Headlines

Syncapse, the social media marketing management company that had hoped to provide enterprise-level solutions for companies such as Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson on Facebook, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in U.S. federal court, Business Insider reported. Syncapse was one of Facebook's "preferred marketing developers," a company that qualifies to serve ads into, and gather analytics from, the social network. The move suggests that the economics of social media marketing, absent being acquired by a bigger company, are more difficult than they may appear.

The Bank of Italy is quietly inspecting the finances of some of the country's top lenders, which could push some Italian banks to sell assets or take other major steps, according to a central-bank document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The central bank's examinations, which were previously undisclosed, come against a backdrop of increasing worry among regulators, investors and bank executives about the health of some of the country's lenders amid a rise in souring loans.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a further 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in funds for Greece's bailout program after completing the fourth review of the cash-strapped euro zone state, Reuters reported. Greece last week adopted the last piece of legislation its international lenders required to release the next batch of rescue loans, after two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy. The total funds from the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank comprise 5.8 billion euros.

Personal loans in Russia have reached almost $275bn during the past two years as people take up to 5 loans per person. Some Russian cities see 100% of the economically active population taking out loans, RT.com reported. Russia risks seeing a retail credit default, business daily Vedomosti quotes research by Svyaznoj Bank that examined data from the country’s two biggest credit agencies NBCH and Equifax. The bank studied the credit history of people applying for loans and called the results of the study "depressing", Vedomosti quotes the bank representative.

Seán Dunne’s adjudication as a bankrupt in Ireland marks the culmination in a five-month legal effort by one of his biggest lenders, Ulster Bank. The court’s ruling makes Dunne unique among the many former high-flying players of the boom-time property market – he is now bankrupt in two countries: Ireland, where he racked up debts of more than €700 million, and the United States, where he has lived for three years and is trying to start anew, the Irish Times reported.

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda gave a positive assessment of the effects of the unprecedented monetary stimulus the central bank rolled out in April, saying Japan's economy is on track to exit 15 years of declining prices, The Wall Street Journal reported. Little less than four months after the BOJ opened the monetary floodgates, Mr. Kuroda said Monday the step has had positive effects on financial markets and corporate finance, as well as expectations for further improvements in the economy and prices.

HM Treasury has proposed applying bank insolvency to credit unions, warning a lack of formal legislation for winding up credit unions poses significant risks as currently “considerable intervention” is needed from the regulators, FT Adviser reported. In a new consultation paper, Industrial and provident societies: growth through co-operation, the government is seeking views on the merits of applying bank solvency rules in the Banking Act 2009 to credit unions.

China will conduct an urgent review of overall public debt, highlighting concerns about burgeoning official borrowing that are adding to stress in China's financial system and limiting Beijing's capacity to support flagging growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a one-line statement on Sunday, China's National Audit Office said it would carry out an examination of total government debt, acting on the orders of the State Council, China's cabinet.

India's Lanco Infratech Ltd has started a process to restructure debts totaling 75 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) after economic weakness impacted the performance of some of its businesses such as power and engineering and construction, Reuters reported. If the process is approved by its lenders, Lanco would be the second debt-laden company to go for a major loan restructuring within nine months, after lenders to wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy in November agreed to restructure about 110 billion rupees of its debt.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe must keep up pressure on Greece to stand by its austerity pledges as he rejected the notion that the upcoming election has put debt-crisis management on hold, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Greece’s progress will continue to be monitored after euro-area governments last week approved the latest bailout transfer to keep the government in Athens funded through the Sept. 22 election in Germany. German lawmakers have until noon tomorrow to raise objections to the latest Greek tranche.