Headlines

Art dealer to the stars, Andrew Valmorbida is locked in a court battle involving a string of prototype Ferraris, artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a £17 million ($21.5 million) west London townhouse, Bloomberg News reported. Luxembourg-based lender Regera Sarl is chasing Valmorbida for $42.9 million, claiming he defaulted on a loan and attempted to sell artwork over which it had security, without permission, according to court documents.

Inverness, Scottland-based Highland Timber Construction has entered liquidation after failing to recover from the financial strain caused by the covid pandemic and a subsequent inability to secure new contracts, Scottish Financial News reported. The company, which was established in 2016 and known for building construction, extensions, renovations, and kitchen remodelling, ceased operations on 27 November 2023, resulting in redundancy for its 11 employees. The decision for liquidation was made after the company petitioned Inverness Sheriff Court on 6 December.

Credit Suisse came close to imploding months before its eventual rescue, the Swiss financial regulator said on Tuesday in its first detailed account of the crisis, as it argued for stronger powers to oversee lenders in future, Reuters reported. The regulator, FINMA, which has come under fire for its supervision of the bank, defended its role in the meltdown which eventually triggered the biggest rescue of a bank since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday filed charges against Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi and three companies of which he is CEO, alleging they inflated the financial performance of the companies and key subsidiaries to defraud investors, Reuters reported. The SEC said in a statement that it filed charges in U.S. District Court in New York against Mmobuosi, who made headlines this year following a bid to buy an English premier league team.

Argentina’s central bank changed its benchmark tool for monetary policy Monday, replacing four-week notes with one-day transactions in a bid to lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary authority will no longer auction its 28-day Leliq notes, which until now were used to determine its policy rate. Instead, the 1-day repo notes that currently pay an interest rate of 100% will serve as the bank’s new policy benchmark. Monday’s move aims to free up pesos for Argentine banks and strengthen demand for treasury notes.

The International Monetary Fund's governing body has approved a 50% increase in quota resources to be contributed by member countries in proportion to their current IMF shareholding, bringing total quotas to $960 billion, the IMF said on Monday, Reuters reported. It said that the governors representing nearly 93% of the total voting power of the fund had cast votes in favor of the 50% increase recommended by the IMF's executive board, exceeding the 85% required. The voting deadline ended on Friday. The quota increase will become effective by Nov.

London's marine insurance market has widened the area in the Red Sea it deems as high risk after a surge in attacks on commercial ships, according to a statement issued on Monday, Reuters reported. Guidance from the Joint War Committee (JWC), which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations over insurance premiums. The JWC widened the high risk zone in the Red Sea to 18 degrees north from 15 degrees north previously, the statement said.

The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-loose policy settings on Tuesday in a widely expected move, as the bank opted to await more evidence on whether wages and prices would rise enough to justify a shift away from massive monetary stimulus, Reuters reported. The central bank also made no change to its dovish policy guidance, dashing hopes among some traders it would tweak the language to signal a near-term end to negative interest rates.

Corporate bankruptcies are increasing at double-digit rates in most advanced economies as borrowing costs rise and governments unwind pandemic-era measures to support business worth trillions of dollars, the Financial Times reported. Following a decade of decline the number of US corporate bankruptcies rose 30 per cent in the 12 months to September compared with the year-ago period, according to courts data. Germany, the EU’s largest economy, said bankruptcies rose 25 per cent from January to September compared with the year-ago period.

A Chinese developer partially owned by the southern city of Shenzhen warned it can’t pay interest due Wednesday as it races to win support from creditors to extend dollar bond deadlines, raising the risk of its first default, Bloomberg News reported. China South City Holdings Ltd. said in a stock exchange filing that it doesn’t have the resources to pay the interest of its 9% notes due July 2024 — with $235 million of principal outstanding — by the end of a grace period Dec.