Higher barriers to trade would have a negative impact on the global economy, and Europe must be prepared for increased tensions, Bank of Finland Gov. Olli Rehn said Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Rehn, who is a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, said a soft landing for the eurozone economy was still a plausible scenario, but that the outlook is clouded by growing geopolitical uncertainty. A new element in that uncertainty is the trade policy of Donald Trump in his second term as U.S. president.

Boom-time developer Seán Dunne has said it would be “beyond bizarre” for the High Court to strike out his application challenging the appointment of two officials overseeing his bankruptcy, the Irish Times reported. Lawyers for the bankruptcy officials and head of the Insolvency Services of Ireland, Michael McNaughton, have raised a preliminary objection to various motions brought by Mr Dunne (70). Lyndon MacCann SC, with Úna Nesdale, said Mr Dunne’s application was brought in a procedurally improper way and should have come by way of plenary summons.

The International Monetary Fund began its latest assessment of its loan program with Ukraine, even as Kyiv delays passing tax legislation as the lender expects, Bloomberg News reported. The Washington-based lender sent its staff to the Ukrainian capital for talks that may open a path for another $1.1 billion tranche under the four-year initiative, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Finance Ministry published Monday.

Company insolvencies are surging in the UK after the Labour government reduced tax breaks and increased levies for owners, Bloomberg News reported. At least 1,022 companies filed to shut down in the week ended Nov. 8, a rise of 64% from a year earlier, according to notices filed to the Gazette. That’s a potential headache for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who will try to turn the page on her budget of higher taxes with a speech to businesses this week that will champion economic growth and the importance of free trade.

Thames Water’s board is split over two competing deals from its lenders aimed at saving the UK’s biggest water supplier from going insolvent, The Guardian reported. Two classes of creditors, group A bondholders and group B bondholders, are offering high-interest £3bn rescue packages intended as a liquidity lifeline while the company burns through cash and seeks to restructure its debts. Thames is labouring under an unsustainable £15bn debt burden after years of paying hefty dividends as well as fines for pollution scandals.

NatWest Group Plc bought back £1 billion ($1.29 billion) of its shares from the UK government as the Treasury continues to sell down its stake in the lender, Bloomberg News reported. The off-market purchase of 262.6 million shares brought the Treasury’s voting rights in the lender to about 11.4% from about 14.2% previously, according to a statement. The transaction is the first time that NatWest has done two directed buybacks in a twelve-month period.

Project developer HH2E AG is set to file for self-administration after it failed to secure financing for one of Germany’s largest hydrogen projects, Bloomberg News reported. HH2E has been fundraising for its first development project, a hydrogen production plant in the Baltic port of Lubmin. While it said negotiations resulted in final agreements, majority shareholder Foresight Group Holdings Ltd. ultimately decided against providing the necessary financing, HH2E said in a statement. Foresight didn’t comment on its role in the breakdown of financing discussions in a separate statement.

Cash-strapped battery maker Northvolt AB is working on a plan to raise more than 10 billion kronor ($920 million) to continue its operations beyond the immediate horizon, according to its chief executive officer, Bloomberg News reported. “In the long term we need to secure a capitalization of somewhat north of 10 billion kronor in the coming year,” CEO Peter Carlsson told reporters after a seminar in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Cosmetics chain The Body Shop has been declared bankrupt by the court, according to a notification in the Central Insolvency Register, the NL Times reported. In a statement on Facebook, the chain itself speaks of a bankruptcy in the Netherlands. The stores will remain open for the time being, while a bankruptcy administrator investigates whether there are possibilities for a restart. The Body Shop filed for bankruptcy and it was declared by the District Court for Midden-Nederland on Tuesday. The Body Shop is registered in Weesp, which is officially part of Amsterdam.