Headlines

One of Britain’s biggest vertical farming businesses has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace after reporting widening losses, City AM reported. London-based Vertical Future, which has raised more than £37m in capital since it was founded in 2016, saw its losses surpass £10m in 2024 after turnover tumbled from £6.7m to just £692,000. Vertical Future had hoped to raise as much as £60m in a fresh funding round in 2023 to help grow the business, according to the Standard.

Finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that 204 insolvency cases in the real estate and construction sector were resolved under the bankruptcy law until March 2025, yielding an average recovery of 44.7% against the lenders' admitted claims, the Economic Times of India reported. The realisation was, however, as much as 111.6% of the fair value and 172.15% of the liquidation value of the rescued firms, Sitharaman said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha.

Norwegian subsea services company Argeo has filed for bankruptcy after multiple processes failed to secure the funding needed for the company to continue operations, BairdMaritime.com reported. A Norwegian court officially opened bankruptcy proceedings for Argeo and its main Norwegian subsidiaries on July 24. The decision follows a period of uncertainty for the company. After initially resolving to file for bankruptcy in early July, the board postponed the filing after receiving indications of interest from several industrial players.

Irish financier Paul Coulson has agreed to cede entire control of Ardagh Group, the glass bottles and drink cans giant he built up over the past 25 years, to a group of its bondholders in exchange for a share of a $300 million (€257 million) pay-off, the Irish Times reported. The company at the top of Ardagh Group corporate tree has an estimated $12.5 billion of debt, which became unsustainable after its earnings were hit since the Covid-19 pandemic by inflation, soaring interest rates, and soft consumer demand on both sides of the Atlantic.

The eurozone economy slowed in the three months through June, but showed a resilience that suggests it could recover in the months ahead despite the higher tariffs its exports now face in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product in the 20-nation currency union grew 0.1% over the quarter, European Union figures showed Wednesday. That marks a slowdown from the 0.6% growth the eurozone booked in the first quarter of the year. On an annualized basis, the eurozone economy expanded by 0.4%, down from 2.3% in the first quarter.

Chinese leaders signaled they would refrain from rolling out more major stimulus for now, as authorities pivot to addressing excess capacity in the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Instead of announcing more policy support to bolster growth, the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo, China’s top policymaking body, pledged Wednesday to better execute policies that are already in place, according to a readout by state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Brazil is planning relief measures for companies impacted heavily by steeper U.S. tariffs set to take effect in August, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Haddad said that the plan, which will be reviewed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, includes steps to ensure companies have the confidence to maintain their investments. He denied, however, that the plan includes tax exemptions for the affected companies.

Three cabinet-level South Korean officials met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington for trade talks, Seoul said on Wednesday, as top business leaders were also reported to be flying in to help lobby for a deal on U.S. tariffs, Reuters reported. South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol joined Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who have been in Washington since last week, for two hours of talks with Lutnick, a ministry spokesperson said in Seoul. The finance ministry spokesperson did not offer details of the discussions. U.S.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to raise tariffs on Indian imports as high as 25% if the allied nations cannot complete a long-sought trade agreement, CNN reported. “They are going to pay 25%,” Trump said. When asked by a reporter if India would pay tariffs of 20% to 25%, Trump said, “Yeah, I think so. India has been – they’re my friends.” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Monday that an elusive India trade agreement would require more discussion between the two countries.

Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged after easing at its last two meetings, as the city-state continues to face risks from looming U.S. tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported.