Headlines

The Swedish government does not plan to take a stake in battery maker Northvolt, Sweden's Minister for Energy, Business and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch told Reuters on Tuesday. The statement echoed that of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson who has also said the government does not plan to invest in the cash-strapped battery maker. "There are huge investments happening in the green transition in Sweden whether or not the Northvolt project gets fully completed or not," Busch told Reuters.

WeWork Inc. is giving up space in two prime locations in Singapore, underscoring the company’s challenges in one of its most promising markets, Bloomberg News reported. One co-working space spanning the 17th to 20th floors at Manulife Tower along Singapore’s 8 Cross Street has ended operations. Another three-floor space in an office building at 83 Clemenceau Avenue on the city center fringe will close next year. A WeWork spokesperson said in a statement that despite Singapore being a “priority market,” it has “made the difficult decision” not to renew leases at the two locations.

The defendants in the $1.6 billion alleged fraud case linked to the Baha Mar casino, in the Bahamas, have requested a stay of enforcement on the court’s ruling noting that the companies in question ‘will be forced into insolvency,’ Asia Gaming Brief reported. According to a reply affirmation filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, CCA Construction Inc, CSCEC Bahamas Ltd and CCA Bahamas Ltd requested the stay. Collectively the defendants are referred to as CCAB, while the plaintiff is BLM Properties Ltd.

South Korea’s household debt grew the most in three years last quarter, highlighting a development that kept the central bank from pivoting on policy until last month, Bloomberg News reported. Total household credit rose by 18 trillion won ($12.9 billion) in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, according to data released Tuesday by the Bank of Korea. Mortgage loans, a major component of the credit, also rose by the most since the third quarter of 2021.

The Reserve Bank of Australia remains jittery about the risks of higher inflation and will have little tolerance for any data that point to further delays in taming price pressures, according to the minutes of its latest policy meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported. “Given the already lengthy period in which inflation had been above (2% to 3%) target, the board will have minimal tolerance to accommodate a more prolonged period of high inflation, even if this occurred because of factors that constrained the economy’s supply capacity,” minutes of the meeting held on Nov. 4-5 said.

South Africa’s Treasury plans to withhold funds from five municipalities next month over their unpaid water bills, part of an effort to compel local governments to pay for basic services, Bloomberg News reported. The Treasury will invoke a law allowing the authorities to block the payment of a so-called equitable share of money that’s allocated to municipalities to pay for services including water and electricity, according to a presentation by the department in parliament on Tuesday.

Ghana’s financial authorities are reviewing restrictions imposed on pensions funds that limit their investments in offshore assets, Bloomberg News reported. The National Pensions Regulatory Authority previously introduced a requirement that pension funds seek authorization before buying foreign assets as a way to preserve foreign-exchange. The measure was implemented after Ghana began a restructuring of its debt, Nana Akua Asare, a spokeswoman for the NPRA, said by phone on Tuesday.

Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor has warned that higher wage bills and prospects for fewer interest rate cuts will keep U.K. company failures at high levels, as it revealed its own cost hit from the recent Budget, the Independent reported. The group said that it is set to face an extra £1.25 million a year from next April after the Chancellor last month announced moves to hike employers’ national insurance contributions. Begbies said it was “reviewing options to mitigate the impact where possible”.

Ireland-based clean hydrogen solutions developer Fusion Fuel Green Plc has filed for insolvency for its Portuguese subsidiary after a USD-33.5-million (EUR 31.6m) funding deal with investor Hydrogenial SA has failed to complete, RenewablesNow.com reported. As advised by the insolvency counsel after paperwork submission, Fusion Fuel has initiated a claim in Portugal against the investment firm and its principal, Norbert Bindner, for damages incurred due to Hydrogenial’s breach of their agreement, a press statement says.

In a still-evolving financial situation, hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Teco 2030 Is facing a financial collapse after a bankruptcy petition was filed yesterday against the parent company, Maritime-Executive.com reported. Earlier it had been reported that its manufacturing subsidiary was facing a bankruptcy petition and demands from the Norwegian Tax Authority after another of the company’s subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago.