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As if muddling through a humanitarian crisis and a sharpening political stand-off between authoritarian Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó weren’t bad enough, Venezuela will soon have to wade through what is said to be one of the messiest debt restructurings in history, the Financial Times reported. What will make Venezuela’s forthcoming debt workout so difficult to resolve is not just the amount of IOUs sitting on its balance sheet, but the diversity of its creditor base. Like most metrics in Venezuela, these exact figures are difficult to come by.

The FSB is calling on chancellor Philip Hammond to help the small business community which is buckling under the burdens of Brexit uncertainty, business rates hikes, pension contribution increases, Making Tax Digital for VAT and the late payment crisis, Economia reported. The small business trade body wants him to use his Spring Statement next week to take action, including on his promise in the 2018 Spring Statement to address “the scourge of late payment”.

Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan Motor chairman facing charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan, was released on bail on Wednesday after being held in a Tokyo jail since late November, the International New York Times reported. A judge approved Mr. Ghosn’s release on bail of 1 billion yen, or almost $9 million, on Tuesday, and rejected an appeal by prosecutors to keep him detained until trial. Mr. Ghosn paid in cash on Wednesday and walked out surrounded by police guards in the late afternoon. Mr.

Turkey’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate on hold on Wednesday, sticking to a promise to stand firm on inflation even as the economy suffers a sharp slowdown in growth, the Financial Times reported. In its final meeting before critical local elections at the end of March, the bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said that its one-week rate repo rate would remain at 24 per cent. Turkey has struggled with sky-high inflation following a meltdown in the lira, which wiped almost 30 per cent off the currency versus the dollar last year.

Moana Park Winery has gone into voluntary administration, The New Zealand Herald reported. The Puketapu-based, multi-award winning winery, which is officially registered as World's Best Little Wine Company Ltd, chose to take that step itself on Tuesday. Owned by Daniel and Kaylea Barker, the family business, has made a name for itself with a focus on producing natural, low allergen wines. It's also considered one of the stars of the Hawke's Bay events scene, and hosts the annual Another Day in Taradise.

There is no let-up in sight for the eurozone economy, according to the latest predictions from the OECD, which has slashed its forecasts for the countries that drive the bloc’s growth, the Financial Times reported. The Paris-based international organisation expects eurozone gross domestic product to grow just 1 per cent year on year in 2019 and 1.2 per cent in 2020, according to its interim economic outlook, published on Wednesday. As recently as November it had forecast expansion of 1.8 per cent and 1.6 per cent.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has been on an expansion kick in the debt market. But its first attempt as a sole underwriter on a dollar high-yield bond sale didn’t go so well. The bank’s securities unit bought $500 million of bonds directly from oil and gas exploration firm CNX Resources Corp., with plans to parcel them off to investors later. Its decision to essentially guarantee the deal’s price allowed it to beat out Credit Suisse Group AG, which had already started gauging investor interest in the company, people familiar with the matter said.

Blackpool's recently-appointed board will have the opportunity to review their financial situation before the English Football League decides whether an insolvency penalty is required, the BBC reported. The club were put into receivership by the High Court on 13 February. It followed the removal of former owner Owen Oyston and his daughter Natalie Christopher from the board, when new directors were appointed by receivers. Such a breach of insolvency regulations could result in a 12-point deduction.

The chaotic transition to capitalism in Russia and its neighbors triggered a flood of hundreds of billions of dollars out of the former Soviet Union. Torrents of cash were often routed through offshore zones with limited controls, making it difficult to tell the difference between legitimate business and illicit flows from criminal activity. Sometimes the suspect money made its way into prominent international banks.

The Romanian government has released new plans to change legislation in several areas, including drastically higher fines and penalties for tax evasion and off-the-books work, changing insolvency procedures and construction laws, new investment objectives as well as financial compensation for citizens who served prison time in improper conditions, according to profit.ro.