Headlines

German corporate insolvencies are projected to hit their highest level in more than a decade this year, a new study revealed ​on Monday, as the nation grapples with a stubborn economic downturn, Reuters reported. Approximately 23,900 companies are ‌expected to file for bankruptcy in 2025, an 8.3% increase from 2024 and the highest figure since 2014, according ‌to a report by credit agency Creditreform. While that growth would be slower than in previous years, the rising numbers underscore deep-seated challenges facing German businesses following two years of economic contraction.

When India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was introduced in 2016, it replaced a fragmented web of recovery laws with a single economic logic: fast resolution would preserve value. Nearly a decade later, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has concluded that each of the Code's core pillars, speed, certainty and creditor control, is now under strain, the Economic Times of India reported. Over 30,600 insolvency cases are pending before the National Company Law Tribunal, which operates with only about 30 fully functional benches.

Parliament has fast-tracked a major overhaul of Fiji’s 81-year-old bankruptcy system, referring the new Personal Insolvency, Financial Rehabilitation and Entrepreneurial Rescue Bill 2025 to the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights for urgent review next year, FijiTimes.com reported. The Bill aims to give struggling individuals and small business owners a clear path to recover financially, with what Government calls a “modern approach to personal insolvency”.

Leen Bakker Belgium was declared bankrupt on Wednesday by a court in Antwerp, forcing the permanent closure of 29 stores that failed to find a buyer, NLTimes.nl reported. The bankruptcy will cost 250 employees their jobs, while about 50 others may find work in other stores. The furniture chain had been struggling in Belgium for years due to “particularly challenging market conditions” and mounting losses. This summer, the company put more than 40 Belgian locations up for sale.

China’s exports returned to growth in November following an unexpected contraction the month before. Shipments to the United States, however, dropped nearly 29% from a year earlier, marking the eighth straight month of double-digit declines, EuroNews.com reported. Overall exports from China in November were 5.9% higher than last year in dollar terms, according to customs data released Monday. The total came to $330.3 billion (€283.21bn), exceeding economists’ estimates and signalling an improvement from a 1.1% contraction in October.

China's annual car sales dropped 8.5% in November in a second straight monthly decline, for their biggest fall in 10 months, data showed on Monday, amid a waning scramble to buy vehicles before government subsidies dwindle at year-end, Reuters reported. Car sales in the world's biggest auto market stood at 2.24 million last month, following October's slide of 0.8%, according to the data from the China Passenger Car Association.

The EU executive will present fresh guidelines on Wednesday meant to reinforce the bloc’s market protection in the face of rising foreign risks, EuroNews.com reported. The doctrine's launch comes after months of tense exchanges with China, which has restricted exports of rare earths and chips – both crucial to several strategic EU industries. The EU is also grappling with a sharp shift in the trade policy of its closest ally, the US, whose nationalist, protectionist approach has put Brussels under extreme pressure, resulting in what many see as an unbalanced trade deal reached in July 2025.

The combination of gold and share prices soaring in unison is a phenomenon not seen in at least half a century and raises questions of a potential bubble in both, global central bank umbrella body, the Bank for International Settlements, says, Reuters reported. While equity markets continue to be driven by AI and tech gains, gold's 60% surge this year is set to be its biggest since 1979, fuelling debate about whether its traditional role as a safe-haven asset has changed.

A $1 million haul of cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder has been forfeited to the government of British Columbia, signaling the strongest test yet of the Province’s unexplained wealth order framework, CoinDesk.com reported. The Supreme Court of British Columbia granted the forfeiture after Michael Patryn did not contest the action, clearing the way for the Province to liquidate 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and more than $250,000 in cash seized during an earlier investigation, according to a Vancouver Sun report.

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines said on Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire the biggest Czech airline, Smartwings, along with its owner, Czech Airlines, from Prague City Air, the Associated Press reported. Pegasus said that the deal, which is worth 154 million euros (almost $180 million) was a “step forward in our continued global growth journey.” The process of transferring the ownership of Czech Airlines should be completed in 12 months, Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková said.