Headlines

The South Korean Financial Supervisory Service and creditor banks are working to select corporations that will undergo restructuring next year, Chosun Biz reported. With a slump in domestic demand and the trio of high inflation, high interest rates and a strong dollar, the number of corporations at risk of insolvency is expected to increase from a year earlier. According to the financial sector on the 14th, major creditor banks are conducting regular credit risk assessments of small and midsize corporations with credit exposure from financial institutions of less than 50 billion won.

In the months before the collapse of auto-parts conglomerate First Brands, founder Patrick James was busy creating a new business group in Europe. The entrepreneur spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a large plastic-components provider in France, an interiors business in Austria, and a sealings specialist in Germany, according to people familiar with the deals, even as cash was running out at First Brands, the Wall Street Journal reported. The idea: to replicate the U.S. company’s rapid growth through acquisitions in Europe.

Australia’s corporate regulator is threatening more aggressive legal action against private credit funds that fail to protect investors, as the A$200 billion ($131 billion) industry continues to expand, Bloomberg News reported. The Australian Securities & Investment Commission’s deputy chair, Sarah Court, will announce plans to step up enforcement against poor private credit practices as part of its priorities for 2026, according to a press release Thursday. ASIC also said it will target misleading pricing practices by banks, insurance firms and pension fund trustees.

Manipal Education and Medical Group India (MEMG) submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to participate in corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of Think & Learn, the parent company of Byju’s, the Times of India reported. In a statement on Thursday, MEMG India said it sought inclusion in list of prospective resolution applicants and requested access to company’s financial and operational data. This marks the group’s second EoI submission, following an extension of filing deadline to Nov 13.

U.K. economic growth continued to slow in the third quarter amid uncertainty about the government’s coming budget and the impact of a cyberattack on a major carmaker, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s gross domestic product, a measure of the goods and services produced across the economy, rose 0.1% in the three months through September from the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. This compares with 0.3% growth in the second quarter. On an annualized basis, growth was 0.3% against 1.1% in the second quarter.

Gauzy Ltd. has announced that insolvency proceedings have been initiated by the Commercial Court of Lyon, France, affecting three of its French subsidiaries, leading to a postponement of its third-quarter financial results originally scheduled for November 14, QuiverQuant.com reported. The company firmly opposes the court's ruling, plans to appeal the decision, and is currently collaborating with the appointed administrators to resolve the situation. Despite the legal challenges, Gauzy intends to maintain normal business operations and ensure financial stability for its subsidiaries.

European Union ministers on Thursday voted to eliminate duty-free status for small parcel imports, joining the United States in upending a popular mechanism for e-commerce platforms to directly ship orders across borders to households at low cost, Freight Waves reported. The agreement would eliminate the 150 euro customs threshold, equivalent to $174, below which shipments are exempt for paying duties in 2028, dependent on the successful completion of a centralized EU customs data hub that would replace fragmented national systems for processing trade flows.

The United States and Switzerland announced a framework trade agreement on Friday that includes Washington slashing its tariffs on imported Swiss products to 15% from 39% and a pledge by Swiss companies to invest $200 billion in the U.S. by the end of 2028, Reuters reported. The United States and Switzerland, joined by Liechtenstein, aim to conclude negotiations to finalize their trade deal by the first quarter of 2026, the White House said in a statement. U.S.

The United States said on Thursday that it will remove tariffs on some foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador under framework agreements that will give U.S. firms greater access to those markets, Reuters reported. The agreements are expected to help lower prices for coffee, bananas and other foodstuffs, a senior Trump administration official told reporters, adding the administration expected U.S. retailers to pass on the positive effects to American consumers.

A Chinese-born businessman that the United States and China say ran one of Southeast Asia’s largest scam compounds was extradited to China to face charges of money laundering and other crimes, three years after he was arrested in Thailand, the New York Times reported. The businessman, She Zhijiang, arrived in the Chinese city of Nanjing from Thailand on Wednesday. He would be one of the highest ranking figures linked to the scam industry to face charges in China, which launched a mass crackdown this year to rescue people trafficked to work as scammers in Southeast Asia.