Headlines

Hudson’s Bay is firing back at one of its biggest lenders. A new court filing from the defunct department store’s chief financial officer pushes back on the lender’s calls to subject the retailer to more oversight because it allegedly mishandled its liquidation and is hopelessly pursuing a deal to sell 25 of its leases, Bloomberg News reported.

South Korea's first-generation online video service (OTT) platform Watcha is in danger of going through corporate restructuring, Chosun Biz reported. This comes as Inlight Ventures, one of the investors, has requested court administration. Due to prolonged deficits, it has become difficult for the investor to recover the invested funds, prompting the creditor to directly request the restructuring process. Watcha plans to request the withdrawal of corporate restructuring through negotiations with investors. However, the situation is challenging.

Ziglu, a UK-based cryptocurrency firm, has disclosed a substantial financial shortfall of $2.7 million, sparking worries among its investors, Coin World reported. This revelation emerged as the company grapples with insolvency, leaving many investors uncertain about the future of their investments. The shortfall was made public during the firm's insolvency proceedings, which were initiated after it became evident that Ziglu was unable to fulfill its financial commitments.

Liquidators are probing how money for a $15 million Queensland government project was transferred from the contract-winning cybersecurity company to its founder's bank account within 24 hours of the funds arriving, ABC.net.au reported. The funds transfer to Cryptoloc Holdings founder Jamie Wilson, who once wooed the state's top politicians and pop stars, is under investigation as a potential "fraudulent" transaction, according to a liquidator's report. The move is the latest shock from a disastrous cybersecurity tender won just before last year's state election by Cryptoloc Holdings.

The European Union on Monday accused the U.S. of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached to avoid the punishing tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened to impose starting on August 1, Reuters reported. Trump, meanwhile, said that he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners before new 30% tariffs kick in next month and that EU officials would be coming to the United States for negotiations.

Much higher U.S. tariffs on imports from the European Union would further weaken already anemic growth in the eurozone, and likely prompt the European Central Bank to lower borrowing costs, the Wall Street Journal reported. President Trump on Saturday threatened to raise the duty charged on imports of a wide range of goods to 30% from 10% if the European Union doesn’t drop all of its tariffs on U.S. goods. The U.S. already charges higher tariffs for imports of automobiles and metals, and is considering additional duties on pharmaceuticals and other goods.

Confronting a trade war with the United States, China’s government has poured $42 billion this year into a consumer trade-in program, double last year’s amount. The aim was to jolt a much-needed surge in spending at a precarious moment for the economy by subsidizing discounts for a wide variety of consumer goods, from washing machines to electric vehicles, the New York Times reported. The program has proved so successful that several municipalities have suspended or curtailed the program in recent weeks to prevent the money from running out prematurely.

In the first quarter of this year, 18 out of 23 savings banks located in Seoul showed non-performing loans (NPLs) ratios exceeding the recommended level, Chosun Biz reported. Notably, the number of savings banks in the Seoul area with NPL ratios exceeding double digits increased from 8 to 12 during the same period. The situation of savings banks has worsened since the real estate project financing (PF) defaults began in the second half of 2022.

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” on Russia’s trade partners “at about 100%” if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a deal to end his invasion of Ukraine in 50 days, CNBC.com reported. “We’re very, very unhappy with them, and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs, if you don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%, they call them secondary tariffs,” Trump said from the White House while meeting with NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte.

Thailand is considering offering zero tariffs on more U.S. imports, the finance minister said on Monday, Reuters reported. The government is also preparing 200 billion baht ($6.1 billion) worth of soft loans to ease the impact of tariffs, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told a business seminar. Thailand faces a 36% tariff from Washington if a deal cannot be reached before August 1. Read more.