Headlines

Property developer Joe O’Reilly expects his personal and group loans, which total more than €2 billion, will be sold by Nama for a multiple of what the agency paid for them, the Irish Times reported. Mr O’Reilly told the banking inquiry he had personal and corporate loans totalling about €2 billion from the guaranteed banks in September 2008 and he believed all this money would be repaid. He said he expected the principal of his personal and corporate loans to be fully repaid when the loans are sold as part of Nama’s so-called Project Jewel sale, currently under way.

Athens has been thrown further emergency assistance after the European Central Bank (ECB) increased liquidity for Greek lenders ahead of a crucial vote on a third bailout programme for the debt-stricken nation, The Guardian reported. While lawmakers argued over reforms set as the price of rescue loans from international creditors, the ECB’s governing council agreed to raise the cap on emergency assistance for the country’s fragile banking system by €900m (£629m) on Wednesday. The move was immediately received with relief.

Poland has persuaded at least three major companies to contribute to a bailout of troubled coal miner Kompania Weglowa, despite some executives' misgivings about the commercial logic of getting involved, sources with knowledge of the matter said. After weeks of talks with more than a dozen firms it hoped would take part in the rescue, government officials have received proposals from three: copper miner KGHM, utility PGE and chemicals producer Grupa Azoty , the sources said. "Arms are being twisted," said a source close to one of the companies involved.

A judge in the Bahamas has declined to recognize the U.S. bankruptcy filing by Baha Mar Ltd, the developer of a $3.5 billion mega resort, a source familiar with the ruling said on Wednesday. Recognition of the Chapter 11 U.S. bankruptcy filing would have prevented creditors from taking action against Baha Mar Ltd in the Bahamas. The decision by Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder was the latest snag in the nearly completed project, which is considered vital for the Caribbean country's fragile economy. Baha Mar said in a statement it was disappointed by the ruling.

Zambia is planning its largest sale of debt as the copper-rich country seeks to plug a yawning gap in government finances, the Financial Times reported. The southern African nation is planning to raise over $1bn this week and is expected to pay a higher rate than it has for previous issues as investors adopt a more cautious approach to buying emerging and frontier market debt.

An interim examiner has been appointed by the High Court to Mothercare Ireland, which employs 276 people in 18 shops across the State, the Irish Times reported. The aim of seeking court protection and examinership is to achieve a restructuring of the company, save as many jobs as possible and minimise shop closures, the company said. It cannot afford to support unprofitable stores, it added. The firm said it will trade as normal during the examinership process, staff and suppliers will be paid as normal and all gift cards and family card points will be honoured.

Despite having its budget cut significantly in recent years the Insolvency Service has made orders against 119 rogue directors in the year ending 31 March 2015, compared to 65 the year before, economia reported. The government body has laid off more than a third of its workforce in recent years, going from 3,200 staff to 2,000. Accountancy firm Moore Stephens has called on the new government to back the Insolvency Service as, despite the crackdown, there is still too much criminal director behaviour slipping through the cracks.

The Greek government submitted legislation to parliament on Tuesday required by its international lenders to start talks on a multi-billion euro rescue package, the Irish Times reported. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras has until Wednesday night to get those measures adopted in the assembly. A first set of reforms triggered a rebellion in his party last week and passed only thanks to votes from pro-EU opposition parties. The second bill, though less divisive, will still be a test his weakened majority.

In a related story, the Financial Times reported that Athens has left a measure imposing higher taxes on farmers out of a reform bill that is essential to securing a new financial rescue worth up to €86bn. The bill, which was submitted to parliament on Tuesday, includes an overhaul of the civil justice system and the incorporation into Greek law of an EU directive on procedures for closing down banks in a crisis. The legislature will vote on the measure on Wednesday.

Unemployment across emerging markets has risen sharply this year, reversing a six-year slide, even as it has continued to fall in developed countries, the Financial Times reported. The figures compound a worsening slowdown in emerging markets, driven by a fall in commodity prices and a pullback in global trade, which threatens to drag consumer spending down. “Unemployment is rising rapidly,” said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan, who described the trend as ”broad-based”. “Recessions in Russia and Brazil have been a major driver of the slump in job growth in recent months.