Headlines

The Signa luxury unit that co-owns the Selfridges department store in London plans to offer creditors a 30% repayment on their debt under the current restructuring proposal, Bloomberg News reported. According to a document from administrators seen by Bloomberg News, Signa Prime Selection AG will transfer assets to a trustee, who will oversee their sale with all proceeds flowing to creditors. While the proposal offers an initial 30% of their claims, the creditors may receive further payments if revenue from disposals allow.

The U.K. economy rebounded in January, registering modest growth after falling into a technical recession in the second half of last year, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product rose 0.2% following a 0.1% decline in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Services and construction delivered the gains, offsetting a drop in industrial production. The figures leave Britain on track to grow over the first quarter as a whole, bringing the recession to an end.

The European Central Bank presented a new framework for how it implements monetary policy, preserving the current system of steering interest rates while giving lenders more of a say over how much cash they need to operate, Bloomberg News reported. The revamp of the plumbing that underpins the ECB’s key task of maintaining stable prices in the 20-nation euro zone will see banks decide how much liquidity they need from the Frankfurt-based institution on top of what’s provided through a new permanent portfolio of bonds.

Europe moved closer to adopting the world's first artificial intelligence rules on Wednesday as EU lawmakers endorsed a provisional agreement for a technology whose use is rapidly growing across a wide swathe of industries and in everyday life, Reuters reported. Three years in the making, the AI Act comes as generative AI systems such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Google's chatbot Gemini become more popular, fuelling concerns about misinformation and fake news.

Bank of Mexico Deputy Governor Omar Mejia argued in a podcast published on Wednesday that it is not premature to consider lowering the bank's benchmark interest rate, though he cautioned that any future cuts should remain restrictive, Reuters reported. The bank's interest rate currently stands at a historic high of 11.25%, and the monetary authority is set to meet later this month.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Wednesday it projects the average structural balance in Latin America and the Caribbean to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2025, Reuters reported. The regions are expected to see a steady improvement from 2022 to 2025, with forecasts indicating a return to -3.4% of potential GDP by 2025. This figure aligns with projections for OECD countries and mirrors the -3.4% recorded in 2019.

The Latin American high-yield bond rally that started in El Salvador and expanded to Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador has now swept up Bolivia in its wake. That’s a step too far for some investors, Bloomberg News reported. El Salvador gained after unexpectedly meeting all its debt payments, while Venezuela rallied after the US lifted sanctions. Ecuador and Argentina jumped as they imposed radical free-market reforms following years of mismanagement.

A Signa Prime Selection AG creditor committee has rejected plans to sell a portfolio of Austrian property to the Schoeller Group, Bloomberg News reported. The initial decision casts doubt on a deal that insolvent Signa Prime had hoped would help address a bottleneck in its restructuring efforts. Negotiations between the firm and its lenders are ongoing. The luxury unit in the property and retail empire founded by Rene Benko was looking to sell several Austrian assets, including the Park Hyatt hotel and the Golden Quarter luxury shopping area.

Brazil is putting the finishing touches on a rescue plan for its troubled airlines, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government confronts a challenge the US and Europe dealt with much sooner after the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The package, to be announced in coming days, will use public funds as collateral for loans to struggling carriers from the country’s development bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the plan is still in flux and it’s expected to be more of a band-aid solution than an industry cure-all.

Sweden's DSAM Sverige has withdrawn its bankruptcy petition against rival real estate company Oscar Properties after receiving confirmation that its claims had been paid, the Stockholm District Court said on Monday, Reuters reported. Shares in Oscar Properties were up about 40% to 0.58 Swedish crowns ($0.0567) at 1217 GMT after the court's announcement on Monday, but are still trading at a fraction of their historical highs reached in 2017. Oscar Properties was not immediately available for comment.