Headlines

Hundreds of German companies have appealed for more direct support from Brussels and a business-friendly stance from EU lawmakers as they grapple with the effects of Brexit, the US-China trade war and a global economic slowdown, the Financial Times reported. Responding to a poll by the Stiftung Familienunternehmen, or Foundation for Family Businesses, some of the country’s most successful companies said the new European Commission must do more to boost competitiveness. They placed emphasis on simplifying taxes, reducing bureaucracy and deeper digital integration.

All but cut off from international credit markets and facing dollar shortages at home, Lebanon has come up with another workaround to allow the government to borrow money without raiding the central bank’s reserves, Bloomberg News reported. Local lenders, already the biggest holders of Lebanon’s sovereign debt, will cash out certificates of deposit, or CDs, at the central bank to buy some of Lebanon’s planned Eurobond issue of up to $3 billion, a person familiar with the matter said.

All around HDFC Bank Ltd., India’s biggest lender by market value, the news seems to be bad and getting worse: economic growth is slowing, loan losses are rising and shadow banks are mired in crisis, Bloomberg News reported. And yet investors keep piling into HDFC Bank’s stock, convinced it will emerge a winner from India’s financial woes. The company’s market value has surged by $21 billion over the past year, more than any other bank worldwide. Among the 25 biggest lenders globally, no other stock commands a higher price relative to earnings or net assets.

UniCredit SpA has told European Central Bank officials that it may create a German holding company to control part of its business, according to people with knowledge of the matter, the Bloomberg News reported. The move could potentially reduce funding costs and help shield the Italian bank from any future crisis in its home country. The plan, which hasn’t been finalized, could be announced at the bank’s Dec. 3 investor day, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

South Africa has been promising for months to fix Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the state power utility that’s drowning in debt, made record losses and is reliant on government bailouts to remain solvent, Bloomberg News reported. While little tangible progress has been evident so far, several key decisions are due to be taken this month. The utility, which provides about 95% of the country’s power, has been without a permanent CEO since Phakamani Hadebe quit in July.

Creditors to troubled casual-dining group PizzaExpress Ltd., which has around $1.4 billion of debts, expect to see much of their money returned and the brand survive, according to analyst Helen Rodriguez at CreditSights in London, Bloomberg News reported. “There’s a brand and a business for PizzaExpress, it just has the wrong balance sheet and needs to reduce its debt,” she said. “If it were to restructure, someone would certainly want to start again with the business.” That will come as a relief to many in the U.K., for whom the chain is something of a national icon.

India’s financial fraud agency said on Saturday assets worth 40.25 billion rupees ($567.60 million) of Bhushan Power & Steel Limited were connected with a money-laundering probe, a move that could scupper the debt-ridden firm’s sale to JSW Steel Ltd, Reuters reported. The Enforcement Directorate said on Twitter that Bhushan Power’s land, building, plant and machinery were among the assets now associated with an ongoing banking fraud investigation into the firm’s former owners.

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA’s advisors plan to propose a delay in the bankruptcy plan vote by creditors, two people with knowledge of the matter said, Reuters reported. Odebrecht is likely to schedule a creditors assembly on Nov. 18 to comply with Brazilian bankruptcy protection rules, but so far there is not a concrete proposal to vote on, the sources added, asking for anonymity to disclose private discussions. Creditors presented objections to Odebrecht’s plan this month.

A London court order for Ukraine’s largest lender PrivatBank to repay two of its defaulted bonds in full plus interest is a boost for their holders, but looks set to add to Kiev’s complex tussle with the bank’s former owner, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, Reuters reported. The ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) was originally made in June but the exact details have only just emerged after the bonds’ trustee got approval to communicate them to investors.

Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (kCM) smelter was on Wednesday shut down for annual maintenance two days earlier than planned after a leak, the provisional liquidator Milingo Lungu said, Reuters reported. Lungu said the smelter, which was scheduled to undergo annual maintentance for 35 days starting on Friday, would now remain shut for 37 days until Nov 15 when output would resume. “There was a leak and hot copper touched water creating steam. We have therefore decided to shut down the smelter for annual maintenance two days ahead of schedule,” Lungu said.