Headlines

The Asahi Food bankruptcy on April 2, 2026, highlights funding stress across Japan’s construction ecosystem, Meyka reported. The company, a contractor for construction site cafeterias and kiosks at logistics facilities, filed at the Tokyo District Court with about JPY 3.13 billion in liabilities. Asahi Food filed for bankruptcy protection at the Tokyo District Court on April 2, 2026, citing about JPY 3.13 billion in liabilities tied to rapid, debt-funded expansion. The company operated cafeterias and kiosks at construction and logistics sites, often under long-term service contracts.

The European Central Bank’s next interest rate move will very likely be ​an increase, although it is still ‌too early to say when it will start hiking, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said ​on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The eurozone’s jobless rate edged higher in February, coming off a record low at the start of the year, ahead of the inflation shock and uncertainty prompted by the conflict in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported. Unemployment in the 21-nation currency area rose to 6.2% in February, from the all-time low of 6.1% in January, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday. Joblessness broadly held steady across the bloc, slightly up in Italy, marginally down in Spain, while unchanged in France and Germany.

Rising petrochemical prices have buoyed the long-term prospects for Brazil's Braskem even as the company is racing against the clock ​to deal with looming interest payments on its debt, Reuters reported. The petrochemical producer, with operations ‌in Brazil, the U.S. and Mexico, is considering whether to seek an injunction to avoid a painful debt restructuring, as the stronger ​market outlook is not enough to provide short-term relief. Brazilian newspaper Valor ​was first to report that Braskem could file a petition seeking ⁠protection from its creditors.

The global surge in fuel prices is exposing ​how unevenly South America is positioned to absorb the shock, with Argentina’s radical free‑market experiment under President Javier Milei facing particular pressure, Reuters reported. Among ‌Argentina's neighbors, import‑dependent Chile has been among the hardest hit by fallout from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Fuel prices there are set to jump as much as 30% for gasoline and 60% for diesel after the government was forced to unwind its price‑stabilization scheme, citing strained public finances.

The commercial court declared the bankruptcy of Plunimar S.A., the operating company of the Aquarium of Mar del Plata, according to Noticias Ambientales. Consequently, the process revealed an issue that goes beyond financial matters: the sale of animals. Currently, 66 animals remain on the premises under judicial administration. Among them are penguins and sea lions that require constant attention. Additionally, the case is being processed in the National Commercial Court No. 20. Thus, a scenario has opened where the priority is not only economic but also environmental.

One of the largest Chinese-linked companies operating in Slovakia, Bluefin Century, has filed for bankruptcy, signaling a sudden exit from a market where it had generated tens of millions of euros in annual revenue, The Slovak Spectator reported. Founded in 2011 by Alica Cséfalvayová, Bluefin Century built a business importing and exporting mobile phones at scale, distributing brands such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi across more than 30 countries. Despite its global reach, the company maintained only a small operational base in Slovakia.

Keurig Dr Pepper has named Rafael Oliveira chief executive officer of its coffee operating unit ​as it moves to acquire Dutch coffee ‌and tea company JDE Peet's, Reuters reported. The all-cash $18 billion takeover of JDE Peet's by Keurig, announced in August last year, is ​aimed at helping the company compete with ​industry leader Nestle and tackle high commodity ⁠costs. The combined entity is expected to be ​split into two publicly traded U.S. companies — one for ​coffee operations and one for beverage businesses.

As the war on Iran enters its second month, reports from state media and residents in the Islamic Republic indicate mounting attacks on civilian infrastructure including homes, factories and electricity facilities, Bloomberg reported. Iran’s Red Crescent Society, part of the international humanitarian network, said on March 30 that U.S.-Israeli airstrikes had damaged or destroyed more 300 hospitals or medical facilities and more than 90,000 homes, about half of them in Tehran. Some residents say they’ve seen increasing numbers of strikes on residential buildings.

The field of suitors for British aerospace and ​defence supplier Senior Plc narrowed after private ‌equity firm Arcline Investment Management dropped out of buyout talks on Wednesday, though negotiations with other bidders remained ongoing, Reuters reported. Senior, ​whose shares are only marginally up ​as of 0815 GMT, declined to comment in ⁠response to a Reuters request. The firm is ​the latest in a list of U.K. ​companies that American PE firms are interested in taking over at a time when defence spending has significantly ​increased as geopolitical tensions flare up ​across the globe.