Headlines

However bad a spiralling money laundering scandal has been to the three Baltic countries, it could get even worse. Financial regulators in Estonia and Latvia told the Financial Times they were afraid Swedish banks — which dominate both headlines on money laundering and their banking systems — could withdraw from the region, just as Danske Bank and Nordea have already done amid dirty money allegations, the Financial Times reported. “Sure, we are very worried,” said Peters Putnins, head of the Latvian regulator.

China’s policy makers, faced with a slowing economy and growing pressure on the banking system, have decided it’s time for the nation’s stock and bond markets to play a bigger role in funding companies, Bloomberg News reported. Less than one-quarter of China’s $2.9 trillion of financing last year was from bond and equity issuance, central bank data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s not good enough, according to senior officials, who are looking for ways to improve businesses’ access to cash without adding too much risk to the financial system.

How worried should we be about debt? The answer is not straightforward. First, the bear case. In short, debt is just too big for comfort. Global debt has swelled 50 per cent in the decade since the credit crisis, according to Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. Government debt in the eurozone is higher than before the financial crisis, as are, in some cases, household debt-to-income ratios.

Some lessors of India’s Jet Airways have begun terminating lease deals over unpaid dues and are preparing to move the leased planes abroad, escalating a crisis for the carrier, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Two lessors have applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, to deregister at least five planes leased to cash-strapped Jet, three of the sources said, Reuters reported. Termination of lease agreements normally precedes applications made to the DGCA.

Philip Green is launching a restructuring of his Topshop empire, attempting to slash costs at the UK’s largest privately held fashion retailer and setting up a fierce battle with landlords, the Financial Times reported. The scandal-plagued billionaire wants to cut jobs, reduce the store portfolio and lower the rent and rates costs at his Arcadia group, whose brands include Topshop, Burton, Wallis and Miss Selfridge. Arcadia said it was “exploring several options” to cope with “an exceptionally challenging retail market and . . . continued pressures that are specific to

How far will China’s leaders go to prevent an equity bubble from forming? It’s becoming a key question for investors as mixed signals produce the wildest market in years, Bloomberg News reported. Traders are hanging on every word out of Beijing for clues on how the government may want to manage this year’s world-beating rally. The new securities regulator chairman -- who has played a leading role in stoking risk appetite -- just downplayed the significance of last week’s rating cut, calling it “very normal” even though the market’s reaction showed otherwise.

Nyrstar, Europe’s biggest zinc producer, has defered bond coupon payments as it tries to strike a restructuring deal with creditors and avoid bankruptcy, the Financial Times reported. The Belgian-based company had been due to pay €31.6m of interest on €850m of debt today but has deciced to exercise 30-day grace period so that it can continue talks with bondholders and Trafigura, its biggest shareholder.

Outsourcing company Mitie Group is considering acquiring the largest unit of Interserve Plc, the troubled U.K. construction company that collapsed this week and had its assets taken over by lenders, Bloomberg News reported. Mitie’s chief executive officer, Phil Bentley, is working on plans to offer Interserve’s owners, which include a consortium of banks and hedge funds, about 100 million pounds for its support services unit, Sky News reported Saturday. This unit carries out facilities management work for government and various private sector clients in the U.K.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV plans to dig deeper into the accounting misdeeds that brought the retailing giant to its knees as it seeks to get to the bottom of some $7.4 billion in fictitious or improper deals, Bloomberg News reported. A forensic probe by PwC found that a small group of former executives -- with the help of others outside the company -- structured phony transactions that substantially inflated earnings and asset values, according to a 10-page summary of the report published Friday.

Brazilian airline Azul SA hopes to take over 30 of struggling Avianca Brasil’s aircraft at cheaper lease rates, take control of two-thirds of Avianca’s airport slots and rehire many of its workers, while avoiding its crippling debts and any labor disputes, Chief Executive John Rodgerson said on Thursday. If the bid is successful, it would restructure the domestic Brazilian air travel market, reducing the number of big players from four to three, Reuters reported.