Headlines

Romania's agricultural sector is facing a deepening financial crisis, with the number of agricultural companies entering insolvency doubling to its highest level in recent years, amid pressure from Ukrainian grain imports and rising energy and fertiliser costs driven by geopolitical instability, according to an analysis by restructuring specialist CITR, Agerpres.ro reported. The risk is particularly acute in the counties of Bacau, Hunedoara and Vaslui, as well as in major agricultural areas such as Timis, Arad, Constanta, Teleorman, Braila and Bucharest.

Romanian aluminium die cast components manufacturer Faist Mekatronic, part of the FAIST Light Metals Division of British industrial group Faist, has entered a pre-insolvency restructuring process, local insolvency management firm Infinexa Retructuring said, SeeNews.com reported. Romania's Bihor Tribunal has appointed a consortium comprising Infinexa Restructuring and Cumpanasu Insolvency as preventive composition administrator at the company's request, Infinexa said in a press release on Wednesday.

The eurozone economy picked up more than expected in the second quarter, regaining some momentum despite uncertainty about the course and consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product in the 21-nation currency area rose 0.4% in the three months through June, the European Union’s statistics agency said on Thursday. The economy grew 1.8% on an annualized basis. Despite continued supply-chain disruptions and higher energy prices, driven by the U.S.

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate on hold at 3.75% for the fifth time this year on Thursday after a bigger-than-expected drop in the inflation rate last month gave policymakers breathing space to assess the fallout from renewed fighting in Iran, EuroNews reported. Interest rates are currently at their lowest level since January 2023, with analysts having expected the BoE to keep rates steady despite a fall in inflation in June. Although inflation has been easing, renewed hostilities between Iran and the U.S.

One of the most surprising outcomes from a whiplash year of tariffs may be that China has emerged in a position of relative strength, with significantly lower tariffs than last year. The Trump administration last week imposed a new tariff rate on Chinese exports of 12.5 percent, similar to rates for dozens of other countries, as it works to resurrect the tariffs struck down in February by the Supreme Court, the New York Times reported. Chinese exports are still subject to other duties, including from Mr. Trump’s first term, and more tariffs could be on the way.

South Korea's efforts to rein in the leveraged products wreaking havoc ​in its financial markets may not go far enough to quell skyrocketing volatility, analysts say, as pain and public anger mount over a $2 trillion-and-counting stocks wipeout, Reuters reported. As ‌the hottest trade in the world has hit reverse, with the country's stock market down about 40% in a month, it is local investors who borrowed money and piled in late who are hurting most of all.

Inflation picked up again in Spain in July and reached 3.5% year on year, three tenths of a point higher than in June, driven by the rise in fuel prices and electricity, according to the flash estimate published on Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), EuroNews.com reported. The statistics office attributes the rebound to the fact that both fuels and lubricants for private vehicles and electricity rose more sharply than in the same month last year.

The European Union will fund seven artificial intelligence gigafactories across the bloc ​with €10 billion ($11.5 billion), the European Commission said ‌on Thursday, as the EU steps up efforts to close the technology gap with the U.S. and China, Reuters reported. The Commission said ​that it aims to attract at least €20 billion in ​private investments for the projects. The total ⁠was increased from five planned gigafactories to seven following ​strong interest from EU countries.

To get a sense of how dour the U.S. private credit market has become, consider this: It's now potentially a better deal for borrowers to seek financing across the Atlantic, Bloomberg News reported. In Europe, direct lenders are grappling with the same problem of deal flow slowing to a trickle, given weak M&A activity and the collapse of software as a dependable source of financings. However, competition is intense for the few buyouts that do reach the market.

Former All Black and Crusaders star Andrew Mehrtens has been back in court today facing a bankruptcy application. But that application will be withdrawn after an “eleventh hour hustle” just before the hearing, during which the rugby great signed a settlement agreement, NZHerald.com reported. The application to have Mehrtens adjudicated bankrupt was first called at the High Court at Christchurch in May, by Christchurch law firm Saunders Robinson Brown. The case has been adjourned several times since then to allow “for a part payment to be made”.