Headlines

Bankrupt property developer Seán Dunne has lost an appeal challenging the appointment of officials who oversaw his bankruptcy process. Mr Justice Charles Meenan, on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal, dismissed his appeal on Friday, the Irish Times reported. Mr Dunne was one of the most prominent property developers of the Celtic Tiger era, but he went bankrupt with debts of some €700 million and in 2013 filed for bankruptcy in the United States. Shortly afterwards, with the permission of the U.S. authorities, he was declared bankrupt here.

Montauk Metals Inc. filed a corporate assignment into bankruptcy pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) (the “BIA”), according to a press release. The filing comes after the Board was unable to reach a settlement with its creditors. The Fuller Landau Group Inc. has been appointed as the Licensed Insolvency Trustee (the “Trustee”) under the bankruptcy proceedings.

China's nascent private REIT market has emerged as a rare bright spot for cash-strapped developers, with a record fundraising pipeline of $12 billion for this year, driven by rising investor demand for higher yields, Reuters reported. Launched in 2023, the private REIT market, restricted to professional investors, has grown rapidly. Developers are drawn to its quicker and more relaxed approval process compared with public REITs and its prospects for revitalising income-generating assets amid the country's property sector slump.

A massive ¥21.3 trillion ($136 billion) stimulus package was approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday, the Japan Times reported. It’s the largest stimulus package since the pandemic, although it’s smaller than it might have been, with some legislators earlier pushing for ¥25 trillion of support. The package includes ¥17.7 trillion of spending, ¥2.7 trillion in tax breaks and ¥900 billion in special account spending.

Japan's exports rose more than expected in October for a second straight monthly gain, government data showed on Friday, underpinned by a milder fall in U.S.-bound shipments, resilient demand in other key markets and a weaker yen, Reuters reported. "Although the outlook of exports to the U.S. remains uncertain, it can be interpreted that the impact of U.S. tariffs has been limited," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research.

Singapore on Friday upgraded its economic outlook for 2025 as third-quarter gross domestic product growth beat market expectations and initial estimates, Reuters reported. GDP rose 4.2% in the third quarter from a year earlier, government data showed, faster than the 2.9% official advance estimate released last month. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, GDP expanded 2.4% from the second quarter. The trade ministry raised its GDP growth forecast for 2025 to "around 4.0%" from a previous range of 1.5% to 2.5%. It forecast 2026 GDP growth at 1.0% to 3.0%.

Kronospan officially announced that it has completed the acquisition of the ZG Timber sawmill in Sebeș, which was previously part of the currently insolvent Ziegler Group, according to Economedia.ro. The transaction ensures the continuity of operations at the Sebeș factory, maintaining jobs for the over 500 employees currently working on site, Romania-Insider.com reported. "Upon obtaining regulatory approvals and officially completing the acquisition, the Sebeș sawmill will be integrated into Kronospan's operations in Romania.

In an executive order, Trump exempted dozens of Brazilian food products, including coffee and beef, from the 40% increased tariffs he imposed in an ill-fated attempt to help former President Jair Bolsonaro dodge a coup attempt trial, Bloomberg News reported. Together with prior exemptions, the move will leave many of the nation’s major exports free from heightened US duties, a victory for an agricultural powerhouse that ranks as the world’s largest beef and coffee producer and counts the US as its No. 2 trade partner.

European Union governments and the European Parliament have reached agreement on harmonising the 27-nation bloc's insolvency laws to make it easier to invest across the EU and create a more liquid EU capital market, the EU Council said in a statement, Reuters reported. Work on harmonising some key aspects of the 27 different national bankruptcy laws has been going on for a decade, slowed down by vested interests, different national legal cultures and traditions and turf wars between justice and finance ministries.

China Evergrande Group’s famous log-cabin hotel in Quebec, Canada, has been placed in receivership after the defaulted real estate developer failed to make payments on its debt, Bloomberg News reported. Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, which has hosted luminaries including Grace Kelly and Margaret Thatcher, would be put up for sale by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the court-appointed receiver, according to documents filed this week on the accounting firm’s website.