Headlines

A thrifty Asian powerhouse saves and invests its way to economic stardom, inspiring admiration and paranoia in the rich world. The powerhouse begins to lose momentum, driving its corporations to switch their investment appetites towards assets abroad. But, lacking worldly experience, the corporations bungle. Billions in hard-earned national savings disappear down a black hole.

Fears that Britain might vote to leave the European Union helped keep consumer confidence at the lowest level in more than a year, according to a survey published Thursday, Bloomberg News reported. GfK’s consumer-confidence index stayed at zero in March. A gauge of expectations for the economic situation over the next 12 months was minus 12, unchanged on the month and down 18 points from a year earlier.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Wednesday it was seeking more room from lenders to stave off a potential default. But stock investors were unnerved, as Valeant inched back from earlier assurances about its ability to hit financial targets required by its lenders, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Canadian drug company, struggling in recent months with questions over its accounting and business practices, said it had begun seeking a deal with lenders to give it more time to file its delayed 10-K annual report.

McAleese has started exclusive negotiations with Hong Kong-based hedge fund SC Lowy over a financial restructuring and extended its trading suspension for another month, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The troubled transport group received three indicative proposals from financial groups prepared to help fund a debt restructure, but has given SC Lowy exclusive negotiating rights until April 15. McAleese' net debt rose to $188 million in the six months to December compared with $170.5 million a year earlier and the company has a "current asset deficiency" of $163.2 million.

Abengoa SA has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. as the Spanish energy company continues talks with its banks and bondholders to agree on its plan to restructure billions of dollars in debt, The Wall Street Journal reported. The renewable energy company, which operates around the world, on Monday night filed for chapter 15 protection, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code dealing with cross-border insolvencies, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The bankruptcy filing comes after Abengoa struck a deal with key creditors that gives it more time—through Oct.

China’s economic collapse no longer seems imminent. The Wall Street hedge funds who bet against the Chinese currency have taken heavy losses and battered stock markets are stabilizing, The Wall Street Journal reported. In fact, collapse was never in the cards. Over the short term, as Beijing has demonstrated, it has enough financial firepower left to fight off threats to stability and prevent the economy from stalling. It’s time to worry about something much more likely: political failure.

High on the Chinese government’s priority list is building leaner, more competitive state companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. But the dismal earnings reported by national oil giants in recent days underscore the difficulties in meeting that goal. These companies are maintaining large workforces even as Western peers continue to slash payrolls in response to the collapse in oil prices. The listed units of China’s big three oil companies reported sharply lower earnings for 2015.

The Bank of England said on Tuesday that it would increase the size of a capital buffer it requires banks to hold to ensure they can provide lending and other essential banking services in times of financial stress, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. Lenders in Britain would be required to set aside the equivalent of 0.5 percent of their assets as weighted by risk by March 29, 2017, the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee said on Tuesday.

Japan’s prime minister insists he will raise consumption tax to 10 per cent next year and has hinted that another economic stimulus package is being planned, the Financial Times reported. Shinzo Abe said before leaving for Washington he would press ahead with the tax rise unless there was a natural disaster or economic blow as big as the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. But Mr Abe also began to prepare for another fiscal stimulus, already under discussion within his party, and warned of downside risks to the global economy.

Israeli container shipping line Zim last week delivered some of the best results in liner industry, reporting a net profit of $7m for 2015, recovering from a $198m net loss in 2014, The Loadstar reported. The overall improved profitability was almost entirely the result of reduced costs, following its debt restructuring in 2014, which saw lenders and charterers given equity in return for renegotiated terms, and is similar to Hyundai’s current proposals.