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The number of retail and hospitality business insolvencies declined throughout 2025 as the overall number of company closures remained steady, new data from professional services firm PwC shows, the Irish Examiner reported. The latest PwC Insolvency Barometer shows the number of insolvencies recorded in 2025 hit 848 which is down from the 868 recorded in 2024. However, it is still higher than the 736 in 2023. There was an average 204 insolvencies in each quarter since the start of 2023.

Asset quality in the Indian banking system has improved, with gross non-performing assets reaching a historic low of 2.2 percent in September 2025. While several factors have contributed to this improvement, the role of the ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC16)’ cannot be undermined, according to a commentary in the Times of India. Among the various debt resolution mechanisms introduced in the post-reform banking system, the enactment of the IBC16 has been critical in protecting the interests of all stakeholders.

Claire’s Accessories is on the brink of collapse for the second time in six months after it was struck by Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, The Telegraph reported. The jewelery and accessories chain has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk just days into the new year. Fresh turmoil comes just months after Claire’s Accessories collapsed into administration before being rescued in September.

In the Sultanate of Oman, bankruptcy is considered pivotal for consolidating market competitiveness and ensuring a fair investment climate in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, according to a commentary in the Times of Oman reported. In 2019, Oman issued the Bankruptcy Law under Royal Decree No. 53/2019, which came into effect in July 2020. The law aims to enhance the business environment by providing legal protection for debtors and creditors, regulating bankruptcy procedures transparently, and allowing distressed companies to restructure instead of liquidating.

An American oil and gas giant is preparing to mothball one of Britain’s last remaining oil refineries after buying the business out of administration, The Telegraph reported. The Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, one of the last five major oil refineries in the country, will not restart standalone operations after it was sold to Phillips 66 on Monday. The Texas-based oil and gas giant said that the site’s limited size meant it was “not viable in current form”, instead claiming it would integrate some smaller parts of the site into its nearby Humber refinery.

White House and State Department officials have told U.S. oil executives in recent weeks that they would need to return to Venezuela quickly and invest significant capital in the country to revive the damaged oil industry if they wanted compensation for assets expropriated by Venezuela two decades ago, Reuters reported. In the 2000s, Venezuela expropriated the assets of some international oil companies that declined to give state-run oil company PDVSA increased operational control, as demanded by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. U.S.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday the central bank will continue to raise interest rates if economic and price developments move in line with its forecasts, Reuters reported. Japan's economy sustained a moderate recovery last year despite the hit to corporate profits from higher U.S. tariffs, Ueda said in a speech delivered to the country's banking sector lobby. "Wages and prices are highly likely to rise together moderately," Ueda said, adding that adjusting the degree of monetary support will help the economy achieve sustained growth.

Japan's manufacturing activity stalled in December as demand declined at a slower pace from the previous month, a private-sector survey showed, ending a five-month streak of deterioration, Reuters reported. The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was flat at 50.0 in December, improving from 48.7 in November and hitting the break-even point separating expansion from contraction. The decline in new orders in December was the softest since May 2024, the survey showed.

As of December 2025, new laws came into effect making Hainan a separate customs zone and consolidating a favorable regulatory environment in the southernmost province of China, EuroNews.com reported. The move contrasts with the current global trend of protectionism, as many countries move to tighten trade rules and investment controls. Hainan is now effectively the world's largest free trade port by area. Encompassing over 35,000 square kilometers, it is roughly fifty times bigger than Singapore and even slightly bigger than Belgium.

A Dubai civil court has officially declared a Gulf national insolvent after determining that he is unable to settle accumulated debts totaling Dh2.56 million owed to seven creditors, including banks, private individuals, and housing finance institutions, the Filipino Times reported. The court approved the insolvency petition and appointed a licensed insolvency trustee to examine the debtor’s financial standing and manage the proceedings.