Headlines

Fertilizer maker Unigel Participacoes SA is pitching a last-minute deal to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection as a temporary order shielding it from creditors expires, Bloomberg News reported. The company is trying to sell bondholders led by Pacific Investment Management Co. on a plan that would include an injection of $100 million in new money, and allow it to restructure debt out of court, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Unigel needs the buy-in of about a third of its bondholders to kick off the restructuring.

China’s massive property market is crumbling. Xi Jinping wants to revive socialist ideas about housing and put the state back in charge, the Wall Street Journal reported. Home prices across China are falling, developers have gone bust and people are doubting whether real estate will ever be a viable investment again. The meltdown is dragging down growth and spooking investors worldwide. Under the new strategy, the Communist Party would take over a larger share of the market, which for years has been dominated by the private sector.

The National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday extended the deadline for another 60 days to complete the resolution process of grounded airline Go First, Zee Business reported. A two-member bench of the Delhi-based NCLT admitted the plea filed by the resolution professional (RP) of Go First seeking an extension of the timeline to complete the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). Diwakar Maheshwari, appearing for RP, argued that so far three parties have submitted their expression of interest for Go First and deposited the earnest money.

Assuming Laurentian University’s new 2024-2029 strategic plan is approved by its board of governors later this week at the governing body’s Feb. 16 meeting, the university will have fulfilled one of its major legal obligations following insolvency, Sudbury.com reported. Following 22 months of insolvency restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Laurentian exited creditor protection in late 2022. As part of the plan of arrangement approved by its creditors, Laurentian was obligated to create a new strategic plan with the help of consultants.

Britain's economy fell into a recession in the second half of 2023, a tough backdrop ahead of this year's expected election for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has promised to boost growth, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in the three months to December, having shrunk by 0.1% between July and September, official data showed. Sterling weakened against the dollar and the euro. Investors added to their bets on the Bank of England (BoE) cutting interest rates this year and businesses called for more help from the government in a budget plan due on March 6.

Japan unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year, losing its title as the world's third-biggest economy to Germany and raising doubts about when the central bank would begin to exit its decade-long ultra-loose monetary policy, Reuters reported. Some analysts are warning of another contraction in the current quarter as weak demand in China, sluggish consumption and production halts at a unit of Toyota Motor Corp. all point to a challenging path to an economic recovery.

Norway's central bank will not raise interest rates again if the economy develops as expected, Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a speech on Thursday, but she refrained from weighing in on when policy makers might start cutting borrowing costs, Reuters reported. In her second annual address since taking office in 2022, Bache also said Norges Bank believes inflation will gradually fall in the years ahead towards the official target of around 2%, while unemployment will rise somewhat.

Australian unemployment climbed to a two-year high at the opening of the year, highlighting the nation’s cooling labor market and sending the currency lower as traders brought forward bets on an interest-rate cut, Bloomberg News reported. The economy added just 500 roles in January, confounding expectations for a 25,000 gain and well shy of numbers needed to hold down the jobless rate, government data showed Thursday. Unemployment advanced to 4.1% from 3.9% while the participation rate was steady.

Colombia’s economy grew even slower than the central bank’s gloomy forecast last year, potentially opening the door to faster interest rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product rose 0.6% in 2023 from a year earlier, the national statistics agency said Thursday, lagging the bank’s forecast of a 1% expansion. Excluding the Covid-19 crisis, that was the worst result since 1999. The economy expanded 0.3% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, below the 0.8% median forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Kenya’s government said it will repurchase the bulk of its outstanding June 2024 dollar bonds, a move to shore up market confidence amid concerns about repaying the $2 billion principal, Bloomberg News reported. The East African nation plans to buy back as much as $1.44 billion of notes, according to a Thursday press release. That’s up from an initial amount of $1.4 billion it had set. Kenya sold $1.5 billion of new eurobonds this week for the rollover, aided by the falling cost to issue debt.