Headlines

The number of companies in Colombia filing for insolvency this year is on track to reach its highest level in a decade, heaping pressure on President Gustavo Petro to pull the country out of its economic doldrums, Bloomberg News reported. The surge in financially distressed firms is being driven by a sharp contraction in the construction industry, one of the nation’s biggest employers, that’s partly a result of a housing subsidy overhaul by Petro’s own government. Economists worry that ripple effects from businesses shutting down will hold back growth in the broader economy.

Funai Electric, a Japanese midsize electronics manufacturer and Walmart supplier, has received court approval to start bankruptcy proceedings, it was revealed on Thursday, having fallen victim to intensifying competition with Chinese and South Korean manufacturers, Nikkei Asia reported. A quasi-bankruptcy petition was filed for Funai at Tokyo District Court. A normal bankruptcy petition is filed by the company itself, but when circumstances make that impossible, a company director or other party can file for quasi-bankruptcy in its place.

Atos SE said a French commercial court approved its financial restructuring plan, paving the way for creditors to take control of the troubled French IT company in the coming months, Bloomberg News reported. Under the plan, Atos will receive about €1.5 billion to €1.7 billion ($1.6 billion to $1.8 billion) of new money by the beginning of 2025 to help fund its restructuring, the company said in its earnings statement on Thursday.

Lilium NV said its main subsidiaries may be forced to file for insolvency proceedings within days as the electric flying taxi firm struggles to raise enough funding to continue operations, Bloomberg News reported. The subsidiaries have become “overindebted” and won’t be able to pay existing liabilities, according to a filing on Thursday. Management of the units has told the parent company that they will have to file for insolvency under German law and will apply for self-administration proceedings, the filing said. The startup’s shares fell as much as 63% as of 10:39 a.m.

A group of creditors that holds Thames Water’s riskiest debt is drawing up plans to provide the beleaguered UK utility with a loan of at least £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) to help it stave off insolvency, Bloomberg News reported. The holders of Class B securities have offered financing that would pay about 8% interest. It would rank senior to all of the company’s existing debt, one of the people said.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said disinflation in the UK is happening faster than officials had anticipated, the latest hint that the central bank will continue cutting interest rates next month, Bloomberg News reported. Bailey said during an event on Wednesday in Washington that inflation was lower than he had expected a year ago, highlighting a “good story” on second-round effects that threatened to keep price pressures elevated.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed initiation of insolvency proceedings against realty firm Spaze Towers, admitting a plea filed by its flat owners, the Economic Times of India reported. A two-member NCLT bench said that the company has defaulted in completing the construction of flats in project 'Spaze Arrow' at Sector 78, Gurugram and giving the possession within the promised timeline of 42 months.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday it was "still taking time" to sustainably achieve its 2% inflation target, signaling that the central bank will tread carefully in pushing up the country's still near-zero interest rates, Reuters reported. But he also warned of the cost of moving too slowly in raising rates, which could give speculators an excuse to trigger an unwelcome yen slide that pushes up import costs. "When there's huge uncertainty, you usually want to proceed cautiously and gradually," Ueda said at a panel at the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on Thursday that the world is in danger of becoming mired in a low-growth, high-debt path that will leave governments with fewer resources to improve opportunities for their people and tackle climate change and other challenges, Reuters reported. The result is increasingly dissatisfied populations, Georgieva said during a press conference during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. The meetings are clouded by the looming Nov. 5 U.S.

Inflation in Brazil accelerated in the month to mid-October, as higher electricity costs pushed consumer prices up in Latin America's largest economy, Reuters reported. Prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index rose 0.54% in the month to mid-October, up from 0.13% in the previous month, government statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday. In the 12 months to mid-October, inflation stood at 4.47%, up from the 4.12% seen the month before and above the 4.43% forecast by economists. The main impact on inflation in the month to mid-October came from residential electricity prices, which rose 5.29%.