Headlines

Business activity in the eurozone remained unexpectedly weak in January, as a decline in the services sector offset a nascent recovery among manufacturers, according to a closely watched survey, the Financial Times reported. The IHS Markit eurozone purchasing managers’ index was unchanged at 50.9 in January, despite expectations for the key indicator of economic health to rise to 51.2 at the start of this year. While German activity rose above expectations, this was offset by weaker data from France, which has been hit by nationwide strikes for several weeks.

Turkish conglomerate Cengiz Holding is prepared to bid for British Steel if the planned sale of the UK company to Jingye collapses, adding to pressure on the Chinese group to finalise the deal in coming weeks, the Financial Times reported. “We are watching developments closely and are ready to make a bid for the whole of British Steel,” said Omer Mafa, chief executive of Cengiz, in a statement on Sunday.

Fitch Ratings raised Greece’s sovereign credit rating by one notch, paving the way for the government to sell more debt in the coming days, Bloomberg News reported. The Mediterranean country’s long-term foreign currency debt was upgraded to BB with a positive outlook from BB-. While Greece hasn’t enjoyed such a high rating by Fitch since the country entered the bailout era in 2010, it’s still two levels below investment grade, highlighting that the Greek government has to do more so as to secure an exit from junk status.

Dennis Hranitzky, an attorney who helped hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer win a 15-year bond battle against Argentina, is gearing up for a potential rematch against the South American nation, Bloomberg News reported. The veteran restructuring lawyer, who joined Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan this week, said he is building up an Argentina bondholder group that now totals about 20 funds. The creditors are focused on notes that were part of the nation’s 2005 and 2010 debt exchanges.

Almost half a million businesses in the UK are in significant financial distress, the highest number on record, according to Begbies Traynor, the insolvency firm, the Financial Times reported. Data from the restructuring specialist found that businesses outside London in particular had shown signs of financial difficulties, raising additional questions for Boris Johnson’s government as it talks about ‘levelling up’ growth in the regions.

The head of South Africa’s state power company will this week present a draft plan to change how the utility operates, as local media reported he’s considering unbundling the utility at a slower pace than envisaged by the government, Bloomberg News reported. Stabilizing Eskom SOC Holdings Ltd. is the government’s top priority. The company has more than 450 billion rand ($31 billion) of debt and the cost of servicing those loans is higher than the revenue it’s generating.

Polish carrier LOT is acquiring Thomas Cook’s German airline Condor, creating a leading aviation group in Europe carrying more than 20 million passengers a year, the companies said on Friday. Condor, which according to sources was sold for about 300 million euros ($333 million), operates a fleet of more than 50 aircraft while LOT has a fleet of 80 aircraft, Reuters reported. LOT chief executive Rafal Milczarski said he sees a possible order of around 30 planes from Boeing and Airbus.

Argentina’s top exporter of processed soy, Vicentin, is in talks over a potential takeover deal with firms including European grains giant Glencore to help resolve a debt crisis, according to two sources close to the negotiations, Reuters reported. The near 90-year-old firm, which defaulted on payments to suppliers late last year, has also told grains farmers it owes money to that it will make a debt restructuring offer in the days ahead, the sources said on Friday.

The national company law appellate tribunal (NCLAT) has halted insolvency proceedings of Gurgaon-based Raheja developers after the realtor approached the court claiming it had been fraudulently dragged into bankruptcy by two home buyers, The Economic Times reported. Raheja was admitted for insolvency proceedings in August 2019 by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) which held the company in default of its obligations to two home buyers who at the time had approached the tribunal claiming delay in delivery of flats.

Lebanon's new government must decide whether to seek help from the International Monetary Fund to help ease its financial crisis, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Any programme is likely to require Lebanon to agree to measures ranging from increasing taxes to fighting corruption. Based mainly on previous IMF recommendations, here are some steps Lebanon might have to take as part of any deal: Draw up a medium-term plan to fill Lebanon's yawning fiscal deficit and bring public debt down to sustainable levels.