Headlines

Greece’s debt burden is now equal to 177 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, a level many economists regard as unsustainable. The unpopularity of the swingeing austerity required to service it has propelled the radical left Syriza party with its promise of debt restructuring into pole position ahead of snap elections on January 26, the Financial Times reported.

For China’s property market bears, the default by a Hong Kong-listed developer on its US dollar bonds looks like the canary in the coal mine. More are likely to follow, they argue, as the great unravelling of the heavily indebted and chronically oversupplied sector finally gets under way. Even some of the more sanguine observers see the recent bond and loan repayment failures by Shenzhen-based Kaisa as potentially part of a broader trend in China’s property sector, the Financial Times reported.

Splits on the European Central Bank’s governing council had already left Mario Draghi facing tough choices on how to design a quantitative easing package for the eurozone. The European Court of Justice may impose more limits on the ECB president’s options on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. One of the ECJ’s advocates-general, Pedro Cruz Villalón, will issue an interim ruling on whether an earlier promise to save the region from economic ruin by buying government bonds in potentially unlimited quantities overstepped the ECB’s mandate.

Local retailer Succes, owned by the businessman Nicolae Sarcina, recently filed for insolvency, Romania-Insider.com reported. The company which posted a EUR 350 million turnover in 2013 and has 1,600 employees, will receive the court decision on its insolvency request on January 27, reports local Ziarul Financiar. Profi and Mega Image, two of the largest supermarket chains in Romania, are interested in taking over Succes stores.

Alberta’s Premier said Tuesday that collapsing crude-oil prices will hurt the energy-rich Western Canadian province for “several years” and likely force his government to offset mounting deficits by cutting spending and raising taxes, The Wall Street Journal reported. “This is a challenging time for our province,” Alberta Premier Jim Prentice said at a news conference on Tuesday, referring to a drop in crude-oil prices to six-year lows. “This is the most significant public financial circumstance that we’ve seen in this province for a generation,” he said. Mr.

The cost to individuals of filing for bankruptcy in Ireland has been slashed to €270 from about €1,400 a year ago in a bid to make the process more affordable for those in financial distress, the Irish Times reported. This is in addition to the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) waiving fees until the end of 2015 relating to personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs). These previously cost about €500. The lower fees for bankruptcy were quietly introduced on December 31st. It involves a fee of €200 as a contribution to the work of the official assignee in bankruptcy cases.

The State could eventually recoup all the cash used to bail out AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said. This would leave the €35 billion cost of bailing out Anglo and Irish Nationwide as the final cash cost to the exchequer from the banking collapse.

State-owned conglomerate Dubai World edged closer to a second major restructuring in four years on Monday after announcing it had reached agreement with a "substantial majority" of creditors to back its $14.6 billion debt deal, Reuters reported. However, despite having enough backing to effectively prevent challenges to its new deal, a relatively untested court process to impose it will mean formal completion is still months away.

The Russian central bank’s net currency interventions in 2014 amounted to $76.13 billion and €5.41 billion, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing central bank data, the Irish Times reported. Interventions in the month of December amounted to $11.9 billion. The bank intervened heavily last year as the rouble slumped because of international tensions over the Ukraine crisis and plummeting prices for oil, Russia’s main export. The Russian rouble opened more than 2 per cent lower against the dollar on Monday, dragged down by flagging oil prices.

Bonds issued by Kaisa Group rose sharply on Tuesday after the embattled Chinese property developer said it had received a waiver from HSBC Holdings on a loan it failed to repay late last month. Kaisa, which has been struggling with the departure of senior executives, government officials blocking sales at some of its projects in the southern city of Shenzhen and a missed coupon payment on an offshore bond, made the announcement late on Monday. Market participants are watching Kaisa closely as it could become the first Chinese company to make an outright default on its offshore U.S.