Headlines

National Bank of Canada said on Thursday it will cut 600 jobs as part of a restructuring and take a charge of C$175 million ($131 million) in the fourth quarter. Canada's sixth biggest lender said the charge included severance payments to employees and the cost of changing premises. The restructuring will bring C$120 million in annual savings. The bank said that at the same time it is looking to fill over 500 positions, primarily in sales, service and IT functions and expects to increase the proportion of its staff in "knowledge-intensive" sectors over the coming years.

Growth in loans to euro zone companies and households is leveling off, European Central bank data showed on Thursday, keeping the pressure on the ECB to maintain its aggressive stimulus policy for months to come. Lending to companies grew by 1.9 percent year-on-year in September while household loans rose by 1.8 percent, keeping the steady but slow pace seen since the start of the summer.

Russian metals and mining giant Mechel plans to sign a final debt-restructuring deal in early 2017, its chief financial officer told Reuters, concluding more than two years of negotiations on a burden that has threatened its survival. Mechel borrowed heavily before Russia's economic crisis and struggled to keep up repayments as demand for its products weakened alongside tumbling coal and steel prices.

Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s finance minister, has slashed the country’s growth forecast in half and warned that political turmoil threatens to derail an economic turnround as he battles to stave off a downgrade to junk status, the Financial Times reported. In a budget delivered days before he is due to appear in court on fraud charges, Mr Gordhan said South Africa was “at a crossroad, politically and economically” in defending and reforming public institutions.

The European Commission chiding member states for missing their fiscal targets has become a familiar part of the EU policy apparatus, together with its failure to follow through with sanctions when miscreant governments fail to comply, the Financial Times reported. The process of disapproval without consequences is in train once again in Italy, a country with more than its fair share of fiscal problems down the decades.

With its debts surging and growth sluggish, China has hit on a new strategy to revitalize its ailing economy. It’s the same as the old strategy. Only this time, it won’t work, Bloomberg News reported. Earlier this month, China’s State Council released guidelines for a new swap program, in which companies can exchange troubled debt with banks in return for equity. The government hopes this will give the firms a chance to restructure on favorable terms, and avoid the prospect of “zombie companies” propped up indefinitely by state-owned lenders.

Less than a year ago, Argentina was on the brink of a balance of payments crisis after 12 years of populist rule. But dollars have flooded into the economy since the business-friendly government of Mauricio Macri took over last December, with central bank reserves last week surging above $40bn, the Financial Times reported.

Kenya Airways needs to extend debt repayments and make other changes to restructure its balance sheet, which would take priority over finding a strategic partner, the new chairman of the loss-making airline told Reuters. Shares in the carrier, 27 percent-owned by Air France KLM , have surged 68 percent this month on hopes of a turnaround after four straight years of losses. The appointment of veteran telecoms executive Michael Joseph as chairman has also lifted sentiment.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the beleaguered Italian lender, said on Tuesday that it would slash jobs, close branches and sell some businesses as it seeks to convince investors to back its plan to raise new capital, the International New York Times reported. The latest turnaround plan, unveiled by the new chief executive, Marco Morelli, comes at a critical time for the bank, which was the worst performer in stress tests conducted this year by the European Banking Authority, which regulates lenders in the European Union.

Renewable energy firm Abengoa is on track for the 75 percent creditor approval needed for its restructuring plan and avoid filing for Spain's biggest ever bankruptcy, a source with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday. The Seville-based company borrowed too heavily over the past 10 years to fund an expansion into clean energy and has been negotiating with lenders since November to cut debts of more than 9 billion euros ($10 billion).