Headlines

Britain's Lindsey oil refinery has begun insolvency proceedings, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and potentially increasing the country's reliance on fuel imports just weeks after its Grangemouth refinery stopped processing oil, Reuters reported. Lindsey is one of six remaining oil refineries in Britain, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and employs around 420 people, according to FTI, the refinery's special manager through the insolvency process.

French heart prosthesis company Carmat has filed for insolvency and requested to be placed in receivership after failing to secure emergency funding, it said on Monday, Reuters reported. Trading in Carmat shares have been suspended at the company's request, it said, pending a decision by the the Versailles Economic Affairs Court. Carmat, which had warned earlier this month that it could run out of cash by end-June without fresh financing, said it had not managed to raise the 3.5 million euros ($4.1 million) it needed and had submitted the filing to the court.

Autonomous driving software company LeddarTech has filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) days after announcing its plans to wind down operations on June 16, Betakit.com reported. The filing from the Québec City-based company details $145.9 million in debts. Secured (collateral-backed) debts represent $138.9 million of the figure and include $$53.2 million owed to the provincial government’s Investissement Québec (IQ) and a total of $40.3 million to investor and credit provider Desjardins.

The future of an inland surfing lake in the U.K. remains uncertain as the facility is sold amid a row over finances, BBC.com reported. The Wave, on the outskirts of Bristol, shut suddenly on Thursday and cancelled bookings after being placed into technical insolvency. CEO Hazel Geary announced on Friday evening the site, under the entity Surf Bristol Limited, had been sold to a company called Sea Level Wave Company Ltd. Julian Topham, who founded and runs Boardmasters surf festival and Vision Nine, has been asked to step into the role of interim CEO during the "transition period".

The European Central Bank said it will respond in a “forceful or persistent” manner to big swings in inflation, reflecting the lessons learned from the postpandemic price surge in its latest strategy review, the Wall Street Journal reported. In common with other central banks, the ECB was criticized for being too slow to respond to a pickup in inflation in 2021 when the annual rate peaked at above 10% by late 2022.

Germany’s annual inflation rate fell in June to 2%, in line with the European Central Bank’s target, preliminary data showed. The new reading for Europe’s largest economy reflected a broader easing across the continent — a positive sign for the central bank as it weighs further rate cuts this year, SEMAFOR reported. “Overall, it’s safe to say that the days of high inflation are over for now,” Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, told Der Spiegel.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said warned on Monday that countries could still face sharply higher tariffs on July 9 even if they are negotiating in good faith, adding that any potential extensions will be up to President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. Bessent, who earlier floated the idea of negotiating extensions, told Bloomberg Television that he expects there to be "a flurry" of trade deals leading up to the July 9 deadline, after which 10% U.S. tariff rates on goods from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11% to 50%.

Canada scrapped its digital services tax targeting U.S. technology firms just hours before it was due to take effect on Monday, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the U.S., Reuters reported. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21, Canada's finance ministry said in a statement late on Sunday. Wall Street futures hit record highs on Monday morning as sentiment in the markets rose amid optimism over U.S. trade negotiations with key partners, including Canada.

China’s home sales extended their slump in June, putting further strain on the economy and underscoring the impetus for fresh support measures, Bloomberg News reported. The value of new-home sales from the 100 largest property companies stood at 339 billion yuan ($47.3 billion), the latest preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. on Monday showed. That represents a 23% fall from a year ago, according to Bloomberg calculations. June’s sales follows an 8.6% decline in May. On a monthly basis, however, the latest sales were up 14.7% from May, CRIC said.

Japan’s industrial production increased modestly in May, but the rebound is likely to be temporary due to the impact of U.S. tariffs and concerns over a global slowdown, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industrial production rose 0.5% in May from the previous month, after declining 1.1% in April, data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Monday. The May reading was much weaker than the 3.5% increase expected in a poll of economists by data provider Quick.