Headlines

Although Britain’s economy has so far not suffered the economic blowback that many predicted would follow the vote in a referendum last year to quit the bloc, British companies that import or export goods and services are anxiously assessing the potential costs of departure, the International New York Times reported. Complicating matters is continuing uncertainty over the terms of departure that the government wants to negotiate.

When Alexei Kudrin was tasked last year with drawing up a new economic strategy for Russia, there were good reasons for the country’s leadership to countenance previously unpalatable reforms, the Financial Times reported. With the crash in oil prices, the effects of sanctions and the fall in the rouble eroding real incomes and squeezing public finances, there was a genuine fear of protest from a middle class accustomed to greater comfort.

Mozambique, the financially-embattled African nation, said on Monday it will miss a $60 million (€56.6 million) payment on an Irish Stock Exchange-listed bond this week, the Irish Times reported. With the government grappling with a hit to commodities-based revenues in recent years and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) move in 2016 to cut aid, Mozambique said in October it will seek to restructure debt.

With a $1 billion fine and a criminal guilty plea, Takata, the Japanese auto parts maker, took a major step on Friday toward putting the scandal over its deadly airbags behind it, the International New York Times reported. Next up: a sale of the financially hobbled company. And in a turnabout for Japan, Takata’s new owners could be from abroad — underlining a shift in the country’s once-hostile attitude toward outside buyers. American officials said on Friday that Takata had agreed to plead guilty to charges of wire fraud for providing false data and would pay a $1 billion fine.

Spanish police arrested prominent Dutch corporate lawyer Peter Wakkie at Madrid airport on Monday in an investigation into the insolvency of Russian-Spanish telecom firm ZED+, a judicial source said, Reuters reported. A spokesman for Wakkie, who is ZED+'s interim manager, said he could not immediately comment on the arrest at Barajas Airport after a flight from the Netherlands, where the company is domiciled.

The European Central Bank bought a record-breaking €24.7 billion worth of debt last week, taking advantage of a bumper supply of bank bonds to boost its economic stimulus programme. Last week’s figure is the highest since the ECB started flooding the euro zone with cash in 2014, in a bid to revive inflation and growth by lowering the cost of borrowing, the Irish Times reported. The jump in purchases, which partly compensates for thin ECB buying in December, was partly driven by covered bonds, a form of bank debt backed by mortgages or public-sector loans.

The British government opened a long-awaited consultation on how to crack down on corporate fraud, money laundering and false accounting on Friday, in what it billed as an effort to repair public trust in businesses and improve accountability. Government ministers floated suggestions that ranged from introducing tough, U.S.-style laws that punish companies for the crimes of their staff to holding companies accountable for failing to prevent staff from committing such crimes and merely strengthening regulatory regimes.

Bank of Cyprus will discover whether investors have bought into its recovery story as it offers its first public bond since imposing losses on bondholders in 2013 during the Cypriot banking crisis, Reuters reported. The bank began marketing a 200m minimum 10-year non-call five-year Tier 2 bond at 9.5% area on Thursday morning via Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and HSBC. The transaction is expected to be rated Caa3 by Moody's. Bank of Cyprus is rated Caa2 by Moody's and B- by Fitch.

The omens for the Chinese yuan seemed bad heading into 2017, The Economist reported. The capital account looked as porous as ever, making a mockery of the government’s attempts to fix the leaks. The new year, when residents received fresh allowances for buying foreign currency, was due to bring even more pressure. Analysts braced for a stampede for the exits from China. The yuan had fallen sharply at the beginning of 2016, catching them by surprise. This time, they were ready. Instead, the yuan began the year as one of the world’s star performers.

The number of UK businesses entering into administration has risen in the last six months, according to analysis from KPMG, Economia reported. The Big Four firm found that 1,174 companies entered into administration last year, compared with 1,111 in 2015, which was then a 15-year low. According to data collected from notices in the London Gazette, while the first six months of the year continued to see a decline in insolvencies, the second half of the year saw numbers rise.