Headlines

More than 2,000 Scotland-based jobs are at risk as oil and energy services group Petrofac has applied for administration, Sky News reported. The group's operations will continue to trade, and options for restructuring of the company and a possible merger or acquisition are being actively explored with its key creditors, the company said on Monday. People close to the company say they are hopeful a buyer can be found swiftly for its North Sea operations, with one suggesting that it could even happen in the coming days.

Canadian artificial intelligence company 3MotionAI Inc. is seeking U.S. bankruptcy court recognition of its Ontario insolvency case and aims to halt a competitor’s noncompete litigation in Delaware, Bloomberg Law reported. 3MotionAI is looking to pause a suit brought by VelocityEHS Holdings Inc. as it prepares to sell its assets, according to a chapter 15 petition filed on Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) dismissed Byju’s parent Think and Learn’s plea for an interim stay aimed at stopping Aakash Educational Services from holding its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to approve a rights issue on October 29, the Economic Times of India reported. Counsel for Think & Learn argued that the proposed rights issue would reduce its stake in the coaching centre operator from 25.75% to around 5%, since the company, currently under insolvency, cannot participate in the issuance of new shares.

Donald Trump has said he is adding 10% to US tariffs on goods imported from Canada, after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan, BBC.com reported. Calling the advert a "fraud", the US president lashed out at Canadian officials for not removing it ahead of the World Series baseball championship. Prime Minister Mark Carney said in response that Canada was ready "to continue to build on the progress we had been making" in trade talks, but added that it was developing trade relationships with other countries.

The United States and Thailand on Sunday announced a framework for reciprocal trade that would see the U.S. maintain a 19% tariff on Thai products while identifying products where tariffs could potentially be adjusted or cut to zero, Reuters reported. Thailand would in turn eliminate tariff barriers on approximately 99% of goods, covering a full range of U.S. industrial and food and agricultural products, the two countries said in a joint statement issued by the White House. Thailand is also committed to addressing barriers to U.S. exports, including the acceptance of U.S.

On July 22, Ryosei Akazawa, then Japan’s minister in charge of tariff negotiations with the United States, was sitting across from President Trump in the Oval Office. Mr. Trump, deploying a familiar negotiating style, began crossing out numbers on a placemat-size visual aid. After eight trips to Washington, Mr. Akazawa had worked out the outline of a plan with Mr. Trump’s trade officials. But in the final meeting, the president upped the ante. Mr. Akazawa went along with the new demands. Japan walked away with lower-than-threatened tariffs.

The European Central Bank is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting later this week, and investors will be looking for hints as to whether the series of cuts that began last year is over, the Wall Street Journal reported. ECB President Christine Lagarde has since the summer said the central bank is in “a good place,” since the bank has tamed the upsurge in inflation that led price rises to peak at 10% in 2022. The bank last cut its deposit rate in June to 2%, having gradually dialed back borrowing costs from 4% in the spring of 2024.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday she spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday and that the two countries will extend a trade deadline for "a few more weeks" to discuss pending issues with Washington, Reuters reported. The U.S. agreed in July to pause for 90 days an increase in tariffs on some Mexican goods to 30% pause to continue talks over that period with the goal of signing a new trade deal.

Global public debt is rising faster than at any point in modern history, and this time, it is not just the historically large spenders driving it, EuroNews.com reported. The International Monetary Fund’s latest Fiscal Monitor warns that the public finances of major powers, led by the United States, have become a systemic global risk. "Although the number of countries with debt above 100% will be steadily declining in the next five years, their share in world GDP is projected to rise," the report stated.

North Korea has stolen $2.84 billion in crypto since January 2024, according to a new report from the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, Decrypt.com reported. Responsible for monitoring the violation of UN sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the MSMT also found that the DPRK stole “at least” $1.65 billion between January and September of this year.