Headlines

Significant legislative changes are needed to allow “debt-for-equity swap” solutions for insolvent personal debtors facing difficulties repaying their mortgages, a High Court judge has said, The Irish Times reported. Scores of borrowers hoping for approval for these swaps to give them a fresh financial start in personal insolvency cases face uncertainty due to the judge’s ruling. Mr Justice Denis McDonald found that the courts cannot approve “debt-for-equity swaps” in personal insolvency arrangements without the consent of the relevant secured creditor.

A new program being discussed by Argentina and its biggest lender, the International Monetary Fund, could set up private bondholders for heavy losses without requiring the spending cuts needed to make the country solvent, investors say, Reuters reported. Argentina and the IMF announced last month they would start Article IV consultations - allowing the Fund to inspect Argentina’s accounts - as a stepping stone to a possible new program that would replace a defunct $57 billion loan agreement struck by the previous government in 2018.

A lawyer for bankrupt developer Sean Dunne indicated in court papers filed late last week that his client intends to seek damages from his son John Dunne for turning over more than $12 million (€10.7 million) to the trustee in Sean Dunne’s long-running US bankruptcy case, The Irish Times reported. Attorney Luke McGrath said in the papers that he plans to file a claim seeking “money damages” against John Dunne in state court in New York City, where he lives.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions expects a plan that it’s proposing to save Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. from its debt burden to be ready within weeks, said the labor federation’s parliamentary coordinator, Bloomberg News reported. The labor group, an ally of the ruling African National Congress, has proposed using the state pension fund manager, the Public Investment Corp., and government-owned development finance institutions to cut the power utility’s debt by 254 billion rand ($16.3 billion) to 200 billion rand.

Commodity trader Trafigura has reached an agreement to buy and then sell on a stake in Puma Energy from a retired Angolan general, aiding the efforts of the debt-laden fuel supplier to attract more lenders and investors, the Financial Times reported. Under a complex deal announced on Monday, Cochan Holdings, an investment vehicle controlled by Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento — widely known as “General Dino” — will reduce its stake in Puma from 15 per cent to less than 5 per cent.

NMC Health has called on lenders for time to stabilise its finances, as the embattled healthcare group looks to safeguard cash and sustain its operations. The company, which is under investigation by UK regulators, said on Monday that it had sought a so-called “informal standstill” agreement in which lenders hold off exercising any “rights and remedies” they may have in the event of “current or future defaults,” the Financial Times reported.

Italy endured its 17th consecutive monthly decline in manufacturing activity in February, adding to signs that the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus is set to plunge the eurozone’s third-biggest economy into another recession, the Financial Times reported. With nearly 1,700 confirmed cases and 34 dead, Italy is home to one of the largest coronavirus outbreaks outside Asia. On Sunday, the Italian government announced plans to inject €3.6bn into the economy, which contracted 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of last year.

A Japanese cruise operator filed for bankruptcy on Monday after its restaurant ship Luminous Kobe 2, which offered buffets and night views of the western port city of Kobe, was hit by cancellations amid concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported. Luminous Cruise said it had already been struggling with rising fuel costs and setbacks from recent typhoons before the coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess, an unrelated cruise ship now docked at Yokohama. “Since February 1, we have had many cancellations which appear connected to the coronavirus.

Administrators for South Africa’s loss-making state airline have been given an extra month to complete a turnaround plan, Bloomberg News reported. The so-called Business Rescue Practitioners can now file their report on South African Airways by the end of March, they said in a statement on Friday. A majority of creditors agreed to the extension. Bloomberg News earlier reported the development. South Africa’s government placed SAA into a local form of bankruptcy protection late last year, a move designed to end a cycle of state bailouts and mounting losses.

Ireland’s central bank chief has warned against starting a spending spree to address the country’s shortage of affordable housing after the problem led to a surge in support for the nationalist Sinn Féin party in elections last month, the Financial Times reported. Gabriel Makhlouf told the Financial Times that even though the Irish economy was one of the top performers in Europe last year with growth of close to 5 per cent, there were risks ahead that could cause a sharp downturn.