Headlines

A liquidator has been appointed over Killarney Brewing and Distilling (KBD) company in another blow to the Irish drinks sector, the Irish Times reported. James Anderson of Deloitte was appointed as the liquidator by the High Court on Monday. The move came after a disagreement between the Revenue Commissioners and the KBD about who would be appointed. KBD had sought for Mr Anderson, who was already the existing examiner for the business to be appointed as the liquidator over the company in a High Court hearing on Friday.

A small township in northern Ontario says it will suspend all municipal services next month, after years of financial instability and pleas for provincial help, GlobalNews.ca reported. The Township of Fauquier-Strickland announced the decision last Tuesday, citing over $2.5 million in accumulated operating deficits and the complete depletion of reserve funds. In a release issued July 9, municipal officials say they’ve exhausted all other options, including layoffs and significant service cuts.

Morocco's central bank was exploring the use of its own digital currency for peer-to-peer and cross border payments, bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri said on Monday, Reuters reported. A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is controlled by the central bank, in contrast to cryptocurrencies that are usually decentralised. Cryptocurrencies have been banned in Morocco since 2017, but the public continues to use them underground, circumventing restrictions.

A group of dozens of companies pledged Monday to invest at least 631 billion euros ($733 billion) in Germany over the next three years, sending a signal of confidence in Europe's biggest economy as the new government tries to breathe new life into it, the Associated Press reported. The economy has shrunk for the past two years and is expected to stagnate this year. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's administration has made revitalizing it a top priority since it took office May 6.

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Friday, stayed the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Reliance Infrastructure as it was informed that the company had settled the due amount, the Economic Times of India reported. NCLAT also stayed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order, which admitted Reliance Infra into insolvency over unpaid debt of around ₹90 crore.

Brazilian petrochemical group Unigel is considering filing for judicial recovery (bankruptcy protection) to facilitate a new round of capitalization, ValorInternational.com has learned. The company has already signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with potential investors, who have until October to review its financial data and business turnaround plans. According to sources close to the informal talks, one interested group has made its investment conditional on a bankruptcy filing, a condition Unigel has not resisted.

A slight easing in Japan’s consumer inflation is welcome news for the central bank, but stubbornly high food prices will be of concern for policymakers whose hands remain tied by tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Core consumer prices, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 3.3% from a year earlier in June, government data showed Friday. That compared with May’s 3.7% rise, and matched the forecast in a poll of economists by data provider Quick.

Moody’s Ratings upgraded Argentina’s credit ratings and upped its outlook, citing stabilizing and disinflationary macroeconomic reforms, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ratings agency upped the country’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings and local currency issuer ratings to Caa1 from Caa3 and changed Argentina’s outlook to stable from positive. Moody’s said that the government’s release of distortive exchange controls and reduction in government spending have attracted investment and resulted in real wage increases and greater availability of credit.

China's commerce ministry called on Canada to correct the "wrong practice" of restrictions on steel imports and said in a statement on Friday it would take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms, Reuters reported.

Indonesia is still negotiating details of its recently-reached trade deal with the United States after Washington lowered tariff rates on the Southeast Asian country, and is pursuing exemptions for its exports of palm oil and nickel, an official said on Friday, Reuters reported. The two countries reached a trade deal this week that led to a reduction in the threatened U.S. proposed tariff rate to 19% from 32%. The deal was one of only a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline with numerous countries.