The German unit of bankrupt Dutch engineering services company Imtech is expected to be sold in November, according to Imtech Germany's insolvency administrator, Reuters reported. "The aim is to sign the sales contract for the whole unit or major parts shortly after ordinary insolvency proceedings have been opened in early November," Peter-Alexander Borchardt said. Imtech Germany filed for insolvency on Aug. 6, and the parent company followed suit a week later, capping a long slide that began in 2013 after accounting irregularities were uncovered at its Polish and German operations.

Greece’s former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pledged to continue fighting for better bailout terms from the country’s creditors, as opinion polls show that his left-wing Syriza party is tied with conservative rival New Democracy two weeks before snap elections, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr.

Italy is working on a plan to recapitalise three small lenders under special administration by raising cash through a fund financed by healthy banks, a financial source told Reuters on Friday. The banks are Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (Carife), Banca Marche and Banca Popolare dell'Etruria e del Lazio, all of which were placed under special administration by the Bank of Italy because of serious capital shortfalls.

August was the worst month for British retail sales since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to a survey published on Friday. Accountancy firm BDO said its monthly high street sales tracker (HSST) showed a 4.3 percent year-on-year fall in August sales -- the biggest drop since November 2008 and the sixth monthly dip this year.

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, pledged on Thursday to intervene by increasing economic stimulus spending if the turmoil in the global economy continues, the International New York Times reported. But the central bank will not act until it has more information about the effect of a slowdown in emerging markets and other risks, Mr. Draghi said at a news conference. Also on Thursday, the central bank cut its previous growth forecasts for the eurozone economies because of the global turbulence.

The European Union's executive will propose "radical" changes to make listing on stock markets cheaper, consider pan-EU pension products, and streamline the bloc's patchwork of insolvency rules, an EU document showed on Thursday. The European Commission's financial services chief Jonathan Hill is planning a "capital markets union" or CMU to aid markets to raise more funds for economic growth. The document, written by Hill's officials, sets out elements that are set to be included in his CMU "action plan", due to be published on Sept. 30.

For most countries, the economic slowdown in China and the accompanying slump in commodity prices represent something between nuisance and pothole. For Russia, they are a catastrophe, The Wall Street Journal reported. Russia’s currency and economy, already squeezed by Western sanctions, have been sent into virtual free fall by slumping oil prices. The International Monetary Fund predicted in July that Russia’s economy would shrink 3.4% this year, the most of any major emerging market. That now looks optimistic.

Ambient Sibiu, a local do-it-yourself (DIY) retailer and distributor of building materials, has filed for insolvency. The company submitted an insolvency request at the Sibiu court asking for its approval to start a reorganization process, Romania-Insider.com reported. “The evolution of the construction sector and the retail with building materials in the past years has shown that the domestic market remains a difficult one,” reads a company press release, cited by local Capital.

Usually prime ministers call snap elections only when they have a great story to tell. But Alexis Tsipras has never been afraid to challenge conventional political wisdom. He is seeking a renewed mandate after just eight months in office despite what must rank as one of the worst economic records of any leader of a modern industrialized country outside of wartime.

Portugal is having trouble selling the bank salvaged from the wreckage of one of the country’s biggest private lenders, the International New York Times reported. The Portuguese central bank on Tuesday missed its own deadline for selling the salvaged entity, Novo Banco, after talks with the front-running bidder faltered. The Bank of Portugal did not identify the bidder, but it has been widely reported to be a Chinese insurance and asset management company.