CVA) will go ahead as planned after a court rejected challenges to the rescue plan, Reuters reported. Once the country’s biggest department store chain, Debenhams has been hit by a sharp slowdown in sales, high rents and ballooning debt, plus a power struggle with former shareholder Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. Debenhams’ lenders took control of the retailer in April in an effort to keep stores open.

Air France-KLM and easyJet withdrew competing offers for Aigle Azur on Thursday after missing an overnight court deadline to improve their bids to acquire part of the collapsed budget airline’s operations and staff, Reuters reported. An Air France spokeswoman confirmed it had decided against submitting an expected joint offer with long-haul niche carrier Air Caraibes because “our conditions for doing so weren’t met”. EasyJet said it had also pulled out but remains committed to France and its operations at Paris Orly airport.

A deal to buy insolvent German wind-power manufacturer Senvion’s service business would help Siemens Gamesa catch up to rival Vestas in this increasingly important part of the market, a Wood Mackenzie analyst says, Greentech Media reported. Senvion this week confirmed it's in exclusive talks with Siemens Gamesa to sell parts of its service business and other “selected onshore assets." Senvion entered voluntary insolvency proceedings in April as the global wind turbine industry continues to consolidate around a few major players outside of China, notably Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and GE.

Eleven business organisations and insolvency experts have written to chancellor Sajid Javid warning him that prioritising debts owed to HMRC over those of other creditors in insolvencies will have a serious impact on UK economic growth, ICAEW reported. The 11 – which range from ICAEW, the City of London Law Society, R3 and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association – make it clear that the proposed change will make it more difficult to rescue businesses.

Deutsche Bank faces the threat of a European Central Bank investigation after buying and selling its own debt for more than three years without regulatory approval, said people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported. Employees at Germany’s biggest lender forgot to apply for the necessary approval to buy and sell its additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds between 2014 and 2017, which it did to help ensure liquidity in the securities, one of the people said.

A panel of bankers will rule on Thursday whether some investors in Thomas Cook’s credit are due a payout under bankruptcy rules, a decision that could smooth a rescue of the world’s oldest travel company, Reuters reported. The British firm, which employs 21,000 people across 16 countries, agreed the key terms of a rescue deal with Chinese shareholder Fosun (1992.HK) last month. But it must be approved by creditors next week. Holders of Credit Default Swaps (CDS), instruments used to insure exposure to credit, are digging in for a payout for their bets against the company.