Debt judgments registered against businesses in Ireland fell by 8 per cent in 2015, the fourth consecutive year in which there has been a decline, the Irish Times reported. New figures compiled by the non-profit organisation Registry Trust shows there were 1,062 judgments against Irish businesses last year with the number of judgments against incorporated firms falling 17 per cent to 578. However, the latest figures show a 7 per cent rise in judgments against unincorporated businesses to 484.

Portugal’s new Socialist government faces an embarrassing rejection of its first “anti-austerity” budget by the European Commission on Friday as eleventh-hour talks failed to break a stalemate over additional cuts needed to bring Lisbon in line with EU deficit rules, the Financial Times reported. Portuguese officials expressed confidence they would overcome objections from the commission, which last week warned Lisbon it risked “serious non-compliance” with the bloc’s fiscal rules.

The UK has not abandoned its battle against an EU cap on bankers’ bonuses, including it in a list of regulations it says do not work, the Irish Times reported. The Bank of England included the bonus cap in its recent response to an EU review of rules put in place since the financial crisis. Leading the review is Lord Hill, the bloc’s commissioner for financial services, who is also a British Conservative.

Russian coal and steel producer Mechel has reached debt restructuring agreements with its major creditors after two years of negotiations on a debt pile it said had threatened the company's survival, Reuters reported. The mining company controlled by businessman Igor Zyuzin borrowed heavily before Russia's economic crisis and has struggled to keep up repayments as demand for its products weakened alongside tumbling coal and steel prices.

The sole advocate for higher borrowing costs at the Bank of England dropped his call for an interest-rate rise, the latest sign the U.K. central bank is unlikely to follow the Federal Reserve and raise interest rates soon, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ian McCafferty, one of four members of the BOE’s nine-person rate-setting panel drawn from outside the central bank’s ranks, in February ended a five-month push to lift the BOE’s benchmark rate from a record low of 0.5%, where it has been held since early 2009. For Mr.

Shares in leading global banks fell further on Wednesday with investors selling a sector seen exposed to slowing economic growth and rising credit losses, the Irish Times reported. Global share markets are enduring a torrid year, with financials leading the way, alongside other key sectors that reflect prospects for the broad economy, such as energy, materials, transports and industrials.

Conspicuous consumers helped some luxury brands report their best-ever results in Russia in 2015, even as overall retail sales dropped 10 percent, Bloomberg News reported. About half of Russians can barely afford purchases beyond food and other basics, according to national polls. Some global luxury brands are betting the trend will continue, opening new shops across the Russian capital. GUM, the ornate department store across Red square from the Kremlin, saw Bulgari and Jimmy Choo boutiques open late last year, while Hermes doubled its selling space, according to a GUM spokeswoman.

Global steelmakers face another year of pain with more capacity closures and job losses expected, even as steel prices start to stabilise thanks to painful production cuts, depleted stockpiles and rising trade barriers, Reuters reported. Capacity closures and bankruptcies picked up across the globe last year and top producers like ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel slashed earnings forecasts as prices lost a third of their value, sliding to 12-year lows.

Spanish energy and engineering firm Abengoa will present its long-awaited viability plan to creditors on Wednesday in a bid to avoid becoming Spain's biggest bankruptcy, three sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The Seville-based company must agree on a restructuring plan with creditors before the end of March or enter into a full-blown insolvency process.

The European Central Bank will contribute its share to helping the economic recovery, its president said on Monday, warning, however, of threats to the economy including from emerging markets, First Post reported on a Reuters story. "Growth prospects are slowly improving in advanced economies, but the outlook in emerging markets is more subdued. Overall, growth is low by historical standards," Mario Draghi told lawmakers in the European Parliament.