Headlines

Company insolvencies soared last year as businesses struggled with the inflation crisis and the long-term impact of the Covid pandemic, new figures show, The Guardian reported. A total of 30,199 UK businesses were involved in some kind of insolvency action in 2023 – 52% higher than in 2021, according to Creditsafe, a credit checking agency which tracks 430m businesses around the world.

A subsidiary of Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd. has filed for chapter 11 protection in the Southern district of New York court, according to a court filing, Bloomberg News reported. Hudson 888 Owner LLC, whose business is “single asset real estate,” filed the petition, according to the court document dated Sunday. Its estimated liabilities and assets are both within the range of $100 million to $500 million, the filing shows. Hudson 888 Owner is a US unit of Xinyuan, according to a document on the SEC website.

Chinese leaders pushed for an unusually speedy resolution for Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. after the shadow banking giant collapsed, underscoring the government’s increased focus on containing financial risks as the economy struggles, Bloomberg News reported.

Chinese regulators have closed a regulatory loophole that last year allowed heavily indebted local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) to further increase their borrowing, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. LGFVs, set up by Chinese local governments to fund infrastructure investment, have been told to stop issuing offshore bonds with a 364-day duration, the sources said.

A top executive at China Evergrande's electric-vehicle business has been detained as part of a criminal investigation, adding to Evergrande’s mounting problems, the Wall Street Journal reported. China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle said on Monday that Liu Yongzhuo, an executive director and the president of its automobile business, was being held by authorities “on suspicion of illegal crimes.” It didn’t provide details or say when he was detained. Liu attended a company event in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Dec.

German department store giant Galeria could file for insolvency again as early as this week, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday, joining the list of companies affected by the collapse of Signa founder Rene Benko's real estate empire, Reuters reported. The insolvency application could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, according to one source. "The probability is high," said another person familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Galeria, which has already survived two insolvency proceedings, declined to comment.

A Glasgow rage and escape room has 'closed' as confused customers have fumed they lost money booking vouchers just days before it went under, GlasgowLive.com reported. Rage Room Glasgow, which was the first of its kind in Scotland, is believed to have closed after its parent company Escape Rooms Scotland LTD quietly entered administration on August 25 last year with the company applying for insolvency days later. Accountancy firm Wylie & Bisset have been appointed to wind the Hydepark Street business up.

The volume of commercial property transactions in the Nordic region fell to the lowest level in a decade last year, in an ominous sign for landlords needing to offload assets to bolster their finances, Bloomberg News reported. In 2023, only €20 billion ($21.9 billion) of properties traded hands in the region, property adviser Colliers International Group Inc said in an emailed statement. Activity tumbled by 64% in Finland compared with a year earlier, while volumes in Norway, Sweden and Denmark slumped by slightly more than half.

Argentina is set to make a near $1 billion payment to foreign bondholders this week while the government of President Javier Milei continues talks with the International Monetary Fund as he seeks to restore investor confidence in the serial-defaulting nation, Bloomberg News reported. Interest on several hard-currency bonds comes due Tuesday, marking a major test for Milei just a month after he took office promising to overhaul South America’s second-largest economy.

Chilean consumer prices unexpectedly posted their biggest monthly drop in more than a decade in December, sending swap rates tumbling and paving the way for more sharp interest rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. Prices fell 0.5% last month, more than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey that had a -0.1% median forecast. Annual inflation eased to 3.9%, the national statistics agency reported on Monday. A closely-watched price gauge that excludes volatile items increased 5.4% in the year through December. Chile’s central bank has signaled it will deliver another big rate cut at its Jan.