Europe

The Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter-point on Thursday, its 11th consecutive rate increase, a day after data showed that Britain’s inflation rate unexpectedly increased last month, the New York Times reported. The central bank also affirmed that Britain’s banking system was “resilient” and able to withstand a period of higher interest rates, according to the minutes of this week’s meeting.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV failed to pass a plan to give creditors 80% of its equity as it sought to be released from its debt that is due at the end of June, Bloomberg News reported. Shareholders rejected all the resolutions that were voted on at the global retailer’s annual general meeting held in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The gathering lasted three hours because of numerous questions and accusatory comments. The company has been battling to survive since auditors refused to sign off on its accounts in late 2017.

Italy is preparing a new package of measures worth at least 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) to help businesses and families cope with costly energy bills and plans to unveil it next week, two government sources told Reuters on Thursday. The right-wing administration led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earmarked over 21 billion euros in its 2023 budget to soften the impact of energy costs on the euro zone's third largest economy in the first quarter of this year.

British inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February, pushed up by higher food and drink prices in pubs and restaurants, according to official data which is likely to prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates on Thursday, Reuters reported. The figures - including increases in underlying inflation measures that the BoE closely monitors - are likely to bolster the concerns of those BoE policymakers who worry that inflation will be slow to fall, even after 10 straight rate hikes.

Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a $15.6 billion loan package aimed at shoring up government finances severely strained by Russia’s invasion and leveraging even more support by reassuring allies that Ukraine is pursuing strong economic policies and fighting corruption, the Associated Press reported.

Privately held retailer Scotch & Soda, which is based in Amsterdam, has filed a bankruptcy request for its Dutch operations, newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) reported on Monday, citing a company statement, Reuters reported. Scotch & Soda and owner Sun Capital could not immediately be reached for comment. The newspaper said the company statement cited "serious cashflow problems" that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued amid high inflation and a consumer spending squeeze.

Switzerland’s tab for shoring up its reputation as a financial center could run to 12,500 Swiss francs ($13,500) for every man, woman and child in the country, Bloomberg News reported. To backstop the emergency sale of Credit Suisse Group AG to its Zurich rival UBS Group AG, the Swiss government pledged to make as much as 109 billion francs available — a hefty burden for the country of 8.7 million people. On top of that, there’s a guarantee from the Swiss National Bank of 100 billion francs that isn’t backed by a government guarantee, according to the deal announced Sunday evening.

Some holders of Credit Suisse Group AG's so-called additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds have approached a law firm to assess whether they have a case against the Swiss authorities’ decision to wipe out their holdings as part of the UBS Group AG deal, Reuters reported. George Zelcs and Chris Burke, partners at Korein Tillery, a boutique law firm specializing in complex litigation, said fewer than a dozen non-U.S. bondholders had approached them to discuss options. The firm has not yet been hired.

Days before a hastily convened press conference late on Sunday that would make the world's front pages, Switzerland's political elite were secretly preparing a move that would jolt the globe, Reuters reported. While the nation's central bank and financial regulator publicly declared that Credit Suisse was sound, behind closed doors the race was on to rescue the nation's second-biggest bank.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson on Tuesday urged lawmakers to back a major element of the new deal over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, adding it was a good deal amid criticism from some Conservatives, Reuters reported. An influential group of eurosceptic Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday warned that the newly agreed 'Stormont brake" mechanism to prevent Northern Ireland being subject to unwelcome European Union laws was "practically useless".