Headlines

English councils are grappling with £4 billion ($4.9 billion) gap in their finances over the next two years, threatening to further fuel a wave of bankruptcies that’s crippling local authorities, Bloomberg News reported. The Local Government Association said the funding shortfall has increased by £1 billion since its previous calculations in July after an soaring inflation worsened long-running pressures on council budgets. The squeeze on council budgets is likely to tip more authorities into financial trouble.

Signa Sports United has closed its U.S. offices, which included operations for the Vitus and Nukeproof bike brands and the Hotlines wholesale distribution business, all based in Park City. Signa, headquartered in Berlin, announced earlier this week that it had lost access to a 150 million euro ($159 million) equity commitment from its parent company, BicycleRetailer.com reported. The company has reported serious liquidity challenges and had begun the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

Egypt was downgraded further into junk territory by S&P Global Ratings, as the North African nation struggles with a severe shortage of hard currency, Bloomberg News reported. S&P cut the country’s debt to B- from B, with a stable outlook, the ratings company said in a statement. The decision puts the country on par with nations like Bolivia, Angola and Iraq. “The downgrade reflects the recurring delays to the implementation of monetary and structural reforms,” S&P said.

Greece’s credit rating was raised to investment grade by S&P Global Ratings — the first such move by one of the big three assessors since the country was shaken by a debt crisis more than a decade ago, Bloomberg News reported. Friday’s decision puts Greece at BBB- with a stable outlook. S&P joins Japan’s Rating and Investment Information Inc., Germany’s Scope Ratings and Canada’s DBRS Morningstar in lifting the nation out of junk territory. All did so following June’s resounding re-election of reformist Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Brazil’s troubled fertilizer maker Unigel Participacoes is proposing a two-year halt to all principal and interest payments on its international bonds as it seeks to avoid a looming default, Bloomberg News reported. The company is in talks with global bondholders before the existing 30-day grace period on a $23.2 million missed interest payment expires at the end of Nov. 1. The company has $530 million in outstanding dollar notes due in 2026.

Canada's main banking regulator has directed lenders to hold more capital against mortgages that have seen their repayment terms extend beyond the original terms due to the record pace of interest rate hikes, to contain risks building in the system, Reuters reported. Canada's nearly C$2 trillion mortgage market has been shaken up by the central bank's interest rate hikes, with many home owners only able to make interest payments, resulting in their mortgage repayment terms getting longer.

Canadian consumers are tightening their purse strings, cementing a case for the Bank of Canada to hold interest rates steady next week, Bloomberg News reported. Receipts for retailers were flat in September, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada released Friday. That followed a 0.1% decline a month earlier, which matched the median estimate from economists in a Bloomberg survey. “Flat is soft,” Eric Lascelles, chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada’s asset management unit, said on BNN Bloomberg Television.

Mexico's lower house moved to cut a profit sharing rate owed by state-owned oil giant Pemex to 30%, from its current 40%, as part of a sweeping 2024 tax bill passed by lawmakers early Friday morning, amid attempts to control Pemex's soaring debt, Reuters reported. Pemex's profit sharing rate (DUC), which is effectively a tax paid to the government, has been gradually lowered during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration from a high of 65%. The bill, passed after a marathon overnight session, will be sent on to the senate for approval.

Country Garden bondholders are seeking urgent talks with the troubled property developer after it missed a $15 million coupon repayment, putting it at risk of default, Reuters reported. Two bondholder groups have emerged seeking discussions about a potential debt restructuring package, with a major one close to appointing either Moelis or PJT as financial advisers, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the information is confidential.