Headlines

Country Garden, once one of China’s largest property developers, on Tuesday received U.S. bankruptcy court recognition for its Hong Kong restructuring plan, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Philip Bentley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York said he is satisfied that the company’s principal place of business is in Hong Kong, a key finding required for a foreign restructuring plan to seek U.S. recognition. The recognition of Country Garden’s Hong Kong restructuring plan under chapter 15 of U.S.

In November, 952 companies went bankrupt in Belgium, marking the worst November on record, according to business information firm GraydonCreditsafe, the Brussels Times reported. The number of bankruptcies increased by 15% compared to November 2024. This sharp rise was partly attributed to the autumn holidays taking place in October this year, as most business courts held more hearing days in November. Over the first eleven months of 2025, 10,583 companies filed for bankruptcy. This is the second-highest figure ever recorded, following 2013.

The parliamentary standing committee on finance has called on the government to consider setting up special fast-track courts for a fixed time, on top of bolstering the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) strength, to cut massive case backlogs and expedite the rescue of insolvent companies, the Economic Times of India reported.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday revised up its jurisdiction ranking assessment for India's insolvency regime on improved creditor-friendliness of India's bankruptcy resolution framework, the Economic Times of India reported. S&P said the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has strengthened credit discipline and tilted the resolution process in favour of creditors, with promoters potentially risking losing control of their business, unlike under earlier resolution regimes.

Switzerland’s attorney general filed criminal charges against UBS UBS 0.52%increase; green up pointing triangle and a former Credit Suisse compliance officer, saying they failed to take steps to prevent money laundering in what later became known as the Mozambique “tuna bonds” scandal, the Wall Street Journal reported. The charges are the latest in a saga that started around 2013, when Credit Suisse arranged $2 billion in debt deals for state-owned companies in Mozambique to buy tuna-fishing vessels and other equipment.

A major Australian caravan manufacturer has been plunged into voluntary administration just weeks before Christmas, according to the Daily Mail and multiple other reports. Zone RV has appointed administrators Cor Cordis to conduct an ‘urgent review’ of its operations and will continue trading in a ‘substantially reduced capacity,’ RVBusiness.com reported. The luxury off-road caravan company, based on Queensland‘s Sunshine Coast, informed 250 employees of their uncertain futures on Monday before sending them home. It’s understood staff are owed entitlements, including holiday pay.

The Bank of England has sounded the alarm about foreign hedge funds buying up UK debt, warning that their speculative trades could spark a crisis, The Telegraph reported. The British Government is becoming increasingly reliant on a small group of opaque foreign investors to finance its large deficit, Threadneedle Street officials warned. Buying UK government bonds, known as gilts, allows hedge funds to bet on tiny differentials between current and future prices. However, they also often borrow against the same gilts to juice the returns on their investments.

Banks could give investors a clearer view on how they manage risks, such as those associated with changing interest rates, under a new model proposed by a global accounting rule-setter, Reuters reported. The International Accounting Standards Board on Wednesday launched a consultation on a new risk mitigation accounting model, which it said comes after years of dialogue between the IASB and banks that want more flexibility in how their risk management strategies are reflected in accounts.

The EU executive will present fresh guidelines on Wednesday meant to reinforce the bloc’s market protection in the face of rising foreign risks, EuroNews.com reported. The doctrine's launch comes after months of tense exchanges with China, which has restricted exports of rare earths and chips – both crucial to several strategic EU industries. The EU is also grappling with a sharp shift in the trade policy of its closest ally, the US, whose nationalist, protectionist approach has put Brussels under extreme pressure, resulting in what many see as an unbalanced trade deal reached in July 2025.

The gap between developing nations' debt servicing costs and new financing hit a more than 50-year high of $741 billion between 2022 and 2024, the World Bank said on Wednesday, urging countries to use the more relaxed global financing conditions to bring their houses in order, Reuters reported. In its annual International Debt Report, the Washington-based lender also found that overall interest payments had hit a fresh record of $415.4 billion in 2024 despite some relief from falling global interest rates.