Headlines

Peru’s government has approved an emergency decree allowing private investment in parts of the state-owned oil company Petroperu, as authorities move to stabilise a firm weighed down by mounting losses and debt, Aljazeera.com reported. President Jose Jeri announced the decision shortly before the beginning of the new year. The measure permits the reorganisation of Petroperu into one or more asset units, opening the door to private participation in key operations. That includes those at the flagship Talara refinery, which recently underwent a $6.5bn upgrade.

Despite the festive atmosphere of the holiday season, suppliers and creditors of US fashion accessories chain Claire’s – including about 70 from Hong Kong, mainland China and across Asia – face financial anxieties as they grapple with the uncertain prospects of recovering debts following the retailer’s recent bankruptcy filing, the South China Morning Post reported. Some have already taken legal action, though the outcome of their claims remains unclear.

HSBC has started bankruptcy petitions against the brothers Aidan and Howard Barclay amid large debts owed from the family’s collapsed logistics business, The Times reported. The bank filed the cases in the High Court in December against Aidan Barclay, 69, and Howard Barclay, 66, senior members of the Barclay family whose business empire had dramatically unravelled in recent years. HSBC retrieved only about £1.1 million of its £143.5 million secured loan from the administration of Logistics Group.

Hundreds of British hospitality workers face losing their jobs in the coming days as the owner of TGI Fridays finalises plans to buy back a slimmed-down version of one of Britain's best-known casual dining chains, Sky News reported. Sugarloaf TGIF Management, which only took control of TGI Fridays two months ago, is preparing to implement a pre-pack administration of the business in a deal which is expected to take place next week. Insiders said that a transaction was expected to involve the closure of a significant proportion of the estate's 49 restaurants.

Euro zone manufacturing activity shrank further in December but Asia's factory powerhouses closed 2025 on a firmer footing backed by a rebound in export orders and growing demand for artificial intelligence, private surveys showed, Reuters reported. Factory activity in the common currency bloc slid into deeper contraction last month as production decreased for the first time in 10 months on further declines in new orders. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 48.8 in December from 49.6 in November.

German exporters should prepare for continued weakness in 2026 in their two largest markets, the United States and China, with little prospect of recovery, the BGA trade association said on Friday, Reuters reported. "We do not see a turnaround, but at best a brief respite," said BGA president Dirk Jandura. Exports to the U.S. are projected to have fallen more than 7% to just under 150 billion euros ($156 billion) in 2025, while exports to China have contracted even more sharply, dropping 10% to 81 billion euros, GTAI figures show. U.S.

South Korea's factory activity expanded in December, after two months of contraction, on a rebound in export demand, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, with manufacturers' optimism surging to a 3-1/2-year high, Reuters reported. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for manufacturers in Asia's fourth-largest economy, published by S&P Global, stood at 50.1 in December, just above the 50-mark separating expansion from contraction, after two consecutive months at 49.4.

Gabon's President Brice Oligui Nguema has replaced his finance minister, Henri-Claude Oyima, according to a decree, as the oil-producing Central African country grapples with a liquidity squeeze and rising arrears, Reuters reported. Gabon has become increasingly reliant on regional capital markets to meet its financing needs, though appetite for its debt "has weakened substantially", ratings agency Fitch said last month, when it downgraded the country's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating.

Turkmenistan officially put into effect the Law on Virtual Assets legalizing cryptocurrency mining and crypto exchanges as it looks to boost economic development and attract foreign investment, CoinDesk.com reported. The new rules, which President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed into law on Nov. 28, provide a framework for the use, creation and exchange of virtual assets in the country. A 2025 study on Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, which include Turkmenistan, concluded that allowing crypto is good for the economy.

Mindex, the export center of Iran's Ministry of Defense, is accepting cryptocurrency payments for advanced weapons systems as a means of bypassing international sanctions that the country faces, CoinDesk.com reported. Prospective customers can buy weapons such as missiles, tanks and drones using crypto, amongst other accepted payment methods including Iranian rials or bartering, according to the center's website. Mindex is responsible for Iran's overseas defense sales and claims to have clients in 35 countries. No prices are displayed for the available items.