Headlines

Bad news from China has sparked a firestorm in the developing countries that feed its vast industrial machine, leaving a swath of economies with few good ways to escape a crunch, The Wall Street Journal reported. In Indonesia, coal once bound for China is piled up in port. In South Africa, mines that fed China’s voracious demand for metals are firing workers. In financial markets, investors have responded by pulling out. On Monday, the currencies of Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil and other commodity exporters tumbled to multiyear lows against the U.S. dollar.

Ukraine’s government is nearing a restructuring deal with its creditors that would call for a 20% reduction in the value of the country’s bonds, marking a possible breakthrough in negotiations that have been deadlocked for months, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since March, the Ukrainian government has been locked in tense restructuring talks with a group of creditors who hold almost half the country’s outstanding debt.

State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA is growing uneasy with some aspects of the business reorganization of ailing oil-drilling-rig builder Sete Brasil Participações SA, a situation that may pose risks on the refinancing of $3.8 billion in debt, two sources said on Monday.

State authorities have expressed concern at evidence of bogus self-employment and contracting work which may be depriving the Government of tax revenue and workers of sick pay and other protections, the Irish Times reported. Joint investigations involving the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection uncovered almost 200 cases in the construction industry alone over the past year. But authorities have also found evidence of a blurring of the lines between employees and the self-employed in a range of other sectors such as IT, media and consultancy.

Prima TV, a commercial TV channel owned by Romanian businessman Cristian Burci, entered insolvency after the Bucharest Court admitted the application for opening the procedure against the debtor, Romania-Insider reported. The court also appointed SMDA Insolvency SPRL as judicial administrator, reports local Mediafax. Prima Broadcasting Group SRL, the company that owns the audio-visual license of Prima TV, filed the insolvency request on August 6.

The People’s Bank of China is preparing to flood the banking system with liquidity to boost lending, according to officials and advisers to the central bank, as its recent currency moves are squeezing yuan funds out of the market and renewing concerns over capital leaving Chinese shores, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Greek bank bonds dropped like a stone this week as the prospect of painful haircuts came to the fore, potentially heralding a new era for senior debt investors who have previously been protected throughout Europe's various financial crises, Reuters reported. The Eurogroup's statement after approving Greece's 86bn third bailout increased the chances of losses being imposed on senior debt by placing senior bondholders at risk of bail-in while explicitly excluding depositors.

The High Court grounded an aircraft, allegedly belonging to a state airline of the Democratic Republic of Congo, from leaving Dublin Airport in a dispute over a debt of €10 million, the Irish Times reported. The interim injunction prevents both the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and La Société Congo Airlines from moving, operating or otherwise interfering with the aircraft – an Airbus A320 undergoing works in Dublin – without their consent. The injunction also prohibits the aircraft’s removal from the jurisdiction.

The financial regulator will set up companies specializing in debt restructuring programs next year, seeking to let them take over jobs from lenders struggling to manage debt-driven corporations, The Korea Times reported. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Friday it will establish debt-restructuring companies by collecting funds from banks. About 10 financial institutions are expected to join the project, including the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank). "How much do bankers know about the shipbuilding industry?

The new owners of BHS are set to raise £70m as they attempt to rescue the beleaguered department store chain just months after acquiring it, The Telegraph reported. Retail Acquisitions, which bought BHS in March from Sir Philip Green, are in talks with a number of lenders, including hedge funds, to secure new financing to implement future plans. The little-known vehicle, which is led by former stockbroker Keith Smith, confirmed the talks in a statement, saying: “We have said all along that we would refinance to help accelerate the turnaround plan for the UK business.