Headlines

When a Chinese pork producer filed for bankruptcy in 2019, the news came as a jolt to Alan Hill, Reuters reported. The retired Apple executive from Albuquerque had invested about $100,000 last decade in Dalian Chuming Meat Processing through a U.S.-listed holding company, Energroup Holdings. Chuming had not paid dividends for many years, but it supplied pork to Walmart and had been profitable at least as recently as 2016.

On Monday, hundreds of consumers flocked to the Casa store in Mechelen, Belgium, eager to take advantage of significant discounts as part of the store's total liquidation sale, The Pinnacle Gazette reported. Customers began gathering outside the store as early as 8:00 AM, and by the time the doors opened at 10:15 AM, a line stretching approximately 100 meters had formed. The Casa liquidation, featuring a remarkable 50% off all items, is being conducted across the ten most successful branches of the chain and is supervised by VH Auctions.

Ralph & Russo is teetering on the brink of insolvency for a second time as the haute couture fashion house struggles to stay relevant under new ownership, The Times reported. The luxury brand originally founded by Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo in 2010 has filed for protection from creditors three years after it was rescued out of bankruptcy by American investors.

Xinyuan Real Estate's creditors recently filed an involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in New York to recover $65.8M in unpaid bonds, making it one of many Chinese builders grappling with financial turmoil in recent years, according to a Tuesday media report that cited a court filing, Seeking Alpha reported. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, creditors can request court oversight if a company misses debt payments, allowing the firm to either contest the petition or enter bankruptcy to reorganize.

Official figures Friday showed that the British economy, the world’s sixth-largest, enjoyed a growth spurt in February, the month before U.S. President Donald Trump started to roll out tariffs on imported goods, the Associated Press reported. The Office for National Statistics found that the British economy grew by 0.5% in February, ahead of market expectations for a more modest increase of 0.2%. It also revised up January’s figure to no change from the previous estimate of a 0.1% decline. Were these more normal times, hopes for the year ahead would be high.

German affiliate network belboon GmbH has filed for bankruptcy, according to multiple reports from clients and a ruling from the Nuremberg District Court, Hello Partner reported. Established in 2002, belboon has grown over the years to become one of the leading affiliate networks in the German-speaking market and has expanded its presence internationally, including in the U.K., Spain, Italy, France and the Nordics. But now, in a move described as “surprising,” the Berlin-based network has filed for bankruptcy.

Despite promising contracts and claims of superior technology compared to competitors like Tesla, Lithuanian Vėjo projektai, the company behind the Dancer electric buses, has fallen into bankruptcy, according to a post shared by its co-founder Alvydas Naujekas, ain reported. Not being ready for the pandemic-caused crisis, the company has started its restructuring and began its collaboration with the investment fund NuCapital in July 2022, when the fund lent €1.8 million to Vėjo projektams.

In March 2025, the Netherlands saw a significant decline in the number of business bankruptcies, according to figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), NL Times reported. A total of 271 companies were declared bankrupt, marking the lowest number in over a year and a half. This represents a 20 percent decrease compared to March 2024 and a 25 percent drop from February 2025. However, bankruptcies in the hospitality sector are on the rise. The bankruptcy rate in March 2025 stood at 7.4 bankruptcies per 100,000 businesses, a decrease from the 9.5 rate recorded in March 2024.

A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced ex-President Ollanta Humala to 15 years in prison for receiving illicit campaign funds from a Brazilian construction firm, making him the nation's latest former leader to head behind bars, Reuters reported. Humala and his wife were accused of receiving funds from Brazilian builder Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, in his successful 2011 election campaign. Humala's wife, Nadine Heredia, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday.

Germany’s economy is likely to be more or less stagnant in 2025 after shrinking for two years, and the impact of U.S. tariffs could weigh down an already unimpressive showing, leading think tanks forecast Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Germany has Europe’s biggest economy and is the 27-nation European Union’s most populous member. Five economic institutes said in a regular update that they expect minimal growth of 0.1% this year — down from the 0.8% they forecast in September. They predicted growth of 1.3% in 2026.