Headlines

The prospect of an increase in U.K. borrowing costs any time soon diminished Wednesday following the publication of a dovish set of minutes from the Bank of England's April policy meeting and a survey showing a drop in Britons' inflation expectations, The Wall Street Journal reported. The hawks on the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee have appeared tantalizingly close to winning over enough colleagues to secure a rate rise in recent months, but in April their arguments for tighter policy were overshadowed by worries about the U.K.'s hard-pressed consumers.

Portugal raised euro1 billion ($1.4 billion) at a short-term debt auction at higher interest rates as it negotiates terms of a badly needed bailout to avert bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported. The government debt agency said it sold euro680 million in 3-month bills at an average interest rate of 4 percent, up from 3.7 percent at the last such auction in January. Demand for the debt was double the amount sold. The agency also sold euro320 million in 6-month bills at an average rate of 5.5 percent, up from 5.1 percent on April 6. It was 3.7 times oversubscribed.

The chief executive of collapsed clothing retailer Colorado Group is already looking beyond the receivership process to an aggressive strategy that could more than double the size of its Jag and Diana Ferrari chains over five years, The Australian reported. Kevin Roberts, who joined Colorado just five months before it was placed in receivership by lenders owed $400 million, says that the Affinity Equity-backed group's problems are mostly confined to its balance sheet.

A recent court decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal to award pensioners from Indalex Ltd. secured creditor status in a CCAA restructuring has tongues wagging in financing circles on Bay Street, the Financial Post reported. Newton Glassman, founder and managing partner at Catalyst Capital Group Inc., is among the more vocal. Catalyst, the leading lender to distressed companies in Canada, is preparing to seek intervenor status when Indalex seeks leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. If the high court grants an audience, Catalyst wants a seat. Mr.

Greece's finance ministry asked a prosecutor to launch an investigation into debt restructuring rumours that helped drag Greek stocks down on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Greek bank stocks fell 4.58 percent on Wednesday and the broader Athens bourse index lost 2.62 percent, underperforming pan-European indices on what traders said where rumours, spread by email, that the country would soon restructure its debt. The Greek government has repeatedly said it would not restructure the country's debt, in defiance of market sentiment that such action was increasingly likely.

China is accelerating efforts to push its currency deeper into world markets, racing ahead with a series of moves toward a new financial ecosystem with the yuan at its center. A senior Hong Kong monetary official told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that China's central bank is "actively considering" new rules that would make it easier to bring yuan funds raised offshore back onto the Chinese mainland.

Lower credit standards, the introduction of high-risk products and access to credit on international money markets contributed to the Irish banking crisis, a new report found today, the Irish Times reported. The Nyberg report says while international developments helped trigger the crisis in Ireland, they did not cause it, and its origins were the result of "domestic Irish decisions and actions, some of which were made more profitable or possible by international developments".

New Zealand’s cabinet has assigned $24 million funding in the first year for the new Financial Markets Authority, which begins operation on 1 May, The National Business Review reported. The budget will increase to $28 million in 2013/14 to reflect the emphasis on market intelligence, investigation and enforcement, and some additional transition costs, Commerce Minister Simon Power said today. The budget for 2014/15 and beyond will be about $26 million – an increase of around 44 per cent over the $18 million budget for the current regulators.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused Scanwood Canada’s pleas for more time for protection from its creditors and placed it in receivership. Scanwood made nearly one million chests of drawers every year for IKEA, its only customer. The recession hurt sales, and the business owed nearly $24 million. The company had been under creditor protection for two months. A bid from a new group of investors fell through and unionized workers refused to make further concessions.

With a series of Korean construction firms turning to court receivership to delay debt repayment, there is growing criticism that they are using the courts to find an easy way out of paying debts. Some accuse the construction companies of engaging in brinkmanship, the JoongAng Daily reported. Banks are blaming the builders for a lack of financial discipline, while the construction companies say the commercial and savings banks are forcing them into financial trouble by refusing to roll over loans.