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Local authorities are at risk of bankruptcy if funding from the Scottish government is not improved, council leaders have said, BBC.com reported. Cosla issued the warning in a briefing paper ahead of the Scottish budget on 19 December. The local government body said councils need nearly £14.4bn in the budget just to "stand still". The Scottish government said it had given councils a real-terms increase of £376m, or 3%, this year. Cosla's comments came after Birmingham and Nottingham city councils effectively declared themselves bankrupt.
In a relief to low-cost carrier SpiceJet, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday dismissed an insolvency petition by aircraft lessor Willis Lease Finance Corporation which is claiming dues, the Business Standard reported. A two-member Delhi-based NCLT bench rejected the plea moved by U.S.-based Willis Lease Finance Corporation after SpiceJet questioned the maintainability of the petition. SpiceJet opposed the plea contending that Willis Lease Finance Corp. has withdrawn its insolvency plea for the same dispute in March 2023 and has approached again with a new plea.
China Evergrande Group on Monday said it has been granted an adjournment of a court hearing into a liquidation petition to Jan. 29, giving the embattled property developer time to finalise a revamped offshore debt-restructuring plan, Reuters reported. The decision came as the world's most indebted developer with more than $300 billion in liabilities sought adjournment unexpectedly unopposed by the petitioner's lawyer. On Oct.
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Given the strains China’s economy is already laboring under—including a slow-motion property sector implosion and the “serious” insolvency of Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a large asset manager, in its own words—it isn’t a great sign that China’s money markets have recently been throwing off little blips of distress too, the Wall Street Journal reported. There is little sign of an immediate crisis such as the one that erupted in the wake of regulators’ sudden takeover of Baoshang Bank, a midsize lender, in 2019.
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SBI Holdings Inc., Rakuten Group Inc. and Monex Group Inc. are among brokerages in Japan that also sold Credit Suisse’s riskiest bonds to retail investors, highlighting the widening fallout of these products in the country, Bloomberg News reported. The operators of the nation’s three major online brokerages offered the Swiss lender’s Additional Tier 1 notes for a minimum purchase amount of $200,000, according to copies of the firms’ product explanatory materials seen by Bloomberg News.
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A busy month for rights issues portends a potential increase in this type of fund raising, as cash-strapped European companies struggle with high rates and looming debt maturities, Bloomberg News reported. Rights offerings worth around $7.6 billion were announced in November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total was dominated by a €3.9 billion ($4.2 billion) issue by beleaguered nursing home operator Orpea SA, the first of its proposed capital increases, and a 775-million Swiss franc ($817 million) issue by sensors maker AMS-Osram AG as part of its financing plan.
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The trustee of Safe Hands Plans has received a £17 million High Court claim from administrators of the collapsed pre-paid funerals company, The Times reported. Safe Hands slumped into insolvency last year, leaving about 46,000 people with a combined £60 million shortfall and triggering concerns in parliament and several investigations. Administrators at FRP Advisory were appointed to Safe Hands and its parent company SHP Capital Holdings, a special purpose investment vehicle, as the Financial Conduct Authority prepared to take on regulation of the pre-paid funerals market.
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The Panama Canal, the century-old engineering marvel that revolutionized global trade, is being squeezed shut by drought and forcing shippers worldwide to face a painful choice, Bloomberg News reported. They can wait in line for days or weeks, as low water levels limit the number of ships passing through the 50-mile waterway, carrying cars, consumer goods, fruit and fuel. They can pay millions of dollars to jump ahead in the queue, if a ship with a booked reservation drops out.
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Sluggish global growth, a higher risk of borrowers defaulting on loans and pressure on profitability mean that banks face a negative outlook in 2024, credit rating agency Moody's said on Monday, Reuters reported. Prior rate hikes by central banks and rising unemployment in advanced economies will weaken asset quality, Moody's Investors Services said in an outlook report, adding that real estate exposures in the United States and Europe posed a growing risk. Pockets of stress in property markets in the Asia-Pacific region were also likely to continue, the report said.
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Lloyds Banking Group Plc has received £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) from the owners of the Telegraph newspaper, marking an end of the bank’s involvement in a saga that’s spawned government investigations and sparked a nationwide discussion on freedom of the press, Bloomberg News reported. Lloyds received the repayment from Penultimate Investment Holdings Limited, according to an emailed statement. Penultimate Investment Holdings Limited is the Barclay family company that indirectly owns Telegraph Media Group Ltd. and the Spectator (1828) Ltd.
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