Headlines

Tax increases of £60bn or a return to austerity will be needed to restore the UK’s public finances to stability after coronavirus, the fiscal watchdog said on Tuesday, predicting government borrowing will reach £370bn this year, the Financial Times reported. Describing the long-term public finances as “clearly . . . on an unsustainable path”, the Office for Budget Responsibility said that a combination of borrowing to address the consequences of Covid-19 and the government’s decision to limit immigration after Brexit would increase the necessity for tax increases.

The NCLAT has upheld the NCLT order to initiate insolvency proceedings against HDIL, and rejected the plea of its promoter Rakesh Wadhwan, The Economic Times reported. A three-member bench of the appellate tribunal observed that the NCLT had given ample opportunity to Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) to settle the matter amicably with its lenders, but it has failed to make the payment or arrive at a settlement. Earlier on August 20, 2019, the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had directed to initiate insolvency proceedings a

Chinese investors who claim to trace their lineage to a renowned fourth-century calligrapher are fighting to retain control of a 256-year-old French crystal glassmaker, following a series of defaults and a private credit deal gone wrong, the Financial Times reported. The troubles for Beijing-based Fortune Fountain Capital and its struggle to hold on to Baccarat Crystal highlight the problems Chinese investors have run into after taking on excessive leverage to buy European brands — sometimes through private credit deals at lending rates far higher than those of bank

Troubled Spanish renewables firm Abengoa said on Tuesday it was in advanced talks to secure a 250 million euro ($285 million) state-backed liquidity line and restructure part of its debt, but did not expect a final decision until July 27, Reuters reported. The announcement means the Seville-based engineering group will miss Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement with lenders that would allow it to stay afloat.

South Africa’s latest ban on alcohol sales is likely to force 35,000 bar owners in the poorest communities into bankruptcy, according to industry bodies representing the country’s biggest drink makers, Bloomberg News reported. The decision to abruptly prohibit the retail of booze for a second time since March is aimed at reducing alcohol-related hospital admissions while surging coronavirus cases put a strain on emergency wards.

ZenRock Commodities Trading Pte Ltd is unlikely to continue its core oil trading businesses in the long term, its court-appointed supervisor KPMG Services said in a report that also raised concerns over transactions by the Singapore-based trader, Reuters reported. ZenRock was placed under interim judicial management in May after one of its creditors HSBC Holdings PLC alleged that it engaged in a series of “highly dishonest transactions”.

India’s shadow banks are benefiting from a drop in borrowing costs after government stimulus steps, but the troubled sector faces more challenges ahead as the economy reels from the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The lenders’ borrowing costs declined in June for a second straight month, according to a gauge that’s among four indicators compiled by Bloomberg to check on the health of the industry.

Banks plan to cut back on the flow of credit to eurozone businesses this summer because they anticipate that governments will wind down their loan guarantee schemes, according to a European Central Bank survey published on Tuesday, the Financial Times reported. Lenders told the ECB in its quarterly survey that they expected “a considerable net tightening of credit standards on loans to enterprises” in the third quarter of 2020.

Italian banks have the highest portion of loans to industries suffering the most from the coronavirus pandemic, making their capital buffers more vulnerable to any deterioration in asset quality, Bloomberg News reported. Credito Emiliano SpA, Banco BPM SpA, BPER Banca SpA and Unione di Banche Italiane SpA top the list of more than 100 European banks exposed to industries badly hurt by the crisis, according to a research conducted by Eric Dor, director of economic studies at the IESEG School of Management in Lille, France. “Loans to depressed sectors by several Italian banks are mo

The High Court has extended the period of bankruptcy of a Co Monaghan farmer, who was adjudicated a bankrupt in February 2016, to February of 2024, The Irish Times reported. After a short hearing on Monday afternoon, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington said she was “very far from satisfied” that there had been full co-operation from John Hoey, of Annacroft, near Carrickmacross. Mr Hoey, who was present in court, became bankrupt in 2016 after a petition from John Kelly Fuels, Promenade Road, Dublin, for a debt of more than €260,000.