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Britain's financial watchdog said on Monday it had told four 'buy now pay later' firms (BNPL) to change their contracts after identifying "potential harms" to consumers, Reuters reported. BNPL firms, which are unregulated, typically offer on-the-spot interest-free short-term loans that spread payments for retail goods like clothing. The market more than trebled in size during 2020 to 2.7 billion pounds ($3.65 billion), when COVID-19 lockdowns saw more people struggling to make ends meet. "The four firms involved, Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy and Openpay, have fully cooperated with our work.

The sudden emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Britain late last year stalled the country’s economic recovery, data confirmed on Friday, though the impact was milder than expected, the New York Times reported. Britain’s gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent in December from the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said, as the government told people to work from home where possible. High case numbers and voluntary social distancing led to a wave of cancellations for restaurants, bars, theaters and other social activities.

South Africa’s government is considering taking over part or all of Eskom Holdings SOC. Ltd.’s 392 billion rand ($25.8 billion) debt as it seeks to restructure the cash-strapped power utility’s loan obligations, according to the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. Eskom’s financial position is of particular concern and requires a decision on how to address its “unsustainable” debt levels, the Washington-based lender said in a statement published on its website following on-line meetings between its staff and South African officials.

The Philippine government has mandated banks to sell a planned dollar bond, as it weighs raising as much as $7 billion via foreign commercial notes this year, Bloomberg News reported. The banks include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS, and Bank of China, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The timing of any debt sale also depends on global events such as the U.S.-Russia standoff over Ukraine, the person said. The prospect of higher U.S.

Sharp declines in financial asset prices, higher inflation and a new significant wave COVID-19 infections pose the greatest risks to the global economy, the Bank of Israel said on Monday in its twice yearly financial stability report, Reuters reported. And although Israeli banks and insurance companies maintained stability in the second half of 2021 with strong capital ratios, that could be derailed should financial asset prices fall further, the report said. Israeli stock prices have dipped 1.1% so far this year, on the heels of global declines, after a 31% rise in 2021.

The U.S. is considering offering Ukraine up to $1 billion in sovereign loan guarantees to help Ukraine’s economy amid pressures from the Russian military build-up, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday, Reuters reported. The White House official was confirming what a source familiar with the matter had earlier recounted to Reuters about a conversation by national security adviser Jake Sullivan with congressional leaders.

Covid-19 drove tens of millions of migrant workers from cities back to their home villages, often to farm, and its lingering presence threatens India’s decadeslong quest to lift its economy from rural poverty to the modern age, the Wall Street Journal reported. In Covid-19’s first year, agriculture’s share of India’s total employment rose for the first time in at least 15 years, by 3 percentage points to 45.6%, government data show, yet it contributes less than a fifth of national output.

Collateralized loan obligation managers in Europe are preparing for the post-pandemic world of rising credit risk by adding more flexibility to their traditionally strict structures, Bloomberg News reported. CLOs -- which package speculative debt into bonds -- have been including options to participate in restructurings and remain involved in financings even if they go south. And while managers don’t expect a sudden deterioration of junk-rated loans and bonds anytime soon, with defaults in Europe still historically low, they want to be prepared in case things sour.

India's federal investigation agency has filed a police complaint against ABG Shipyard Ltd and its promoters accusing it of defrauding banks of 228.42 billion Indian rupees ($3.03 billion), Reuters reported. The report, posted on the Central Bureau of Investigation's website, said a forensic audit report it received from the banks two years ago had found instances of fraud in April 2012 and July 2017. The shipbuilder, identified by the central bank as one of India's "dirty dozen" highly indebted companies, has filed for bankruptcy resolution.

The Bank of England has begun talks with the U.K. Debt Management Office and the Treasury over how to handle active sales of bonds held in its quantitative easing portfolio, Bloomberg News reported. The discussions come as the central bank last week said it would begin running down its 875 billion pounds ($1.2 trillion) of government bond holdings for the first time by letting expired gilts fall off its balance sheet, and reiterated it would consider active sales once interest rates hit 1%.