European debt markets are reeling from the perfect storm of risk aversion as the coronavirus crisis threatens to rapidly become a pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Investors are dumping anything seen as risky and piling into top-rated government bonds -- especially those of Germany -- for safety, while boosting bets for emergency monetary easing by the European Central Bank. Yield premiums on peripheral euro-area bonds jumped this week as Italy reported the region’s biggest surge in infections, reigniting fears of a recession in the country.

Central banks are paying attention to climate-related financial risks. They are beginning to incorporate them into their financial stability and economic analysis, and in stress tests for banks, the Financial Times reported. It is also time for central banks to consider such risks when implementing monetary policy. This will be challenging. It requires more data relevant to the assessment of the climate change threat, a thorough methodology and, importantly, time.

Homebase plans to end its company voluntary arrangement 18 months early after the UK’s second-largest home improvement retailer renegotiated most of its leases and improved profitability, the Financial Times reported. The group used the controversial insolvency procedure in 2018 to cut rents and close stores after a brief but disastrous period of ownership by Australian group Wesfarmers. CVAs give struggling businesses a chance to renegotiate debts with creditors. For Homebase the process had been due to run until August 2021 but will instead terminate in March or April.

A European auto supplier has been forced to close its main Italian plant due to the country’s coronavirus quarantine, in the clearest evidence so far of the impact that the disease could have on Europe’s domestic industry and economy, the Financial Times reported. Electronics manufacturer MTA said that if its 600 employees in the northern Italian town of Codogno were not allowed to return to work within days, production lines at Fiat Chrysler (FCA) subsidiaries would be brought to a standstill.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is considering a move that could open an avenue for limited fiscal stimulus in Europe’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Scholz wants to temporarily suspend the constitutional mechanism that restricts the country’s debt levels in order to provide relief for indebted regions, according to an official familiar with the plans. The initiative, which is likely to face strong political opposition, would shift borrowings from municipalities to the federal government, giving them more budget space to invest locally.

British shopping centre operator Hammerson almost halved its 2020 dividend on Tuesday after the collapse into administration of a number of UK retail chains and outlets cut its annual net rental income, Reuters reported. The company has been striving to reduce its net debt, which stood at 2.8 billion pounds at the end of last year, by offloading assets and refocusing on its city shopping centres and premium outlets division. The owner of London’s Brent Cross shopping centre said it expects to recommend a dividend of 14 pence for 2020, a 46% fall compared to last year.

Italy has warned that the EU should offer flexibility on its budget targets should the country’s sudden coronavirus outbreak in its industrialised northern regions have a prolonged impact on an economy already teetering on edge of a recession, the Financial Times reported. Ten Italians have died from the virus and the infection count has risen to 322. The majority of cases were clustered in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which together make up a third of output for the eurozone’s third-largest economy and about half of its exports.

For the third time in six months, British billionaire Mark Coombs is betting on bonds that many on Wall Street deem destined for default, Bloomberg News reported. Ashmore Group Plc, the $98 billion money manager led by Coombs, has been piling into Lebanon notes due March 9 just as many of its rivals warn a missed payment is all but certain. The firm boosted its holdings to more than 25% of the $1.2 billion of bonds, enough for a blocking stake if there’s a restructuring.

Following last week’s revocation of its operator licence, Addison Global’s MoPlay brand has announced that the company is now insolvent and has stopped withdrawals from customers, Inkedin reported. The operator was suspended after the UK Gambling Commission explained in a statement that it suspected ‘that Addison Global Limited has breached a condition of the licence (section 120(1)(b) and is unsuitable to carry on the licenced activities (section 120(1)(d) of the Act).’  Since the suspension, Moplay has ceased processing withdrawals, with the site now offline in the United Kingdom.

Taxpayers picked up the bill for a wave of insolvencies last year, with the cost of payouts to redundant staff jumping by 16%, Minutehack reported. A total of £346.1 million was paid out by The Insolvency Service to former employees of businesses which ran into trouble during 2019, according to a Freedom of Information request made by real estate adviser Altus Group. The payout was the highest in seven years, with the recent raft of retail and dining insolvencies contributing to the increase.