Headlines

The number of insolvencies of joint partnerships and corporations in Germany has reached its highest level in 20 years, data published on Thursday by the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) showed, DPA International reported. It reported there were 1,626 insolvencies of business partnerships and corporations in April. This was 11% more than in the previous month and 21% more than a year ago. The April figures even exceeded the figures from the time of the 2008/2009 financial crisis, it said.

Sanjeev Gupta is set to call in administrators to place his main commodities trading business into insolvency, marking the final chapter for one of the controversial metals magnate’s oldest companies, the Financial Times reported. Liberty Commodities, which last month renamed itself to 3349135 Limited, on Thursday filed a “notice of intention to appoint an administrator”, according to UK court records. Liberty Commodities once claimed to trade billions of dollars in metals a year and is one of the oldest companies in Gupta’s GFG Alliance conglomerate.

Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju chaired a review meeting on Thursday to assess the progress of Public Sector Banks in clearing pending cases awaiting admission at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), KNNIndia.co.in reported. The meeting followed up on key issues aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the insolvency resolution process. Senior officials from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, and top management from Public Sector Banks attended the meeting.

Austrian prosecutors said on Friday they had placed a woman under investigation on suspicion of helping property tycoon Rene Benko hide assets from administrators and creditors dealing with his real estate group Signa's collapse, Reuters reported. Benko has been in custody for more than three months as the Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) continues its investigation into whether assets that should have gone towards paying back creditors were hidden in a trust of which his immediate family are beneficiaries.

The wind industry is crucial to Europe’s ambitions to tackle climate change and enhance energy security, but three months into President Trump’s second term in office, industry executives are reassessing their approach to renewable energy, the New York Times reported. An important question is whether the president’s initial flurry of actions, as well as worries about what may come, will derail what looked like the beginning of an industry recovery.

President Donald Trump on Friday floated cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% ahead of a weekend meeting among top U.S. and Chinese trade officials as he looks to deescalate the trade war between the world's two largest economies, the Associated Press reported. Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation in Switzerland in the first major talks between the nations since Trump sparked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports. “80% Tariff on China seems right!

China's exports expanded 8.1% year-on-year in April, while imports contracted 0.2%, customs data showed on Friday, both defying expectations for a much sharper slowdown in trade, Reuters reported. The new data followed a 12.4% year-on-year jump in exports in March, when Chinese factories pushed out shipments before U.S. President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs on Chinese goods took effect on April 9. Imports had fallen 4.3% in March. China has retaliated against U.S. tariffs by ramping up its levies on U.S. imports to 125%.

European leaders presented a united front in the US trade war on Friday, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying individual member states won’t strike side deals and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicating that a concrete proposal is needed for any serious talks with Washington, Bloomberg News reported. The comments underscore the EU’s strategy to stay together and speak with one voice as US President Donald Trump uses the threat of steep tariff hikes to persuade countries to sign bilateral trade deals that would be advantageous to the US.

A group representing General Motors, Ford and Stellantis blasted President Donald Trump's trade deal announced with the United Kingdom, saying it would harm the U.S. auto sector, Reuters reported. British carmakers will be given a quota of 100,000 cars a year that can be sent to the United States at a 10% tariff rate, almost the total Britain exported last year, compared to 25% for Mexico and Canada and nearly all other countries. "Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a UK vehicle with very little U.S.

Household spending in fiscal 2024, which ended in March, dropped 0.1% from the previous year in price-adjusted real terms, down for the second straight year, the internal affairs ministry said Friday, the Japan Times reported. The average monthly consumption expenditure of households consisting of two or more members stood at ¥304,178 ($2,094). The decrease reflects sustained inflation, which is making consumers more budget-minded on food. Spending on food fell 1.0% mainly because consumers tended to refrain from buying vegetables, seaweed, meat and fruits.