Headlines

A plan to regulate the insolvency sector and shut down unscrupulous operators is being welcomed by an industry body, Radio New Zealand reported. The government has released the first part of a review into insolvency laws, which recommends licensing for practitioners and steps to improve protection for creditors in voluntary liquidations. The working group's report said current regulation fell short of ensuring creditors could have confidence that practitioners handling corporate insolvency are qualified and bound by an acceptable code of ethics.

Investors could be in line for a letdown from the European Central Bank next week, The Wall Street Journal repoted. A run of sluggish economic data—including stubbornly low inflation figures published Wednesday—and concerns about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, have left many investors looking to Frankfurt for fresh stimulus. The ECB is set to hold its next policy meeting on Sept. 7 and 8. But some economists expect the ECB to keep its powder dry for another three months.

Rio de Janeiro prosecutors have asked the court supervising Oi SA's bankruptcy proceedings to suspend a shareholders meeting scheduled for Sept. 8 to give the Brazilian phone carrier time to negotiate with a minority investor, Reuters reported. The purpose of the meeting is to decide on changes to Oi's board as proposed by activist minority investor Société Mondiale, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Since Britain’s vote in June to quit the European Union, its government has promised repeatedly to make a success of withdrawal, known as Brexit, the International New York Times reported. More than two months later, however, it still cannot say how. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May called cabinet ministers to a brainstorming session about the withdrawal, pledging to examine “the next steps” for Britain and to identify “opportunities that are now open to us as we forge a new role” in the world.

The United Arab Emirates may finalise a long-pending bankruptcy law by the end of this year, the economy minister said on Wednesday, a move that could help smaller companies in particular as the economy slows because of low oil prices, Reuters reported. "The need for a bankruptcy law is there, as soon as possible," Sultan Saeed al-Mansouri said reporters. "It is in the process. It should be finalised by the end of the year, that is my estimate." The UAE does not have modern bankruptcy regulations, making it difficult for companies to restructure or wind themselves up.

The chief executive of Deutsche Bank on Wednesday called for more consolidation in the banking industry in Germany – and across Europe – and action by central banks as the region’s lenders struggle to navigate an environment of historically low interest rates, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. The chief executive, John Cryan, said that the European Central Bank helped stabilize Europe after the financial crisis, but that monetary policy had since weighed on bank profits – by cutting into net interest income – and had hurt savers and their pension investments.

Several ports, including those in China and the United States, have denied entry to ships of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co on concerns it won't be able to pay fees after banks halted support to the firm, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The ports that have so far blocked entry to its ships are Xiamen and Xingang, China; Valencia, Spain; Savannah, United States, and Prince Rupert, Canada, the spokeswoman said.

Hanjin Shipping Co. will apply for court receivership after lenders decided to halt all support to South Korea’s biggest container shipping line, Bloomberg News reported. The company’s board decided on the move at a meeting in Seoul Wednesday and will file for receivership this afternoon, a spokesman said. The decision was unanimous.

In a landmark ruling by the European Commission, Ireland has been ordered to recoup up to €13 billion from US tech company Apple in unpaid taxes, the Irish Times reported. The EU’s powerful competition arm said on Tuesday that Apple had been given selective treatment by Ireland through two tax rulings granted to the company in 1991 and 2007. That treatment allowed Apple to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated by sales of its products in the EU single market, because Apple recorded the sales in Ireland rather than where products were sold, the commission said.

The head of the African Development Bank has urged the continent’s governments to boost tax revenue and steer clear of international borrowing as the region grapples with its worst economic slump in more than a decade. Akinwumi Adesina told the Financial Times that he expected the downturn in Africa, which was triggered by the slump in commodity prices and the slowdown in China, to last for up to another three years.