Britain's Lindsey oil refinery has begun insolvency proceedings, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and potentially increasing the country's reliance on fuel imports just weeks after its Grangemouth refinery stopped processing oil, Reuters reported. Lindsey is one of six remaining oil refineries in Britain, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and employs around 420 people, according to FTI, the refinery's special manager through the insolvency process.
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French heart prosthesis company Carmat has filed for insolvency and requested to be placed in receivership after failing to secure emergency funding, it said on Monday, Reuters reported. Trading in Carmat shares have been suspended at the company's request, it said, pending a decision by the the Versailles Economic Affairs Court. Carmat, which had warned earlier this month that it could run out of cash by end-June without fresh financing, said it had not managed to raise the 3.5 million euros ($4.1 million) it needed and had submitted the filing to the court.
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Autonomous driving software company LeddarTech has filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) days after announcing its plans to wind down operations on June 16, Betakit.com reported. The filing from the Québec City-based company details $145.9 million in debts. Secured (collateral-backed) debts represent $138.9 million of the figure and include $$53.2 million owed to the provincial government’s Investissement Québec (IQ) and a total of $40.3 million to investor and credit provider Desjardins.
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The future of an inland surfing lake in the U.K. remains uncertain as the facility is sold amid a row over finances, BBC.com reported. The Wave, on the outskirts of Bristol, shut suddenly on Thursday and cancelled bookings after being placed into technical insolvency. CEO Hazel Geary announced on Friday evening the site, under the entity Surf Bristol Limited, had been sold to a company called Sea Level Wave Company Ltd. Julian Topham, who founded and runs Boardmasters surf festival and Vision Nine, has been asked to step into the role of interim CEO during the "transition period".
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The European Central Bank said it will respond in a “forceful or persistent” manner to big swings in inflation, reflecting the lessons learned from the postpandemic price surge in its latest strategy review, the Wall Street Journal reported. In common with other central banks, the ECB was criticized for being too slow to respond to a pickup in inflation in 2021 when the annual rate peaked at above 10% by late 2022.
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Germany’s annual inflation rate fell in June to 2%, in line with the European Central Bank’s target, preliminary data showed. The new reading for Europe’s largest economy reflected a broader easing across the continent — a positive sign for the central bank as it weighs further rate cuts this year, SEMAFOR reported. “Overall, it’s safe to say that the days of high inflation are over for now,” Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, told Der Spiegel.
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Staffordshire, U.K.-based hire and fleet management firm Prohire has taken initial steps to appoint an administrator, Motor Transport reported. The company filed an application in court this week notifying its intention to appoint insolvency experts. The application was lodged on 25 June. The last available set of accounts for the business showed that turnover had increased by £8.5m in the year ending 31 March 2024 to £52.9m. It attributed this mainly to annualisation of prior year and current year contract hire new business secured.
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Conflict in the Middle East has pushed inflation higher for the first time in 2025 and weakened confidence in the eurozone, according to data released Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 0.8% higher in France and 2.2% higher in Spain in June than a year earlier compared with 0.6% and 2% in May, respectively, according to European Union harmonized data.
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