Headlines

In the first four months of 2025, 10,936 jobs were lost due to bankruptcies, according to figures published by Belgian statistics agency Statbel, The Brussels Times reported. From January to April, the courts declared 3,968 bankruptcies. In April alone, there were 982 bankruptcies, 6.2% more than in the same month last year. According to Statbel, this is the highest number of bankruptcies in April since 2013.

The Insolvency Service will take over NATIS’s viable investigation cases of Covid-19 financial support fraud in a bid to recoup taxpayers’ money lost to fraudsters in the U.K., according to a press release. Following a review of National Investigation Service (NATIS) performance to ensure the state works for people – it showed that public money was not being spent effectively – which is why all ongoing viable cases will be transferred from the organisation to the Insolvency Service over the coming months.

Britain on Thursday told its antitrust regulator to get behind its push for economic growth and minimise uncertainty for businesses by making more timely, transparent and responsive interventions in merger control, digital markets and consumer protection, Reuters reported. Since taking power last year, the Labour government has stepped up pressure on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and other regulators, demanding they play their part in tearing down barriers that hold back growth. The CMA is independent but it follows a "strategic steer" set by the secretary of state for business.

The European Union’s exports to the U.S. hit a record high in March as businesses stockpiled goods ahead of an expected rise in tariffs that was announced by President Trump in early April, the Wall Street Journal reported. The EU exported 59.5% more goods to the U.S. compared with the same month of the previous year, totaling 71.4 billion euros, or around $79.86 billion, statistics agency Eurostat said Friday. The EU’s trade surplus with the U.S., a key sticking point with Trump, swelled to 40.7 billion euros from 16.7 billion euros in March 2024.

The European Union wants a trade deal with the U.S. that sees a larger reduction in tariffs than negotiations with the U.K. and China have so far yielded, officials from the bloc said Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported. President Trump imposed a series of tariffs that affect Europe’s makers of automobiles, steel and aluminum. On April 2, he announced a sharp rise in tariffs on all imports from Europe, but a week later reduced the increase to 10% for 90 days to allow for negotiations. Last week, the U.S. and the U.K.

Japan's economy shrank for the first time in a year and at a faster pace than expected, data for the March quarter showed on Friday, underscoring the fragile nature of its recovery now under threat from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, Reuters reported. Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted an annualised 0.7% in January-March, preliminary government data showed, much bigger than a median market forecast for a 0.2% drop.

Chinese worker Liu Shengzun lost two jobs in just one month as U.S. import tariffs shot up to triple digits in April, forcing a Guangdong lighting products factory, and then a footwear maker, to reduce output, Reuters reported. Tariffs came down dramatically this week, but Liu has given up on factory jobs and is now back farming in his hometown in southern China. "It's been extremely difficult this year to find steady employment," said the 42-year-old, who used to earn 5,000 - 6,000 yuan ($693-$832) a month as a factory worker and now doesn't have a steady source of income.

South Korea's Minister of Trade and Industry Ahn Duk-geun said on Friday that Seoul would try to reach a deal with Washington on tariffs by the July deadline previously agreed, but warned that the target could be missed due to domestic politics, Reuters reported. The countries will hold technical consultations next week to proceed with tariff negotiations and expect to have another ministerial meeting in June, Ahn said, after meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The World Bank said Friday that the $15.5 million Syria owed it has been paid off by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, clearing Damascus to take out new loans, the Associated Press reported. Saudi Arabia and Qatar had announced plans last month to clear Syria’s outstanding debts, a move that Syria hailed as paving the way for recovery and reconstruction after a 14-year conflict that killed half a million people and caused wide destruction in the country.

Toronto-based lithium battery recycling firm Li-Cycle said on Wednesday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and expects to start a formal sale for its business or assets, Reuters reported. The firm's U.S. units have also commenced proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Li-Cycle has entered into a $10.5 million debtor-in-possession financing and a stalking-horse credit bid for at least $40 million with London-listed Glencore, its largest secured creditor.