Headlines

The local court of Aschaffenburg today approved the application of Adler Modemärkte AG and opened preliminary insolvency proceedings in self-administration pursuant to Section 270b (1), (2) of the German Insolvency Code, new version, according to a press release. Within the scope of the preliminary self-administration, the business operations of Adler Modemärkte AG shall be continued in their entirety and the company shall be restructured by means of an insolvency plan. The management board of the company will continue to have the power of administration and disposition.

The International Monetary Fund approved the disbursement of $488 million to Angola and reiterated its confidence that Africa’s second-biggest oil producer will rein in public debt to sustainable levels, Bloomberg News reported. The disbursement approved by the executive board comes four months after the Washington-based lender increased the size of the loan by almost a quarter to $4.5 billion to help Angola weather the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Business failures in Ireland barely rose last year despite the economic challenges posed by the Covid crisis, new figures show, the Irish Times reported. Measures deployed by government during the pandemic had helped to sustain companies during the year, said accountants Deloitte, which compiled the figures. The number of corporate insolvencies rose by just 1 per cent to 575. This compares to 568 insolvencies in 2019.

Proposals have been outlined by the U.K. government to increase the financial eligibility criteria for debt relief orders (DROs), helping more people deal with financial difficulties to get a fresh start, according to a press release. Research shows that the demand for debt advice could increase by up to 60% by the end of 2021 and around 3 million more people than before the pandemic will need support with problem debt by the end of 2021. The government is publicly consulting on changing the eligibility criteria to enter a DRO to:

China’s economy has come roaring back from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, and its currency has joined the ride, the New York Times reported. The currency, known variously as the yuan or the renminbi, has surged in strength in recent months against the American dollar and other major currencies. Through Monday, the U.S. dollar was worth 6.47 renminbi, compared with 7.16 renminbi in late May and close to its strongest level in two and half years.

China is battling its biggest coronavirus outbreak in months, imposing lockdowns on hard-hit areas, quarantining more than 20 million people and urging citizens to forgo unnecessary travel as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches in February, the Wall Street Journal reported. The tightening, which comes during northern China’s coldest winter in a generation, underscores official skittishness nearly a year after authorities shut down the city of Wuhan to contain the initial outbreak.

The decision by India’s highest court on Tuesday to temporarily suspend the implementation of new farming laws at the center of huge protests appeared unlikely to end the weekslong showdown choking New Delhi, as protesting farmers declared the suspension a politically-motivated “trick” to ease the pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New York Times reported.