Headlines

The number of company insolvencies registered in Scotland saw a modest decrease in April 2025, falling by 7% compared to the same month in the previous year, with 101 cases recorded, ScottishFinancialNews.com reported. This total comprised 47 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 51 compulsory liquidations, and three administrations. There were no company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) or receivership appointments. Looking at the broader picture, the company insolvency rate in Scotland for the 12 months ending April 2025 stood at 51.2 per 10,000 active companies.

Newly released figures show 377 firms in the construction industry collapsed in England and Wales in March – a figure that has increased 2.5 per cent from a revised 368 in February, and a sharp 23 per cent increase from January’s 306, ConstructionWave.co.uk reported. The latest data from the Insolvency Service shows insolvencies within the sector fluctuated over the year, with its highest of 403 in the previous 12 months in April 2024. Of the 377 construction firms that went under in March, more than half (54 per cent) came from specialist subcontractors, with 203 companies folding.

Groups led by affiliates of Contrarian Funds, Gold Reserve and Vitol are working on improved offers for the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum as the list of potential bidders narrows, Reuters reported. The three consortia, which participated in an earlier competition for setting a starting bid, have been in talks with banks to secure the financing needed for their offers in the court-organized auction of shares.

A South Yorkshire steel company has avoided insolvency for the moment after a potential buyer was found, the U.K. High Court has heard, BBC.com reported. Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), part of the Liberty Steel Group founded by Sanjeev Gupta, employs 1,450 people and has plants in Rotherham and Sheffield. Lawyers representing SSUK said at a hearing on Wednesday that "urgent meetings" had been taking place with a "third party purchaser".

Embattled motorcycle maker KTM once again dodged financial ruin, just days ahead of a make-or-break deadline in its court-ordered restructuring, ADVPulse.com reported. The company needed €600 million in emergency funding to meet a court-mandated requirement to repay 30% of what it owes creditors who had filed more than €2 billion in claims. The payout is a key condition of KTM’s ongoing recovery plan — and for a while, it didn’t appear that loan would materialize.

The storm clouds for China were gathering when leader Xi Jinping convened the country’s top scientists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in May 2018. The U.S. was beginning to clamp down on selling technology to China, with more restrictions on the way, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. China must not be forced to beg others for technology, Xi said. Only through self-reliance “can we fundamentally safeguard national economic security,” he said. Since then, China has raced ahead in many strategic sectors—and in some cases is catching up with the U.S.

South Korea will prepare support measures for agricultural and food exporters, while closely monitoring the impact of U.S. tariffs on the sector, the finance ministry said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The United States is the biggest export market for the sector, with more growth potential expected from a boom in demand for South Korean foods, the ministry said in a statement after a meeting to review government responses to U.S. tariffs. South Korean officials travelled to Washington, D.C.

The giants of corporate America from Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) are borrowing in euros like never before as the anxiety triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats pushes them to hunt for alternative funding avenues in case their home market freezes up, Bloomberg News reported. A record number of these so-called reverse Yankee deals have been sold this year at a total value of more than €83 billion ($94 billion), up 35% on 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s nearly 14% of overall euro corporate issuance, the data shows.

The European Union is set to delay new, global rules governing banks' trading again as it waits for more clarity about the U.S. administration's plans to deregulate its financial sector, sources told Reuters. The Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) is a key part the Basel III package devised in the wake of the global financial crisis but not yet implemented by Britain or the United States, two of the world's key financial centres.

Bank of Japan policy board member Asahi Noguchi struck a more cautious tone about the pace of the bank’s future interest-rate hikes, saying it should take “a measured, step-by-step approach,” the Wall Street Journal reported. In a speech to business leaders in Japan’s southern prefecture of Miyazaki, Noguchi said the central bank should take the time to examine the economic impact of each rate increase and assess both upside and downside risks before considering the next one.