Headlines

The German subsidiaries of the Belgian chemical company DOMO Chemicals - DOMO Chemicals, DOMO Caproleuna and DOMO Engineering Plastics - have filed for insolvency, CHEManager-Online.com reported. The three German companies concerned belong to DOMO Chemicals, a family-run group of companies headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. The group manufactures and markets polymers, engineering plastics and high-performance fibers worldwide for customers in the automotive industry, for consumer and industrial goods as well as electrical engineering and electronics.

The upmarket fashion brand LK Bennett appears to be heading for collapse for the second time in six years, The Guardian reported. The company filed an application with the high court on Tuesday to appoint an administrator to the business, which employs about 280 staff. The move suggests that the clothing chain, which was founded by Linda Bennett in 1990 and is now owned by China-based backers, appears to have failed in its widely publicised efforts to unearth a saviour. In 2019 the business collapsed into administration after its owners failed to find a new financial backer.

A struggling U.K. pharmacy chain accused of owing its locums £670,000 in unpaid fees has been hit with an application to place the business into insolvency proceedings, The Guardian reported. Jhoots Chemist, which trades under the name of Jhoots Pharmacy, was named in a high court application to appoint an administrator, submitted on Monday by Lloyds Bank. The move comes after the company – which has run more than 100 outlets – was criticised in the autumn by MPs for not paying locum pharmacists who had worked at the company’s branches on a freelance basis.

Mexico's sweeping new tariffs on imports from mostly Asian countries are ​set to take effect on Thursday, in a ‌move that will largely align Mexico with the U.S. as the neighboring countries ‌place significant barriers on Chinese imports, Reuters reported. Approved by Congress in early December, the measure raises tariffs - most up to 35% - on countries without free trade agreements with Mexico, including China, India, South ⁠Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. ‌China is expected to bear the greatest impact.

By some measures, China’s economy is looking resilient, with strong exports and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. But that’s not how it feels for many ordinary Chinese, who have been enduring the strain from weak property prices and uncertainty over their jobs and incomes, according to an Associated Press commentary. While some industries are thriving thanks to government support for technologies such as AI and electric vehicles, owners of small businesses report tough times as their customers cut back on spending.

China called for a new model for its engagement with the US, seeking to cement a recent thaw with the Trump administration while reinforcing its red line on Taiwan, Bloomberg News reported. “We will promote the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China-US relations,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech at a symposium about foreign relations on Tuesday. He added that China will remain engaged with the US on the basis of mutual respect but will not “yield an inch” on core interests.

Several Chinese companies that raised about HK$6.99 billion ($900 million) combined in IPOs rallied strongly on their Hong Kong debuts on Tuesday, rounding off a resurgent year for listings as the city dominated Asian equity capital markets, Reuters reported. The strong starts signal renewed investor confidence and optimism around tech-driven growth, underpinned by regulatory changes and robust liquidity. Market participants said the momentum could set the tone for 2026 as Hong Kong reasserts itself as a key listing venue.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to launch a wave of new tariffs based on alternative legislation if the Supreme Court rules against his current levies, diplomats and trade lawyers say, the Financial Times reported. The US Supreme Court is poised to rule as soon as January on the legality of the president’s use of emergency powers to hammer trading partners with tariffs, leaving the centrepiece of his economic policy hanging in the balance.

Kim Seong-sik, a lawyer from Law Firm One, has been nominated as the new president of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), Chosen.com reported. Kim, a classmate of President Lee Jae-myung from the 28th session of the judicial examination, served as part of the defense team during the trial related to the abuse-of-power charges against President Lee when the latter was governor of Gyeonggi Province. On the 30th, the Financial Services Commission announced that it had nominated Kim as the new KDIC president.

The annual number of companies delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange is set to hit a record high for the second straight year in 2025, as the exchange’s reforms have prompted listed companies to reconsider the advantages of remaining public, the Japan Times reported. The 2025 total is expected to increase by 31 from the previous year to 125, the highest figure since the 2013 stock market integration between the TSE and the then-Osaka Securities Exchange. Among delisting cases, management buyouts experienced a marked increase.