Headlines

Adventurewear retailer Snowgum have lurched into voluntary administration following a dispute over rent with a landlord of one of its shops in the face of a general downturn in consumer confidence and tough times in the retail sector, BusinessDay reported. In business since 1926, and selling a range of outdoor clothing with a focus on functional performance fabrics, it operates out of 20 stores.

The leader of heavily indebted Grenada is preparing to lower the income tax threshold and make new efforts to catch tax dodgers, The Washington Post reported. The Caribbean nation’s state-run news agency said Sunday that Prime Minister Keith Mitchell is expected to announce the new tax measures during a national address this week. Mitchell recently traveled to the U.S. to meet with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to discuss Grenada’s economy and debt burden. The island is planning a debt restructuring program.

China's Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd has signed a preliminary deal to buy the main China unit of Suntech Power, two sources close to the matter said, Reuters reported. The framework agreement with Wuxi Suntech's administrator brings the closely watched restructuring of the firm's $1.75 billion debt closer to completion after Suntech Power defaulted on a $541 million dollar convertible bond in March.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services warned Friday that it may downgrade Hungary further into non-investment grade over the next 12 months should government policies weaken investor confidence and the outlook for recovery, The Wall Street Journal Emerging Europe blog reported. Hungary’s creditworthiness remains constrained by its poor growth outlook, limited monetary policy room, and mounting public as well as private-sector debt, it said. “We also believe that institutional checks and balances have weakened in recent years,” S&P said.

The Government faces demands from the troika to accept tough fiscal policy conditions in return for an emergency credit line to guard against any loss of market confidence in the wake of the bailout, the Irish Times reported. With only seven weeks to go before Ireland’s official exit from the EU-International Monetary Fund bailout, there is no consensus in the troika or among European leaders as to whether the Coalition should seek a precautionary loan programme.

Robed in black and accustomed to the quiet of their Lisbon chambers, the 13 judges of Portugal’s constitutional court have found themselves propelled unexpectedly into the cut and thrust of high European politics, the Financial Times reported. Defenders of the inviolability of national laws for some, enemies of reform to others, the seven men and six women have become critical to the success or failure of Portugal’s €78bn bailout programme and, by implication, the resolution of the eurozone crisis.

A group representing leading Russian banks called for the Bank of Russia to sacrifice its ambitious plan to tame inflation in order to support flagging economic growth, The Wall Street Journal Emerging Europe blog reported. The Association of Regional Banks of Russia, a lobbying group that represents nearly half of all Russian banks, wrote in an open letter to the central bank’s governor Thursday saying that the bank’s attempt to bring inflation down to 5% next year is unlikely to succeed, and could impede growth that has already slowed to 1.5% in the first nine months of this year.

Indebted Spanish printing company Service Point Solutions SA has applied for creditor protection, it said on Thursday, after talks with its lenders failed, Reuters reported. The company said earlier on Thursday it was talking to creditors after banks rejected its proposals to buy back debt and that it had not ruled out applying for protection from creditors.

Siena, the medieval city renowned for its Palio horse races, is home to the world’s oldest bank. Within its aging walls lies a distinctly 21st century tale of devastation wrought by local politicians and global financiers, Bloomberg reported. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Italy’s third-largest lender, is struggling to survive as it seeks to repay a second bailout or face nationalization. Its downfall proved a boon to global investment banks. They offered merger and investment advice to executives beholden to politicians that helped wipe out 93 percent of Monte Paschi’s value.

Home sellers in London raised asking prices 10% in the early weeks of October, as foreign buyers continued stoking the market, adding to concern a fresh property bubble may be forming, The Wall Street Journal reported. The capital's steep price increases have also fueled concern among policy makers that many residents may be forced out of the market.