Headlines

The Bulgarian Parliament adopted a bill on personal bankruptcy on second reading on Thursday, following nearly nine hours of debate, the Bulgarian News Agency reported. The law allows individuals who have been unable to meet one or more financial obligations exceeding ten minimum monthly wages for over 12 months to seek legal protection. Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev explained that the measure is not a debt amnesty, but rather a one-time opportunity for honest debtors to make a fresh start through a formal insolvency procedure.

The number of companies going bust across the UK increased last month after firms swallowed increased costs, according to figures, PAMedia reported. Official data from the Insolvency Service showed there were 2,238 company insolvencies in England and Wales in May. This was 8% jump compared with April, and 15% higher than the same month last year. The increase was driven by 1,734 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, where company directors choose to shut a business down.

Romanian furniture manufacturer Taparo, a key supplier to IKEA and major European retailers, is nearing bankruptcy after its judicial administrator formally requested the Maramureş Court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, citing the full cessation of the company’s operations, Romania-Insider.com reported. The request, filed on May 29, was recorded in the Insolvency Proceedings Bulletin, Ziarul Financiar reported.

French heart prosthesis company Carmat is in a critical financial situation and will be at risk of insolvency by the end of this month, it said in a statement on Friday, Reuters reported. Carmat needs 3.5 million euros ($4.04 million) to avoid insolvency by the end of June, it said. It said that it is actively exploring financing options and is launching a campaign seeking donations through an online platform. Read more.

The U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear sites injected fresh uncertainty into the outlook for inflation and economic activity at the start of a week chock full of new economic data and central banker commentary, Reuters reported. The downside of the attacks may be the easiest to see: the potential for a spike in energy prices, a continuation of the hesitancy that has gripped households and businesses and could crimp spending, and the possibility of a response from Iran that materializes well outside the Gulf. With the U.S.

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said U.S. pharmaceutical tariffs would cost the economy thousands of jobs and that his focus is on maintaining competitiveness to protect the country’s long-term success, Bloomberg News reported. Ireland is running a strong fiscal position with a huge budget surplus thanks to corporate tax income from US multinationals such as Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Speaking on Monday at Bloomberg’s Future of Finance in Ireland event in Dublin, Donohoe said that the government must use that surplus with an eye on the longer term.

French private sector activity contracted further in June, as weakness in both the manufacturing and services sectors hit the euro zone's second-biggest economy, S&P Global said on Monday, Reuters reported. The flash PMI for France's dominant services sector for June stood at 48.7 points, down from 48.9 points in May. The June flash manufacturing PMI came in at 47.8 points, down from 49.8 in May. The manufacturing sector was impacted by excess stocks among clients, challenging market conditions, and order postponements.

Canada’s antitrust watchdog recommends the government ease restrictions on foreign investment in the country’s airline sector to stimulate competition–such as allowing nonresidents to own 100% of a domestic-focused carrier, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Competition Bureau issued its findings after a nearly yearlong study about Canada’s airline market on ways to stoke fiercer rivalries among operators. The country’s two major airlines, Air Canada and WestJet, account for about half to three-quarters of domestic passenger traffic, the bureau said.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has reassured the B.C. Securities Commission that a bankrupt man cannot discharge the $6.8 million he has been ordered to repay investors, BIV.com reported. On the heels of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last year that set the bar for what monetary fines and penalties can and cannot be discharged, the commission sought clarity through an application to the province’s top court that the $6.8 million owed by Thomas Arthur Williams cannot be discharged.