Headlines

Irish aircraft lessors could be caught in the fallout from the failure of Spirit Airlines, the troubled US carrier forced out of business last weekend by soaring fuel prices, the Irish Times reported. Spirit had no option but to halt operations after it learned on Thursday that the federal government had decided not to proceed with a proposed $500 million bailout of the airline, lawyers told a U.S. bankruptcy court on Monday.

Lawyers in the corporate debt restructuring game are broadening their horizons, even going global to find novel ways to resolve financial distress, according to a commentary in the Financial Times. In the past decade, there has been rising competition between US bankruptcy courts: across Texas, New York, Delaware and New Jersey. Now London has become part of the fray.

Operating costs are tightening the squeeze on European logistics once again. In Germany, Euba Logistic — a carrier with a history spanning more than 76 years — has been placed under temporary court supervision, Trans.info reported. According to the administrator, the deterioration in Euba Logistic’s finances is primarily due to rising fuel and labour costs, which have weighed heavily on the company’s budget in recent years. Employees are expected to be covered by a protective mechanism in the form of insolvency benefit for the period from April to June 2026.

Mary Chia Holdings has disclosed that its dispute with lender Fullink Capital over sums claimed under statutory demands has escalated into multiple insolvency proceedings involving the company, its wholly owned subsidiary Organica International Holdings and two key executives, Chief Executive Officer Ho Yow Ping and Chief Financial Officer Su Jun Ming, TipRanks.com reported.

The owner of the Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada has filed for insolvency protection on May 1, citing the steep drop in diamond prices and the regulatory requirements and costs associated with operating in the Northwest Territories, NationalJeweler.com reported. In an affidavit filed on April 30, Brent Mierau, corporate secretary and head of finance for Burgundy and Arctic Canadian, elaborated on the issues impacting Ekati.

The fast-growing private credit industry's deepening links with banks and asset ‌managers are creating risks for the world's financial system, a global watchdog said on Wednesday, warning that some broad measures point to rising defaults, Reuters reported. Signs of underlying stress are emerging across private credit - typically lending to mid-sized companies by non-banks - including higher defaults, while a lack of transparency ​is complicating oversight for regulators and investors, the Financial Stability Board said in its "Vulnerabilities in Private Credit" report.

HSBC set aside $400 million relating to an alleged fraud in private markets in the U.K., marring its quarterly results, the Wall Street Journal reported. HSBC gave few details beyond saying that the provision reflected a “fraud-related, secondary, securitization exposure with a financial sponsor in the U.K.” People familiar with the charge said that it was connected to Market Financial Solutions, a British mortgage lender that collapsed this year. MFS gave short-term loans for quick property purchases, and attracted funding from private-credit funds and banks.

EU lawmakers and governments aim on ​Wednesday to finalise a deal scrapping duties on U.S. imports under renewed ‌pressure from President Donald Trump, though divisions over safeguards dim chances of a swift agreement, Reuters reported. Trump said on Friday that he would on EU cars and trucks to 25% this week, from 15% ​currently, because the EU was not complying with the terms of a ​in Scotland last July. Many EU countries want to ward off that threat ⁠and are pushing for swift implementation of legislation to remove import duties on ​U.S. industrial goods and grant preference access to U.S.

The ​Iran war has seen major central banks put interest rates on hold in April and stymied ‌an easing push in emerging economies as policymakers face inflation pressures and volatile markets, Reuters reported. Six of the central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies left rates unchanged last month: the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, but also Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Central banks in ​Switzerland, Australia, Sweden and Norway held no rate-setting meetings.

Fitch Ratings said that it was upgrading its rating on Argentina following the October elections that saw President Javier Milei emerge with a stronger popular mandate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Fitch said on Tuesday that it upgraded the country’s Long-Term Foreign Currency and Local Currency Issuer Default Rating to B- from CCC+, with a stable ratings outlook. The rating reflects Argentina’s structurally improved fiscal and external balances, progress on economic reforms, and improved prospects for FX reserve accumulation, Fitch said.