Headlines

There were 1,175 Scottish corporate insolvencies in the year 2024-2025 - a slight increase of 0.6% from 2023-2024’s figure of 1,168 - and up 3.8% on 2022-2023’s figure of 1,132, Insider.co.uk reported. The latest Accountancy in Bankruptcy report showed that there were 294 corporate insolvencies in the fourth quarter, compared with 301 during the same period in 2023-24 - a decrease of 2.3%. There were 128 voluntary liquidations in in the fourth quarter, up by a third from 96 year-on-year.

An investment bank has approached Azul SA creditors to drum up fresh capital to backstop an equity raise as part of the Brazilian airline’s debt restructuring plan, Bloomberg Law reported. PJT Partners has been calling the air carrier’s existing bondholders to discuss options. One possible structure, laid out in regulatory filing earlier this month, involves raising up to 900 million reais in debt instruments to be guaranteed by some credit and debit card receivables generated by its passenger airline business.

China called for all "unilateral" U.S. tariffs to be cancelled on Thursday, as signs emerged that the Trump administration may de-escalate its trade war with Beijing, Reuters reported. China also clarified that it has not held trade talks with Washington despite repeated comments from the U.S. government suggesting there had been engagement. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. will have a deal with China and on Wednesday said there was "direct contact" between both countries.

Rachel Reeves is to follow Donald Trump in closing a tax loophole exploited by Chinese online giants Shein and Temu as she seeks a US trade deal, The Telegraph reported. The Chancellor is preparing to change a statute in the UK tax code, known as the de minimis rule, which means products worth less than £135 are exempt from UK import duties. The decision comes after the US and EU both moved to scrap it following a flood of cheap Chinese goods undercutting local businesses.

Reducing uncertainty is urgent for economies and businesses, German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said on Wednesday, talking about negotiations on trade tariffs with the United States, Reuters reported. "The longer we wait for an agreement, the longer we let the uncertainty (in) both of our economies linger," he said at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington. Germany was the only member of the Group of Seven advanced economies that failed to grow for the last two years, and the tariffs announced by U.S.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday U.S. tariffs could have a disinflationary impact in Europe if there are no European countermeasures but they prompt China to reroute exports to the region, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports this month, raising them effectively to 145% when levies imposed earlier this year are taken into account.

Many Asian central banks have room to ease monetary policy to cushion the blow to their economies from U.S. tariffs, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Thursday, after the fund cut its GDP estimates for the export-driven region, Reuters reported. In its latest reference forecasts, the IMF said it expected Asia's economic growth to slow to around 3.9% and 4.0% in 2025 and 2026, respectively, down from 4.6% in 2024 and well below earlier expectations.

Mexican lender Banorte will again consider a potential purchase of Banamex, Citi's one-time retail unit in the country which it split off last year, Banorte's CEO told analysts on Wednesday, Reuters reported. "There are a lot of moving pieces," CEO Marcos Ramirez said. "So we will watch closely what's going on and propose." Banorte had previously bowed out of the competition for Banamex in 2022, though Citi was ultimately unable to find a buyer for the unit.

South Korea’s economy contracted in the first quarter after large-scale wildfires and political turmoil over its president’s impeachment suppressed consumer sentiment and business activities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The downbeat start to the year comes as a global trade war sparked by President Trump’s sweeping tariffs has darkened the outlook for the export-driven economy, likely bolstering the case for more monetary and fiscal stimulus.

Cryptocurrency campaigners have stepped up calls for the Swiss National Bank to buy bitcoin, saying that the global economic turmoil triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs made it more important for the central bank to diversify its reserves, Reuters reported. Supporters launched a referendum campaign in December to change the Swiss constitution to require the SNB holds bitcoin in its reserves alongside gold.