The number of companies going bust has increased by more than 70% over the year, according to official figures, BBC News reported. The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) figures showed 244 Scottish companies failed during the first quarter of this year, compared with 143 during the same period in 2014. The numbers increased by 6.6% on the fourth quarter of 2013. The number of personal insolvencies fell by 14%, compared with the same time a year ago.

The special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation have told the Government they expect the proceeds from the sale of loan portfolios at the defunct institution to exceed the €12.9 billion in IBRC-related debt issued by the State at the time of its winding up last year. As a result there will be no additional taxpayer liability relating to the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide above the €34.7 billion that was given to the banks in 2009/10 via share capital and the Anglo promissory note.

American investment firms have found numerous opportunities to capitalize on the turmoil in Europe’s banking sector by buying distressed assets. But one major private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is taking a novel approach, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported.

Vince Cable has issued a stark warning to Britain's leading boardrooms that they need to crack down on bonuses to restore public trust and avert the threat of fresh legislation to limit executive pay, The Guardian reported. The business secretary fired off a warning to the 100 biggest UK-listed companies about the damage big pay deals can have on their image, before Barclays' annual meeting on Thursday, where protests about the bank's £2.4bn bonus pot are expected to be registered by disgruntled shareholders.

Unemployment remains a key factor behind insolvency in Hungary. In about 3 out of 4 cases, low or nonexistent income is the reason why people in Hungary run up debt, debt collector company Intrum Justitia noted in a survey on insolvency, Portfolio.hu reported. While umeployment still rates high among the triggers that eventually lead to bad debt, the figure is now lower than in the 2013 survey, Intrum Justitia found.

Creditors – including HM Revenue & Customs – could lose more than £150m a year if the government applies the Jackson reforms to insolvency cases, a new report claims. Research commissioned by R3, a trade body for insolvency professionals, found litigation currently brings in £300m a year from insolvent businesses. Of this, up to £70m relates to money owed to HMRC, with the rest owed to businesses, The Law Society Gazette reported.

The German government’s plan to lower the retirement age has come under fire for the message it sends to cash-strapped peripheral eurozone states, the Financial Times reported. Speaking to national paper Die Welt, Günther Oettinger, German EU commissioner, said that Germany’s plans to allow longer-serving employees to retire at the age of 63 sent the “wrong signal” at a time when countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are struggling to introduce tough labour market reforms. “We expect Greeks to work longer for less pay,” said Mr Oettinger.

Russian companies, facing $115 billion of debt due over the next 12 months, will have the funds even as bond markets shut because of the Ukraine crisis, according to Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Firms will have about $100 billion in cash and earnings at their disposal during the next 18 months, Moody’s said in an analysis of 47 businesses April 11. Almost all 55 companies examined by Fitch are “well placed” to withstand a closed refinancing market for the rest of 2014, it said in a note on April 16.

Three years ago Sweden was regarded as a role model in how to deal with a global crisis. The nation’s exports were hit hard by slumping world trade but snapped back; its well-regulated banks rode out the financial storm; its strong social insurance programmes supported consumer demand; and, unlike much of Europe, it still had its own currency, giving it much-needed flexibility. By mid-2010 output was surging, and unemployment was falling fast. Sweden, declared The Washington Post , was “the rock star of the recovery”. Then the sadomonetarists moved in.

Italy's two largest banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, are teaming up with U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to pool some of their bad loans into a vehicle that will provide fresh capital for the struggling companies, the Financial Times reported. The preliminary agreement, which also involves restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal, will be announced on Tuesday, the paper said on its website on Monday. The announcement is likely to say the four companies have signed a memorandum of understanding but are still working out many details, FT said.