Headlines

A bank backed by authorities in Europe’s most solvent economy should hardly be considered risky, The Economist reported in an analysis. Yet it came as a surprise to many that HSH Nordbank, a lender majority-owned by two northern German states, even passed stress tests conducted by the European Central Bank in October 2014. The lender’s bosses say they were confident all along—but they prudently limited themselves to a single glass of champagne.

Brazil’s Planning and Budget Ministry ordered the federal government to cut some spending until the country’s congress approves a budget law for 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported. The measure, which is more restrictive than existing rules, is another sign new Finance Minister Joaquim Levy and his economic team, which includes Planning and Budget Minister Nelson Barbosa, are serious about getting public finances in order, economists said. The order, announced Thursday, will save 1.9 billion reais ($708 million) a month, according to Brazil’s Planning and Budget Ministry.

Many investors are worried that an election later this month may produce a new radical government in Greece. Alexis Tsipras, the leader of an unruly band of left-of-center political parties, is favored to win on Jan. 25. He has talked of restructuring Greece’s debt and rolling back harsh austerity measures, and has raised questions about the conduct and management of Greece’s sickly banks.

Italian unemployment unexpectedly rose to a record high that’s more than double the German rate, keeping alive concerns about the diverging growth outlook in the euro area, Bloomberg News reported. The jobless rate increased to 13.4 percent from a revised 13.3 percent in October, while separate data showed the euro-region rate at 11.5 percent. The reports contrast with data from Germany showing unemployment there fell to the lowest in more than two decades last month.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm could face further legal action from creditors pursuing debts and criminal charges for lying to a US court, following a damning judgment against him, the Irish Times reported. Mr Drumm has lost the protection of the US bankruptcy court, exposing him to litigation for recovery of €10.5 million he owes, after Massachusetts Judge Frank Bailey denied him a declaration of bankruptcy that would have allowed him to avoid repaying his debts.

As Chinese individuals and companies head overseas in greater numbers, the country’s tax authorities are starting to follow, the International New York Times reported. The Beijing billionaires who set up cryptically named companies in the British Virgin Islands to hold their fortunes are in the cross hairs. So are the Guangdong salesmen living and working in Africa and Latin America. China’s tax officials are now demanding that citizens start reporting exactly how much money they earn overseas.

A local court said Wednesday it has decided to commence a receivership program for midsize South Korean builder Dongbu Corp., which has recently been hit by financial troubles amid a slump in the construction industry, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The decision by the Seoul Central District Court came just a week after the construction arm of the country's 18th-largest conglomerate Dongbu Group filed for the receivership program after admitting it was unable to repay the 261.8 billion won (US$238 million) it had borrowed from local banks.

Tighter loan-to-value ratios for house purchasers and better updating of house valuations for property tax purposes are among the measures cited in a new report on how to dampen house-price cycles, the Irish Times reported.

Romania’s largest chemical producer Oltchim, majority owned by the state, will most likely exit insolvency this year. Its judicial administrators, RomInsolv and BDO Business Restructuring, will present the company’s restructuring plan in February, with hopes to have it approved by March, according to Mediafax newswire, Romania-Insider.com reported. Economy Minister Mihai Tudose met the judicial administrators, as well as representatives of the Oltchim employees union, on Tuesday, January 6. “The option to move to bankruptcy is excluded.

Demand for U.K. mortgages fell the most since 2008 in the fourth quarter, according to the Bank of England, as more stringent lending criteria made it harder for homebuyers to get loans, Bloomberg News reported. Lenders had expected an increase in demand, the central bank said in a report today. The “significant” decline follows measures introduced in July by BOE Governor Mark Carney to limit riskier mortgages and prevent an unsustainable buildup of consumer debt.