Headlines

Japan's economy expanded by a much faster-than-expected annualized 3.1% in the second quarter, rebounding from a slump at the start of the year thanks to a strong rise in consumption and backing the case for another near-term interest rate hike, Reuters reported. The Bank of Japan had forecast that a solid economic recovery will help inflation sustainably hit its 2% target, and justify raising interest rates further after it hiked them last month in its continued quest to exit years of massive monetary stimulus.

Toronto-based Sampler has filed for bankruptcy, BetaKit reported. The digital product-sampling startup filed an assignment of bankruptcy on June 27 and held its first meeting of creditors on July 22, according to documents BetaKit obtained from Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. At the date of filing, Sampler had total liabilities of $12.9 million and total assets of more than $300,000. Sampler matches packaged goods companies with consumers who receive packages of free samples by mail.

Defense company Paramount filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after suffering defeat in a long-running business dispute, Bloomberg reported. The United Arab Emirates-based company, founded by Ivor Ichikowitz in South Africa, filed for chapter 11 Thursday in Delaware. It listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in its bankruptcy petition.

Britain's economy recorded a second quarter of strong growth as it recovered from last year's shallow recession but it lost momentum as it entered the second half of 2024, suggesting the Bank of England remains on course to cut interest rates again, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the second quarter of 2024 after a 0.7% expansion in the first quarter which was the fastest in more than two years, the Office for National Statistics said.

Despite all its recent freight growth and international expansion plans, Ukrainian Railways now finds itself in a problematic situation, railtech.com reported. The Ukrainian operator says that it is facing potential bankruptcy, after a number of companies have succeeded in annulling a 2021 rail tariff hike via a Kyiv court. Ukrainian Railways announces that it is now in troubled waters, according to a post on its Telegram channel. “Private companies using the courts are trying to reduce tariffs for themselves, which will cause the bankruptcy and shutdown of Ukrainian Railways,” it says.

While bankruptcy applications in Singapore were at an 18-year high in 2023, actual bankruptcy orders, and corporate insolvencies, were lower than the application numbers, and also below pre-COVID levels, Yahoo Finance reported. This was noted in a reply by Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) board member, in Parliament. There were 3,986 bankruptcy applications made by individuals or their creditors over unpaid debts of more than S$15,000 in 2023.

The euro inched toward its highest level against the dollar this year, amid anticipation the Federal Reserve will cut interest-rates by more than the European Central Bank in the coming months, Bloomberg reported. The single currency rose as much as 0.3% to $1.1029, the strongest level since Jan. 2, as markets awaited U.S. inflation data for further evidence the Fed will likely begin easing policy next month. Money markets are currently pricing over 100 basis points of cuts in the US by December, compared to 70 basis points in the euro area.

The ongoing struggles faced by Quebec-based Taiga Motors as it tries to become an electric snowmobile and personal watercraft pioneer hit another snag when the company filed for the equivalent of bankruptcy protection in Canada, Power Sports Business reported. The June 10, 2024, filing under the Canadian Companies Creditors Arrangement Act is similar to a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the U.S., so the company is seeking protection from creditors while continuing its operations and operating under its court-appointed trustee, Deloitte Restructuring Inc.

A recent string of dismal indicators have dulled expectations for China's economic performance in July, in an ominous sign for the rest of 2024 and pointing to the need for more stimulus measures beyond plastering over pain points in the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. Calls for more growth boosting measures for the $19 trillion economy have dogged officials after a widely expected post-pandemic recovery failed to materialize in 2023. Still, the government is targeting economic growth of around 5% this year. The latest data point to a rocky start to the second half.

Troubled Chilean salmon-farming company Nova Austral appears to have been given the go-ahead to continue with its reorganization, Fish Farmer Magazine reported. Following a new appeal by the company and other organizations, a court in the south of the country has permanently reversed a bankruptcy order. A temporary appeal was allowed in May. This means a long running saga, and a series of delays which saw the business come close to being wound up or sold, should at last be over.