Headlines

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow UV Asset Reconstruction Co to initiate insolvency proceedings against Electrosteel Castings Ltd (ECL), while upholding a 2024 ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the Economic Times of India reported. The issue before the apex court was whether approval of the resolution plan of Electrosteel Steels Ltd (ESL) resulted in extinguishment of the entire debt, thereby barring any claim against ECL as a security provider or erstwhile promoter.

Capelli Lux, the Luxembourg arm of French property group Capelli, has entered insolvency proceedings, casting doubt over the future of a major construction project in Howald, the Luxembourg Times reported. On Monday, insolvency proceedings were filed with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register for Capelli Lux, the developer of the stalled South Village project. It follows a decision by the Paris Commercial Court on 3 December 2025 to convert the Capelli group’s receivership into liquidation proceedings.

The UK is in “a slow but consequential transition”, said authors of a new report from the Resolution Foundation, according to EuroNews.com. “Fewer people of working age; a more fragile politics; higher taxes; and an economy that urgently needs new firms and new jobs to replace the old.” Since the financial crisis in 2008, the UK has struggled to use its resources effectively, meaning it has fallen behind competitors in terms of productivity.

Inflation in France cooled in December — a reading that comes after the European Central Bank’s decision to hold interest rates at the end of last year, EuroNews.com reported. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 0.8% year-on-year in December, following a reading of 0.9% in November, according to statistics body INSEE. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or HICP, which allows for comparison between EU countries, came to 0.7%. That followed a reading of 0.8% in November.

Headline inflation in the Irish economy moderated to less than 3 per cent in December, the Irish Times reported. The latest flash estimate for the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) put the annualised rate of price growth at 2.7 per cent in December, down from 3.1 per cent in November. Euro zone inflation was clocked at 2.1 per cent in November. Eurostat will publish figures for December on Tuesday.

A judge at Brazil's federal audit court TCU said on Monday that he may consider measures to prevent the sale of assets during the liquidation of Banco Master, a mid‑sized lender shut down by the Brazilian central bank in November after months of liquidity problems, Reuters reported. Judge Jhonatan de Jesus also ordered an inspection of central bank documents that underpinned its decision to wind down Master.

For activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, Nicolás Maduro’s swift exit comes at an auspicious time, the Wall Street Journal reported. A U.S. judge in November backed a roughly $6 billion bid by Elliott for Citgo Petroleum, the refining firm owned by Venezuela’s state-run company Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PdVSA, in a forced sale to satisfy creditors. Citgo, based in Houston, owns a U.S. network of refineries, pipelines and terminals that some analysts have said could be worth between $11 billion and $13 billion. The deal was controversial in Venezuela.

A business lobby representing small and midsize firms urged the government ​to address inflation, including the yen's weakness, saying ‌this was essential to achieving real wage growth, its chief said ‌on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

High street chains Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are being put into administration, after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through, putting about 2,500 UK staff at risk of redundancy. The two retailers had already undergone restructuring and were bought by investment firm Modella Capital last year. Modella said it had made the “tough decision” to kickstart insolvency proceedings for the businesses. It will mean 1,355 employees in the UK and Ireland at 154 Claire’s shops will be put at risk, and 1,220 staff across 140 TOFS’ stores.

Seventeen years on from the global financial crisis, regulators are cutting red tape for their banks in a bid to keep lenders competitive and stimulate their economies, Reuters reported. The Trump administration is leading the charge, including with measures that will reduce the amount of capital lenders need to set aside. Lowering capital requirements is worrying some observers that the U.S. has triggered a global rowback from regulations designed to keep financial systems safer, just as chatter about market bubbles and financial stability risks intensify.