Headlines

The European Union will become less attractive to some member states if it implements a "multi-speed" vision and the bloc will ultimately break up, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday. Deeper eurozone integration is sometimes called a "multi-speed" Europe because it would create different speeds of convergence within the 28-member bloc, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Poland and other eastern EU states say they fear it could reduce their influence, financial support and competitiveness.

The European Commission on Monday approved a German bridging loan for Air Berlin that will keep the insolvent airline’s planes flying while it tries to find buyers for its assets, Reuters reported. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.

Gold miner Avocet Mining Plc said on Monday it will consider filing for insolvency of its subsidiary Societe des Mines de Belahouro (SMB), which operates the Inata gold mine in Burkina Faso, after the unit’s standstill agreement with its creditors expired, Reuters reported. The boards of SMB and Avocet will meet on Sept. 8 to consider “all available options, including the potential filing of an insolvency petition by SMB”, Avocet said in a statement. SMB’s financial and trade creditors could not agree among themselves on an extension of the agreement, the company said.

A move by Brazil’s telecommunications industry watchdog to analyze whether to remove Oi SA’s operating license will further complicate Latin America’s largest-ever bankruptcy protection case, now in its 15th month, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The person, who asked for anonymity to discuss the issue freely, said Thursday’s announcement by regulator Anatel was “surprising,” given that a vote on Oi’s in-court reorganization plan was scheduled for Oct. 9, Reuters reported. Talks between shareholders and creditors are “going well,” the person added.

Rome’s mayor on Friday launched an attempt to save the city’s ailing public transport company from bankruptcy, asking creditors to support a restructuring of its 1.3 billion euros ($1.54 billion) of debt, Reuters reported. Virginia Raggi, a prominent face of Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said she would ask magistrates to approve the plan for a “total renewal” of the company to keep it operating as a public body. Atac’s workforce, of around 12,000 people, has been criticized as bloated and its fleet of buses, trams and metros as old and badly maintained.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is prepared to inject as much as 5 billion rand ($386 million) to pay off bank debt owed by AfriSam Group Pty Ltd. and help South Africa’s second-biggest cement producer clinch a tie-up with larger rival PPC Ltd., according to two people familiar with the matter. The money from the African unit of the Canadian insurer will be used to repay bank loans and allow AfriSam to push through a new offer to PPC, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private, Bloomberg News reported.

Venezuela’s dollar bonds are testing all time lows as President Nicolas Maduro plots how to respond to new U.S. sanctions and revive an economy in shambles. The country’s $4 billion of benchmark notes due in 2027 declined 4.6 percent in August to 39.65 cents on the dollar, just 7 cents away from the record low of 32.45 cents on the dollar seen in February 2016, Bloomberg News reported. State oil company PDVSA’s $3 billion of notes due in 2035 declined 5.8 percent in August to 35.3 cents on the dollar, only 6.2 cents above the record low.

The field of bidders for Air Berlin’s assets appeared to narrow further on Thursday when aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl stepped back from the process to search for a partner, Reuters reported. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August after shareholder Ethical Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Now the carrier is to be carved up, most likely among several buyers, with about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs.

A group of institutional investors in OW Bunker said they plan to sue Morgan Stanley and Carnegie for about $80 million, accusing the two investment banks of misleading them ahead of the 2014 listing of the now bankrupt marine fuel oil supplier, Reuters reported. Denmark’s OW Bunker was valued at $1 billion when it floated in March 2014, but the company filed for bankruptcy in November that year after suffering hedging losses of almost $300 million, sending shockwaves through the global shipping and oil trading industry.

Ryanair will bid to operate 90 planes under the Alitalia brand and using existing staff as part of the Italian airline’s restructuring, Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said on Thursday. Ryanair has until Oct. 2 to make a binding bid for all or part of the Italian carrier, which has been put under special administration for the second time in less than a decade, Reuters reported. “We will be submitting an offer for the 90 jet aircraft, with their pilots, cabin crew, routes etc,” O’Leary told journalists at a press briefing in London.