Headlines

The European Union unveiled draft rules on Wednesday aimed at cracking down on state-subsidized foreign companies in Europe, a move that could allow regulators to pursue big Chinese companies in much the same way they have targeted U.S. multinationals such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported. The legislation is the latest sign of Europe’s shifting stance toward China, the bloc’s biggest trading partner for goods and a crucial market for its exporters.

Drugmaker Mundipharma International Ltd，owned by the billionaire American Sackler family, has kicked off the sale of its China unit in a deal that could fetch more than $1 billion, Reuters reported. Mundipharma has invited a select group of potential buyers, including private equity firms and local and international pharmaceutical companies, to bid for the asset. Initial bids are due by the end of May. Mundipharma hired Deutsche Bank last year to explore a sale of itself and some individual businesses. It decided to run a standalone sale process for its China business earlier this year.

The International Monetary Fund called on nations to agree on global rules for corporate-income taxation to avoid an eventual scenario where conflicts between countries make all of them worse off, Bloomberg News reported. A multilateral agreement on taxes, like the solutions proposed by the U.S., is the sole way to ensure that highly profitable multinational firms pay sufficient tax in the places where they do business, including low-income countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

Banco Bradesco's loan defaults are under control despite the Brazilian lender's decision to set aside an extra 1 billion reais ($185.31 million) in the first quarter to blunt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Executive Octavio de Lazari said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The CEO told analysts the bank is likely to end 2021 with between 15-16 billion reais in loan-loss provisions, roughly the mid-point of the annual outlook it unveiled in February.

When Covid-19 first plunged Europe into lockdown last spring, there were plausible predictions of a tidal wave of corporate insolvencies. That hasn’t happened, at least not yet, according to a Bloomberg News commentary. The number of companies declaring bankruptcy declined by about a fifth in the euro area last year, even as economic output contracted more than 6%. Firms were saved by overwhelming government support, including hundreds of billions of euros of public loan guarantees, wage subsidies and loan forbearance by banks.

Australia's corporate watchdog accused Westpac Banking Corp. of insider trading while financing a A$16 billion ($12 billion) energy grid privatisation in 2016, the latest in a series of regulatory problems for the country's No. 2 lender, Reuters reported. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said Westpac knew it had won the contract to help two pension funds buy Ausgrid, a state-owned power supplier to millions of people around Sydney, for two hours while it bought A$12 billion of derivative products to support the deal.

The Irish High Court has overturned an order requiring bankrupt businessman Sean Dunne to pay €7,000 a month for the benefit of creditors in his Irish bankruptcy, the Irish Times reported. On the basis of evidence, including that Mr Dunne’s net personal income for a 25-month period is €1,371 monthly, that he cannot access his pension until aged 70, and that the income of his children, of whom he is the sole carer, cannot be treated as his income, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys set aside the Bankruptcy Payment Order (BPO).

An Ontario court has placed Canadian lender Bridging Finance Inc. in receivership and the provincial securities regulator ordered that all trading cease in securities in its funds for 15 days, Reuters reported. The actions followed an investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) that found the Toronto-based company and Chief Executive David Sharpe mismanaged and misappropriated investment funds. The OSC also suspended Sharpe’s registration as the company’s Ultimate Designated Person, responsible for its conduct and supervision, according to a statement issued late on Friday.

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that there is an overblown alarm about a possible wave of insolvencies engulfing the European economy as governments taper aid for firms, Bloomberg News reported. The number of insolvencies has been around 40% below normal since the pandemic struck Europe, making it difficult for courts to operate normally and prompting governments to provide blanket support to companies.

Diplomatic moves to ease transatlantic air travel could unleash fierce competition to entice passengers back into near-empty cabins at a time when tottering airlines can ill afford a price war in the world’s richest aviation market, Reuters reported. Talks between Brussels and Washington, D.C., on resuming mass travel for vaccinated tourists have raised hopes of a summer rebound - further buoyed by new EU reopening proposals. Airlines are desperate for good news after a year of COVID-19 lockdowns that pushed many to the brink of collapse, or into the arms of governments.