Headlines

The Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PPIRP) has resulted in the full settlement of operational creditors' claims in five cases, the Economic Times of India reported. They are - Amrit India, Sudal Industries, Shri Rajasthan Syntex, Enn Tee International and GCCL Infrastructure and Projects. The government enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in August 2021 and introduced the PPIRP for micro, small and medium enterprises. According to the newsletter of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), these five cases resulted in a 25% realisation.

Superdry has urged its shareholders to approve its new restructure plan during its General Meeting, which will take place on 14 June, GlobalData.com reported. The company explained that its restructuring plan combined with an equity raise and delisting constitute a key package of measures that it believes are needed to avoid it entering into insolvency.

China has a very big housing problem with nearly four million apartments that no one wants to buy, according to a New York Times commentary. Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, and his deputies have called on the government to buy them. The plan, announced last week, is the boldest move yet by Beijing to stop the tailspin of a housing crisis that threatens one of the world’s biggest economies. It was also not nearly enough, according to the commentary.

Since its chaotic handling of the alleged cheating scandal in 2022, the reputation of An Coimisiún Le Rincí­ Gaelacha (CLRG) has hinged on it trying to bring the cases of the 44 people accused of so-called feis fixing to a satisfactory conclusion. That will now never happen. And in the midst of the latest scandal, it has also emerged the CLRG is facing insolvency, the Irish Independent reported. Those who had been accused are furious: many maintain that had they had the benefit of a hearing, they would have been cleared of gross misconduct.

Confidence among U.K. consumers rose a little in May, with easing inflation and the expectation of falling Bank of England interest rates set to boost Britons’ spending power, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Research group GfK’s consumer-confidence barometer climbed for a second-straight month to minus 17 in May, from minus 19 in April, in line with economists’ expectations in a Wall Street Journal poll.

Japan’s consumer inflation grew at a slower pace in April, but remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target amid growing expectations over additional interest-rate increases, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overall consumer prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier in April, compared with the 2.7% increase in March, government data showed Friday. While the rise in food prices excluding fresh food slowed down in April, the end of the government’s utility subsidies is expected to push up consumer prices starting May.

Canadian consumer spending sharply rebounded last month, according to preliminary data, after weaker-than-expected retail sales in the first quarter, Bloomberg News reported. Receipts for retailers jumped 0.7% in April, the fastest pace since September, according to the advance estimate from Statistics Canada released Friday. That followed a 0.2% drop in March. With a larger-than-forecast decline in March, retail sales were down 0.2% overall in the first quarter. Despite the April bounce, retail sales are still below levels seen in December.

The European Central Bank should probably wait until September for any subsequent interest-rate cut after it begins reducing borrowing costs in June, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said, Bloomberg News reported. The hawkish German monetary chief cautioned against following up next month’s prospective easing too quickly. “If there’s a rate cut in June, we have to wait, and I believe we have to wait till maybe September,” he said in an interview on Friday at a meeting of Group of Seven counterparts in Stresa, northern Italy.

Singapore’s economy looks on track for a strong year, with hopes underpinned by better-than-expected growth, steadying inflation and improving trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city-state’s economy, one of the richest in Southeast Asia, picked up in the first quarter of the year as growth in the services sector helped offset weakness in manufacturing. Gross domestic product expanded 2.7% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to revised data released by the Ministry of Trade & Industry on Thursday. That improved on the fourth quarter’s 2.2% expansion.

A woman accused of converting bitcoin into cash and property to help hide the proceeds of a 5 billion pound ($6.4 billion) fraud was jailed for nearly seven years on Friday for money laundering after a trial in a London court, Reuters reported. Prosecutors said Wen Jian helped hide the source of money allegedly stolen from nearly 130,000 Chinese investors in fraudulent wealth schemes between 2014 and 2017. She was not alleged to have been involved in the underlying fraud, which prosecutors said was masterminded by another woman who Wen believed was independently wealthy.