Headlines

European shares slipped on Monday as investors remained nervous about the euro-zone economy, Brexit and the US government shutdown. Dublin’s Iseq Overall Index of shares dipped just 0.09 per cent to 5,651.16 yesterday. Building materials giant and index heavyweight CRH slipped 1.83 per cent to €23.63 as investors sold about 1.67 million shares in the group, The Irish Times reported. About half of its business comes from the United States, where it supplies government-funded projects such as highway construction.

Mozambique has indicted 18 citizens for their involvement in fraud involving $2 billion in loans to state-owned companies, the attorney general's office (AGO) said on Monday, in a scandal that has ensnared two major international banks, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. "Mozambique AGO is indicting 18 defendants, (ranging) from public workers and other citizens, on charges of abuse of power, abuse of trust, swindling and money laundering," it said in a statement.

Investor expectations for Germany’s economy darkened at the start of 2019, according to a new survey released on Monday that suggests sentiment has failed to brighten after a gloomy performance at the end of last year, the Financial Times reported. A reading by Frankfurt-based research house Sentix fell for the third straight month, with the overall index at its lowest since October 2014. Expectations for Europe’s biggest economy fell to minus 19, the lowest level since August 2012.

Reliance Communications has deposited $18.6m at India’s supreme court in a “partial payment” to creditor Ericsson, which is pushing to have its chairman Anil Ambani imprisoned for alleged contempt of court, the Financial Times reported. Last week, the Swedish group filed a petition with India’s supreme court, accusing RCom of breaching a court order to pay $79m in unpaid dues. It alleged that the telecom company had “illegally pocketed” the proceeds of asset sales, instead of transferring funds to creditors.

Debt-laden Jet Airways India Ltd. is trying to renegotiate contracts with its vendors as lenders demand a revival plan by month-end from India’s second-largest airline by passengers, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, Bloomberg News reported. The Naresh Goyal-led airline is in talks to defer or reduce payments to vendors including aircraft lessors and those providing engineering, spare parts, credit card and airport services, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions aren’t public.

Soccer is the latest Turkish industry to face a large-scale debt revamp after the country’s top teams suffered money-losing seasons and borrowed heavily to buy marquee players. Turkey’s banking association and soccer federation are preparing to announce a restructuring plan for about 11 billion liras ($2 billion) of debt held by the nation’s soccer teams after reaching an agreement Friday, Bloomberg News reported. Shares of the country’s four listed clubs surged.

Sibanye Gold Ltd. said a protracted strike at its South African gold mines may hurt earnings at a time when the producer remains under pressure to reduce debt, Bloomberg News reported. Thousands of workers started a strike in November over pay, and there’s inconsistent output at three mines amid limited operations, spokesman James Wellsted said, without saying how many workers are showing up. Sibanye is assessing the impact on its finances, he said. While the strike won’t force a restructuring of the affected mines, there could be a review if the impact is severe, he said.

Japanese prosecutors want Carlos Ghosn, the detained auto executive who oversaw an alliance that sold 10 million vehicles a year, to confess to financial misconduct, his son told France's weekly Journal du Dimanche (JDD), the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Ghosn has been held in a Tokyo detention center since his Nov. 19 arrest on allegations of under-reporting his income at Nissan Motor Co Ltd. He is also accused of aggravated breach of mistrust in transferring personal investment losses to Nissan, from which he has since been ousted as chairman.

India’s debt-laden Jet Airways is close to reaching a deal with State Bank of India for a fresh loan of 15 billion rupees ($215 million) to meet its working capital needs, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters. The airline has scheduled a meeting on Jan. 8 with its vendors and lessors, many of whom are getting increasingly concerned over non-payment of dues, and officials from State Bank of India (SBI) to discuss the debt restructuring plan, the first source with direct knowledge said, Reuters reported.

The latest figures from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada show the number of Canadian businesses and consumers financially going under jumped significantly in November compared to a year ago, Globalnews.ca reported. Alberta had some of the highest number of consumer insolvencies. Donna Carson, a financial insolvency trustee with MNP Ltd. Calgary, said she wasn’t surprised. “We’ve been seeing spikes in insolvencies in Alberta for the last two-and-a-half years or so,” Carson said on Friday.