Headlines

Professor of Accounting at UCD, Eamonn Walsh told Deputy Pearse Doherty that using today’s standards Anglo would still appear as if it were on course for a profit of almost half a million euro, the Independent reported. “There has been no change in standards so one could reach much the same conclusion today as one would have reached in 2008”, he added. The inquiry has also heard how inaction by both the Central Bank and the Banking Regulator had resulted in “costly failure” and how political bias may have unduly influenced the decision to bring in the Bank Guarantee.

Eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday approved Greece’s plan meant to ease the hardships created by its international bailout, extending that loan program by four more months, the International New York Times reported. In revising the terms of the bailout program, the new Greek government pledged to take a disciplined approach to budgets, spending and tax collection, while remaining committed to relieving the “humanitarian crisis” caused by years of economic hardship and high unemployment.

Spain’s government, predicting strong economic growth after years of harsh spending cutbacks, will offer tax breaks to encourage long-term hiring and help struggling single-parent families, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Spanish leader announced the measures during a state of the nation address that spelled out themes of his campaign for a second term.

China’s superrich are nervously watching as the Chinese currency weakens against the dollar, The Wall Street Journal reported. Because of the extreme concentration of money at the apex of Chinese society, national stability rests to an extraordinary extent in the hands of just two million or so families. They are the top 1% of urban households, and already, their confidence in China’s future under President Xi Jinping is shaky.

South Africa recorded its worst economic growth in five years in 2014 as Africa’s most developed economy counted the cost of a wave of strikes, infrastructure bottlenecks and fragile business confidence, the Financial Times reported. An unprecedented five-month wage strike in the platinum mining sector, followed by a weeks-long strike by more than 220,000 metalworkers and engineers, dragged growth down to 1.5 per cent for the year. Mining and manufacturing however rebounded in the fourth quarter, with the economy expanding 4.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Eighty-six years old and still job hunting. Wong Siu-ying had to stop passing out leaflets on a Hong Kong flyover when she hurt her knee in August. With two-thirds of her social security income spent on rent and no steady allowance from her three children, retirement isn’t an option, the Irish Times reported. “It isn’t enough,” Wong said of the roughly HK$2,200 ($284) a month she gets from the government, which provides a benefit to the elderly as a supplementary income, with the expectation families will pay for living expenses.

Another insolvency claim has been filed against Rigas kugu buvetava (Riga Shipyard), according to information provided by Firmas.lv. The insolvency case was initiated by the Riga Northern District Court on February 20, according to information published on the Insolvency Administration's website. The claim was filed by the foreign company Nordweg Ship Repair. The court will review the case on March 5, as LETA learned from the court. Riga Shipyard CEO Janis Skvarnovics told LETA that the company has not received any documents from the court, he was therefore unable to comment on the case.

The Canadian subsidiary of embattled for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges Inc. has filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s insolvency law after an Ontario education regulator took action against the company’s 14 Canadian campuses, The Wall Street Journal reported. Everest Colleges Canada Inc. filed for an assignment under the Bankruptcy Insolvency Act on Friday, which is Canada’s bankruptcy law. Duff Phelps Canada Restructuring Inc. will administer the case as trustee, according to an announcement.

Japan's biggest airline, ANA Holdings Inc, said it was considering injecting capital into Skymark Airlines Inc as part of a rehabilitation plan for the bankrupt domestic budget carrier, Reuters reported. Besides ANA, other investors have also expressed interest in participating in a rescue package for Skymark, according to media reports and sources. Skymark holds valuable slots at Tokyo's crowded Haneda airport, making it attractive to potential investors. Skymark last month sought protection from creditors, blaming a weak yen and a dispute with jet maker Airbus Group for its financial woes.

Debt-holders who want to jumpstart restructuring talks with Argentina may have to wait until a court rules next month on whether to let a disputed bond payment go through, further extending a legal feud that has hobbled state finances, Business Insider reported. The case stems from Argentina's 2002 default on about $100 billion, which has weighed on Latin America's No. 3 economy by locking it out of the global bond market at a time of stagnant growth and high inflation.