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Struggling fresh meals provider Goodfood is seeking court protection in the hope of luring a bid from a suitor, MarketWatch.com reported. The Montreal-based company said on Wednesday that it has filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec for initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, a step intended to provide time and flexibility for company's looking to turn themselves around and restructure. Goodfood said it seeking to appoint Raymond Chabot as a monitor if the court grants the requested relief.
Barclays is facing a legal battle over cash held in accounts belonging to a collapsed shadow bank, The Telegraph reported. Administrators for Market Financial Solutions (MFS) have filed a case at the High Court in an attempt to force Barclays to hand over money they believe is owed to the business. AlixPartners, the administrators, were appointed to oversee parts of MFS by some of the shadow bank’s creditors just before it collapsed amid allegations of fraud earlier this year. It is understood that Barclays will be defending the case.
More than 120 MPs and peers have asked the chancellor to carry out an "urgent review" of the student loan repayment system, BBC.com reported. An open letter coordinated by the campaign group Rethink Repayment says the current set-up places an "unsustainable burden on the next generation of workers". Among the cross-party signatories are MPs with their own Plan 2 student loans, which have come under particular scrutiny this year. Last week, Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the interest rate on those loans was "egregious" and the issue was at the top of her in-tray.
German auto suppliers are more indebted and spend more on interest than their international rivals as competition from China intensifies, according to excerpts from an upcoming study seen by Reuters. A financial analysis by Strategy&, PwC's German consulting arm, found that average interest expenses at Germany's leading auto suppliers rose for a fourth consecutive year in 2025 to 102% of operating earnings - far exceeding levels in the rest of Europe and China.
The Bank of Mexico left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second straight time Thursday, and reiterated its expectation that it will stay on hold for the foreseeable future, the Wall Street Journal reported. The five-member board of governors voted unanimously to keep the overnight interest-rate target at 6.5%, a level it considered adequate to face domestic and external macroeconomic challenges. The decision to stay on hold was widely expected.
Even as countries around the world move to curb the flood of Chinese goods, China’s export machine continues to steam ahead, the New York Times reported. The country posted a trade surplus of $112.5 billion in July, according to data released on Friday by the General Administration of Customs. It was the third straight month in which China’s exports exceeded its imports by more than $100 billion — a staggering sum that puts the country on pace to surpass last year’s record $1.19 trillion trade surplus. In July, China’s exports rose 23.9 percent in U.S.
Japan’s household spending has unexpectedly fallen for a seventh month even as real wages continued to increase, reflecting the impact of persistent inflation on consumer sentiment, Bloomberg News reported. Outlays by households adjusted for inflation dropped 3.3% in June from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday. Economists had forecast a 0.9% increase. Compared with May, spending declined 6.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The decline in overall spending was led by drops in spending on food, utilities, transportation and communications and apparel.
Canada’s job market continued to warm up into the summer with surprisingly strong hiring in July and a fall in the jobless rate to a two-year low, adding to signs the economy is shaking off early-year weakness, the Wall Street Journal reported. Employers in the country added 75,100 jobs in July, Statistics Canada said Friday. That was stronger than the modest 20,000 advance economists expected and brings the rise in net employment over the last three months to 181,100, more than reversing a sharp pullback early in the year.
Canada's services economy contracted for a second straight month in July as economic uncertainty depressed market demand and business sentiment, S&P Global's Canada services PMI data showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. The headline Business Activity Index rose to 49.1 last month from 47.1 in June, but it signaled a contraction by remaining below the 50 no-change mark. "Latest PMI data point to another month of underwhelming service sector performance during July," Paul Smith, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.
Apollo Global Management agreed to buy low-cost carrier EasyJet Plc for £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion), clinching a deal that's likely to shake up the dynamics in Europe's highly competitive market for budget airlines, Bloomberg News reported. The UK-based airline's board agreed to the offer from the US private equity firm valuing each EasyJet share at 715 pence, according to a statement Thursday. Earlier, rival bidder Castlelake LP pulled out of the chase. Read more.