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EU companies affected by sanctions imposed on Russia can get up to 400,000 euros ($440,360) in state support and compensation up to 30% of energy costs under looser EU state aid rules, the European Commission said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. From airlines to carmakers to tourism businesses, thousands of companies across the 27-country bloc have reported severe disruption due to the sanctions. Companies in the agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture sectors can get up to 35,000 euros while businesses facing a liquidity crunch can get state guarantees on loans, subsidised loans.
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The U.K. Treasury will pocket about 27 billion pounds ($36 billion) more a year in revenue than previously forecast despite eye-catching tax cuts on pay announced in its Spring economic statement on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. The figures, buried in documents from the Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility, leave Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presiding over the highest tax burden since Clement Attlee’s Labour government in 1949.
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The U.K. plans to sell fewer bonds than expected over the coming fiscal year, softening the blow of the first borrowing package in over a decade that will be financed without the help of the Bank of England, Bloomberg News reported. Britain will sell 124.7 billion pounds ($165 billion) of gilts in 2022-23, around a fifth less than the median expectation in a Bloomberg survey of primary dealers. The nation’s Debt Management Office said it will also sell 23.2 billion pounds of bills to fulfill the U.K.’s funding requirements.
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The United States and Britain ended a four-year dispute over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on Tuesday, pledging to work together to counter China in a deal that also removes retaliatory tariffs from U.S. motorcycles, whiskey and other products, Reuters reported. In a joint statement, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S.
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Swiss trader Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. secured a $2 billion emergency credit facility from banks as commodities prices surge following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. The credit facility, which was secured earlier this month, can be renewed or closed in six months time. Trading houses have been seeking funds to maintain their physical and derivative positions as prices of everything from natural gas to metals soar. With markets upended and sanctions threatening to disrupt raw materials supplies, traders are facing a liquidity squeeze that could reshape the sector.
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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and his Saudi Arabian counterpart on Wednesday agreed to strengthen bilateral economic relations on the first day of the diplomat's 10-day tour of the Middle East and India, Mexico's government said, Reuters reported. Ebrard and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed investing in tourism and innovation, highlighting the need for a direct air route between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
From the pandemic to Europe’s largest military conflict since World War II, it seems the world is moving from one extraordinary period to another. The conflict in Europe has generated a maze of rapid legal, political and economic responses from authorities around the globe. Those actions are rippling through capital, markets and boardrooms as businesses grapple with how to respond. Join ABI and a panel of experts to discuss where we are headed and what businesses should consider.
The lenders of Future group companies are likely to take the bankruptcy route as Reliance Retail attaches the stores of the beleaguered retail chain, Fortune India reported. Reliance Retail’s move to terminate the sub-lease of 950 Future group stores has shocked, lenders as it will throw a spanner in their plans to recover around ₹30,000 crore debt from Future group companies. According to sources, some of the banks want to initiate debt recovery proceedings immediately to safeguard their interests.
John Aquino, the former president of a major and now bankrupt Ontario construction contractor, plans to appeal a provincial court ruling that puts him and his associates on the hook for $33 million drained from the company, according to his attorney, the Engineering News-Record reported. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld on March 10 a previous court decision that ordered Aquino, former president of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd.
Russian shopping malls are facing a drop in rental income of around 30% to 50% this year due to international brands shuttering their operations, leaving many facing bankruptcy, a report from Forbes Russia has found, European Supermarket Magazine reported. Marks & Spencer, H&M, Nike, Mango, ASOS and Farfetch are among the international brands that have ceased operations in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, with CBRE analysts estimating that the share of closed stores stands at 15% by brand and 20% by area, Forbes said.