Headlines

The Supreme Court on Friday (February 13, 2026) laid down that telecom service providers (TSPs) do not own spectrum, a precious and finite public resource meant to be used for the common good of all, and cannot include it among their pool of “assets” for insolvency or liquidation, TheHindu.com reported. A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar held that Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) excludes any assets over which a corporate debtor has no ownership rights.

Isey Fischimport GmbH and Fimex Tiefkühl GmbH, both based in Bremerhaven, Germany filed for insolvency proceedings at the Bremerhaven District Court on February 5, 2026, FischMagazin.de reported. The court subsequently ordered preliminary insolvency administration for both companies on February 6, 2026, appointing attorney Dr. Christian Kaufmann of Pluta Rechtsanwalts GmbH as the preliminary insolvency administrator in both cases.

Chinese state-owned companies are buying foreclosed property projects, in a sign that long-promised government efforts to reduce massive oversupply in the crisis-hit housing sector are finally getting traction, albeit at a slow pace, Reuters reported. Analysts say the involvement of state firms may cushion the pace of further home price falls and ease the drag that the property slump has had on China's economic growth since 2021.

China’s new bank lending jumped in January from the previous month but was below expectations and far short of the record level a year earlier, as subdued credit demand continued to weigh on borrowing in the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. Banks extended 4.71 trillion yuan ($681.56 billion) in new yuan loans in January, surging from 910 billion yuan in December but missing analysts' forecasts, according to data from the People's Bank of China on Friday.

The eurozone closed out 2025 with a solid trade surplus, as exports kept rising even though some major industries brought in less money, according to new figures from Eurostat, Euronews.com reported. The bloc recorded a €12.6bn surplus in goods trade with the rest of the world in December 2025, underlining the resilience of European exporters at the end of the year. According to Eurostat, “the first estimates of euro area balance showed a €12.6bn surplus in trade in goods with the rest of the world in December 2025, compared with +€13.9 bn in December 2024”.

The Bank of England made an “error” by cutting interest rates too far and too fast, its chief economist has said, The Telegraph reported. Huw Pill said inflation had not fallen as much as officials expected when they began cutting rates 18 months ago. He suggested the Bank’s aggressive rate cuts may have led to higher price rises than otherwise. “Maybe we have already made the policy error,” he said.

According to a report released Thursday by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the workforce in the country's automotive industry diminished by a third between 2010 and 2023, Euronews.com reported. This includes manufacturers, equipment makers and other suppliers, with the bulk of the disruption being caused by car manufacturers who cut 46,000 jobs during the 13-year period observed in the study. Falling sales due to Chinese competition, among other factors, exacerbated the issue and led to consequent factory closures and relocations.

The European Central Bank is prepared to offer euro liquidity to monetary authorities from around the world, an effort to prevent market tensions and increase global use of the single currency, Bloomberg News reported. The Frankfurt-based institution will extend repo lines to “all central banks, unless excluded on the grounds of, in particular, money laundering, terrorist financing or international sanctions,” it said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the changes will apply as of the third quarter.

The Trump administration reached a trade deal with Taiwan on Thursday, with Taiwan agreeing to remove or reduce 99% of its tariff barriers, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said, the Associated Press reported. The agreement comes as the U.S. remains reliant on Taiwan for its production of computer chips, the exporting of which contributed to a trade imbalance of nearly $127 billion during the first 11 months of 2025, according to the Census Bureau. Most of Taiwan’s exports to the U.S. will be taxed at a 15% rate, the USTR's office said.