Headlines

The outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East and surging energy costs are expected to exacerbate soaring levels of financial distress among European corporates, according to Alvarez & Marsal Inc., Bloomberg reported. Even before the US and Israel began their attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, financial strain among the continent’s businesses was at a four-year high, a new report from the consultancy firm released on Tuesday said.

The number of companies collapsing into administration jumped by nearly a third last month, official figures have shown, as fears mount that cost pressures from the Iran war could push more firms to the brink, PAMedia.com reported. The Insolvency Service said that company administrations rose 30% year-on-year in February to 146, maintaining high levels seen in January when 152 firms called in administrators. Overall, company insolvencies across the board were 7% higher when compared with January, at 1,878, but were 7% lower on an annual basis.

U.S. private credit firm Blue Owl Capital triggered the recent collapse of a UK mortgage lender after discovering irregularities in its financial reporting and demanding repayment, the Financial Times reported. Blue Owl, which manages more than $300bn, has become a focal point for concerns about the private credit sector and its stock has shed more than 40 per cent so far this year. It tipped bridging loan specialist Century Capital Partners into administration last month after discovering the UK group had dismissed a director because of financial discrepancies.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday restored an insolvency appeal against Dilip Buildcon, a construction and infrastructure development company, the Economic Times of India reported. A two-member bench of the NCLAT on December 12, 2025, dismissed the appeal filed by Shyamji Construction Co against Dilip Buildcon on the ground of 'non-prosecution'. However, an application was filed by Shyamji Construction Co for condonation of delay and restoration of appeal against Dilip Buildcon, which was allowed.

One of Spain’s busiest beach resorts has agreed on a plan to settle €350 million ($403 million) in compensation to land owners who were shortchanged during a real estate boom in the early 2000s, Bloomberg reported. Benidorm will make an initial €60 million payment before year-end and installments both in cash and land over many years, according to a plan approved in a city council vote on Tuesday. That will ease the impact of an obligation worth more than double the city’s annual budget and help it avert insolvency.

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owed relative to their income climbed for the fifth consecutive quarter, BNN Bloomberg reported. The agency says that the ratio of household credit market debt as a proportion of disposable income rose to 177.2 per cent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. In other words, Statistics Canada says there was $1.77 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the fourth quarter.

China’s economy got off to a solid start this year but that momentum may prove hard to sustain as the world’s largest oil importer navigates the conflict in the Middle East and continued pressures at home, the Wall Street Journal reported. Data on Monday showed retail sales got a lift over January-February thanks to the extended Lunar New Year holiday, while industrial production rebounded on surging exports. Fixed-asset investment meanwhile improved after a decline last year.

Australia’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday as the conflict in Iran worsened existing concerns around an acceleration in inflation and the country’s reliance on oil imports, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the official cash rate to 4.10% from 3.85%. That marked the second increase this year and investor bets have shifted toward another rate rise in May as officials battle to rein in price pressures.

Britain's cross-party Treasury Committee has requested further explanation from Lloyds ‌Banking Group over the causes of a ‌glitch on March 12 that let some customers see other ​users' transactions on the bank's digital channels, Reuters reported. "On the face of it, this is an alarming breach of data confidentiality," committee chair Meg Hillier wrote to ‌Lloyds CEO Charlie ⁠Nunn in a letter dated March 17. Lloyds said at the time that it ⁠was investigating the causes and had swiftly resolved the issue.

A court in Buenos Aires has ordered the blocking of prediction market platform Polymarket in Argentina, according to reports in local media, Decrypt.com reported. The order, issued by Judge Susana Parada following an investigation led by prosecutor Juan Rozas from the city’s specialized gambling prosecution office, directs telecom authorities to implement network-level access restrictions and requires the removal of the Polymarket app from Google and Apple’s app stores in the country.