Headlines

The International Monetary Fund approved nearly $600 million in emergency lending for Tanzania’s health system and economic-recovery efforts as the nation battles the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The fund’s executive board approved a total of $567 million in funds -- $189 million under the Rapid Credit Facility and $378 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument. The resources will help pay for the nation’s “urgent balance of payment needs” stemming from the virus, the IMF said.

Eric Teng was preparing to welcome his restaurants’ first dine-in customers in weeks on Wednesday when the Philippine government suddenly backtracked on its decision to ease virus curbs, Bloomberg News reported. “It’s unacceptable, but we have to live by these overnight declarations,” said Teng, who runs a group of restaurants including Mango Tree and Cocina Peruvia in Manila. “That’s a live-or-die statement for us.

The European Union moved Tuesday to force Poland to comply with the rulings of Europe’s top court with plans to seek daily fines against the nationalist government in Warsaw in a long-running dispute over Poland’s judicial system, the Associated Press reported. In a rare move, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, said it wants the European Court of Justice to “impose financial penalties on Poland to ensure compliance” with one of the tribunal’s orders from July.

The International Monetary Fund wants Chad’s private creditors to engage in “credible” talks before approving a much-needed support program for one of the world’s poorest countries, Bloomberg News reported. Following two months of talks, China, France, India and Saudi Arabia agreed in June to restructure the credits and back an IMF loan program to shore up the central African economy under a Group of 20 debt-relief plan. But the IMF is still seeking “a strong commitment from private creditors on their willingness to negotiate” debt treatments, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The $10 billion takeover battle for British supermarket group Morrisons between two U.S. private equity groups looks set to be decided by a rarely used auction process, Reuters reported. Morrisons said on Wednesday that it was in talks with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), Fortress Investment Group and Britain's takeover regulator about an auction to settle its future. Last month, Morrisons agreed a 7 billion pound ($9.6 billion) offer from CD&R, which has former Tesco boss Terry Leahy as a senior adviser.

U.S. payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc. said it would acquire Japanese "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) firm Paidy in a $2.7 billion largely cash deal, taking another step to claim the top spot in an industry experiencing a pandemic-led boom, Reuters reported. The deal tracks rival Square Inc.'s agreement last month to buy Australian BNPL success story Afterpay Ltdfor $29 billion, which experts said was likely the beginning of a consolidation in the sector.

Philippine Airlines Inc. expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the end of the year, with a leaner fleet and fewer destinations as a recovery in travel demand isn’t likely in the next few years, President Gilbert Santa Maria said, Bloomberg News reported. Majority owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, the carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Sept. 3 with a lender-supported plan to help it recover after the pandemic devastated global travel.

Shares of Avianca Holdings SA have tumbled 45% over the past week as the Colombian airline prepares a bankruptcy exit plan that will likely make the stock worthless, Bloomberg News reported. The air carrier, which was driven into chapter 11 during last year’s pandemic and travel bans, fell 6% in Bogota trading Monday, extending losses for a fifth day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shares were trading around 119 pesos (about 3 cents) on Monday. A U.S.

Just 160 Canadian businesses filed for insolvency in July, marking a 35-year low in new filings, according to new data from the Office for the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the Financial Post reported.

A founder of Facedrive Inc., a Canadian ride-hailing startup whose shares have plunged 96% since early February, said in a statement that he received notice that the company is considering filing for bankruptcy protection as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported.