Headlines

Creditors have granted the German unit of bankrupt Dutch engineering services company Imtech a credit line worth a "significant" sum in the millions of euros, Imtech Germany's insolvency administrator said on Friday. It is currently unclear whether Imtech Germany will need to draw on the credit line because its liquidity has developed better than expected, Peter Alexander Borchardt said in a statement.

Greece narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt on Thursday, making a crucial payment to the European Central Bank after receiving billions of euros in new aid from other eurozone countries, the International New York Times reported. But most of the new aid package will be used to repay existing debt rather than to rebuild the shattered Greek economy, leading to criticism that eurozone creditors are repeating the same austerity policies that delivered six years in a row of recession in Greece.

In a related story, The Wall Street Journal reported that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras handed in his resignation to clear the way for early elections expected on Sept. 20, in a gamble aimed at bolstering his power and ability to implement the country’s bailout deal. In a televised speech late Thursday, Mr Tsipras said that he had resigned, along with the government, in a bid to seek a clear mandate that would help the country face upcoming difficulties.

Finland's Santa Claus Office has been declared bankrupt over unpaid taxes after a sharp drop in visits from recession-hit Russians, once the centre's best customers. But Managing Director Jarmo Kariniemi said he believed the company, which employs around 20 people, could yet avoid closure over its 200,000 euro ($223,980) tax bill. "We have one more week to come up with the money. I'm confident that we can handle this," said Kariniemi, whose firm offers the chance to be photographed with Santa for a fee.

Brazil’s unemployment rate rose sharply in July to its highest level in five years, in the latest sign of the country’s economic malaise as policymakers struggle to turn round a deepening recession and quell a growing political crisis, the Financial Times reported. Unemployment in Latin America’s largest economy rose for the seventh straight month, hitting 7.5 per cent. That is up from 6.9 per cent in June and much worse than the 7 per cent the market had forecast. The figures, which point to a sharp deterioration in Brazil’s labour market, rattled investors.

A Geneva prosecutor has closed a six-year investigation into a criminal complaint by Saudi Arabia's Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers (AHAB) against Maan al-Sanea and two units of his Saad Group, the prosecutor's office told Reuters. Family conglomerate AHAB and separate Saudi business empire Saad Group collapsed in 2009 and have since been battling in multiple jurisdictions over who was to blame for the issues which affected their respective groups, including the default on bank debts worth billions of dollars.

The Bank of Portugal is in exclusive talks with China's Anbang Insurance Group Co on the sale of state-rescued Novo Banco, leaving two other bidders on the sidelines, sources said. Two sources close to the bidding process told Reuters China's Fosun International and U.S. fund Apollo Global Management had also made binding bids and could re-enter the race if talks with privately-held Anbang fail. A Beijing-based spokeswoman for Anbang declined to comment.

Germany’s parliament ratified a new Greek bailout deal, but a record number of lawmakers in Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc rejected the motion, highlighting the political risks the chancellor is taking in supporting Greece, The Wall Street Journal reported. The “yes” vote in Germany’s Bundestag cleared one of the last hurdles to the rescue, allowing eurozone finance ministers to give final approval for the bailout later on Wednesday.

Chinese stock markets took a wild ride on Wednesday, tumbling and soaring in a session that made little sense other than to highlight that investors have almost no faith in a month-long government effort to stabilize them, the International New York Times reported. The Shanghai and Shenzhen markets fell 3 percent in morning trade, taking their losses to more than 8 percent since investors stampeded without warning on Tuesday. But state-backed buyers later rushed in, enabling stocks to finish the day more than 1 percent higher.

Genesis Energy will cancel its coal supply agreement with Solid Energy from October using a clause triggered by the coal mining company's voluntary administration, Stuff.co.nz reported. The move is a blow for the country's largest coal miner, Solid Energy, as it prepares for a meeting next month in which debtors will be asked to consider a two-and-a-half year repayment halt while the company is organised for sale. In March, Solid Energy was negotiating $320 million debt with banks, and was last week placed into voluntary administration in a last ditch attempt to save the company.