Headlines

In October 2024, there were 116 company insolvencies registered in Scotland. At the same time, the total number of company insolvencies was comprised of 50 CVLs, 60 compulsory liquidations, five administrations and one receivership appointment. There were no CVAs, the Scottish Financial News reported. However, it must be noted that the total insolvency rate in Scotland in the 12 months to October 2024 was 53.1 per 10,000 companies on the effective register, marking a 1.5% decrease from the preceding 12 months ending October 2023.

Thames Water extended the deadline in its search for billions of pounds in new equity, as it demands more from potential investors on how they plan to help turn around the beleaguered utility, Bloomberg News reported. Investors originally had to submit indicative, non-binding bids on Nov. 28, but that has now been extended by a week to Dec. 5. The utility last week demanded further details on how any investor plans to improve performance, one of the people said.

Swedish debt collector Intrum is asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to help reduce its debt, but will have to overcome a group of bondholders who allege it is misusing chapter 11, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. After Intrum filed for bankruptcy in Houston on Friday, creditors holding some of its bonds due in 2025 asked for the chapter 11 case to be dismissed. The bondholders say the company manufactured its bankruptcy venue by creating a U.S. affiliate last month, six days before seeking creditors’ votes on its restructuring plan, according to papers filed by the bondholders with the U.S.

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.