Headlines

Spanish Abengoa has asked its creditors for a loan of up to 750 million euros ($843 million) to keep it afloat while its lenders discuss a financial plan to avoid it becoming Spain's biggest bankruptcy, a source close to the talks said. "Abengoa has asked for 650 million to 750 million euros in additional liquidity," the source said on Wednesday, adding that this was on top of around 160 million euros Abengoa is requesting from bondholders.

The head of the International Monetary Fund warned that the lender’s bailout of Ukraine could be in jeopardy without “a substantial new effort” by the country to accelerate overhauls to improve governance and fight corruption, The Wall Street Journal reported. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s remarks on Wednesday underscore growing concerns in the West that Ukraine isn’t moving fast enough to make its recession-hit economy more competitive and root out graft.

Greece’s central bank chief called on Wednesday for a prompt conclusion to the country’s first bailout review, or put at risk a projected economic recovery for the second half of 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported. “The projection for an economic recovery in the second half of the year is at the moment still subject to risks,” Bank of Greece’s Governor Yannis Stournaras told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee meeting. He said that 2016 can be the “beginning of a new path” for the country’s economy.

Officials in Riyadh are heaving a sigh of relief amid indications that Saudis are willing to shoulder unprecedented cuts to long-cherished government subsidies. But with predictions of more economic pain to come it is unclear whether they will accept further reductions to their incomes, the Financial Times reported. Facing its worst fiscal outlook in 15 years amid falling oil prices, the government announced an austerity budget last December, slashing spending to plug the gap and lifting petrol, electricity and water prices for consumers and gas and feedstock prices for industry.

A legal dispute has arisen between Danske Bank and the liquidator of Bloxham stockbrokers over the remaining assets of the firm, which include €4 million from the sale of its client book to rival firm Davy, the Irish Times reported. Bloxham was wound up in 2012 following the discovery of financial irregulatories. Danske claims to have a floating charge on the firm’s assets through some €34 million in loans lent to former partners and the brokerage itself by National Irish Bank, which was later acquired by Danske.

Global stocks are on the precipice of a bear market as a fresh slide in crude and the perceived creditworthiness of European banks added to doubts about the strength of the worldwide economy, the Irish Times reported. The Iseq in Dublin completed its biggest six-day slump since 2011, down another 0.5 per cent yesterday. Bank of Ireland came under pressure, along with the rest of the European banking sector. Traders said it was the most heavily traded stock on the exchange, with more than €100 million worth of its stock changing hands.

Fianna Fáil has said it will “examine the feasibility” of EBS being demerged from AIB and sold separately as a standalone mortgage player. The move would be targeted at stimulating competition for home loans and savings products, the Irish Times reported. The party’s economic strategy document for the general elections said this would “acknowledge the fact that the loss of the building societies [since the 2008 financial crash] has had a long-term negative impact on the mortgage market”.

Australia’s government is considering a multibillion-dollar privatization of public health and welfare payments, as conservatives look for new ways to refill budget coffers emptied by an economic slowdown and collapsing prices of the country’s resource exports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Over the past few days, the talk among those who watch "the most miserable country" in the world has turned to default, Business Insider reported. This year, it seems, is Venezuela's year. "Unless the Chinese pull something out of the bag or PDVSA [Venezuela's state oil company] exercises a voluntary bond swap it's happening," said Brian Dean, a partner at ACG Analytics. "There's going to be a default in my view unless there's some kind of political disruption ... They can sell assets but I don't know what they have left." The "default" calls have gotten especially loud over the last week.

The rescheduled extradition hearing at which former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive, David Drumm, is now expected to agree to return to the State from the US is set to take place in Boston late on Thursday, the Irish Times reported. He had been due in court on Monday, but bad weather forced the hearing’s postponement. On Tuesday, it was rescheduled to begin at 8pm Irish time on Thursday. The State is seeking his extradition to face 33 charges arising from transactions carried out during his time at Anglo, which he led in the period before its collapse in 2009.