Companies are stepping up purchases of insurance to protect themselves against insolvencies in Britain, industry sources say, in part due to concerns about the impact of Brexit, Reuters reported. The UK economy is feeling the pinch from the political uncertainty, which has hit consumer spending and led to a drop in the value of the pound. This has contributed to high-profile company collapses like that of travel firm Thomas Cook, which also suffered under the weight of its debt pile.

Insolvent Thomas Cook’s German unit has withdrawn an application for a state bridging loan for legal reasons, the company’s liquidator said on Wednesday, adding that the firm was still talking with investors about a possible rescue, Reuters reported. Insolvency administrators of the law firm Hermann Wienberg said the credit application needed to be amended, adding that the already submitted application would be withdrawn. It did not say whether Thomas Cook would file a new application.

Credit unions in the Republic may have to withdraw €1.8 billion of deposits and investments lodged with financial institutions in the UK in the event of a disorderly Brexit, it has emerged, The Irish Times reported. Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on finance, Michael McGrath, has raised concerns about the matter this week after he received a response to a parliamentary question, which clarified that credit unions will not be allowed to hold investments in institutions in a so-called third country outside the EU.

UK employment suffered its sharpest decline in more than four years in the three months to August, new figures reveal, The Irish Times reported. The number of people in work declined by 56,000 to 32.69 million in the quarter, as the number of people claiming unemployment benefits jumped higher, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The slump was significantly below forecasts by economists, who had predicted a 26,000 rise in employment. The quarterly decline in employment was the heaviest fall since May 2015, when the level of employment slid by 65,000.

UK pub and brewing group Marston’s said it expected a fall in profit this year as it took a hit from lower food sales, sending its share price sharply down, the Financial Times reported. Shares in the Wolverhampton-group, which runs the Pitcher & Piano and Revere chains, fell as much as 11 per cent on Tuesday morning after it forecast an underlying pre-tax profit of about £101m for the year to September, down from £104m a year earlier. The group said it had suffered lower food sales, while higher labour costs and investment meant its profit margin would be below last year’s.

Ashmore Group Plc and Venezuela’s government may be headed for a legal battle as a potential default on the state oil company’s 2020 bonds sets off a rush to lay claim to the nation’s most prized asset abroad, Bloomberg News reported. Ashmore, which owned about half the securities as of June 30, has urged Petroleos de Venezuela to make the $913 million payment on its 2020 notes due Oct. 28, yet the team advising National Assembly President Juan Guaido claims it doesn’t have the funds, three people familiar with the matter said.

The former chief executive of bankrupt travel firm Thomas Cook said on Tuesday he understood public anger over his pay but defended his record, saying he had worked tirelessly to try to save the company, Reuters reported. Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed last month after it failed to finalize a restructuring plan, stranding over a hundred thousand passengers.

Hundreds of German companies have appealed for more direct support from Brussels and a business-friendly stance from EU lawmakers as they grapple with the effects of Brexit, the US-China trade war and a global economic slowdown, the Financial Times reported. Responding to a poll by the Stiftung Familienunternehmen, or Foundation for Family Businesses, some of the country’s most successful companies said the new European Commission must do more to boost competitiveness. They placed emphasis on simplifying taxes, reducing bureaucracy and deeper digital integration.

Creditors to troubled casual-dining group PizzaExpress Ltd., which has around $1.4 billion of debts, expect to see much of their money returned and the brand survive, according to analyst Helen Rodriguez at CreditSights in London, Bloomberg News reported. “There’s a brand and a business for PizzaExpress, it just has the wrong balance sheet and needs to reduce its debt,” she said. “If it were to restructure, someone would certainly want to start again with the business.” That will come as a relief to many in the U.K., for whom the chain is something of a national icon.

A London court order for Ukraine’s largest lender PrivatBank to repay two of its defaulted bonds in full plus interest is a boost for their holders, but looks set to add to Kiev’s complex tussle with the bank’s former owner, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, Reuters reported. The ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) was originally made in June but the exact details have only just emerged after the bonds’ trustee got approval to communicate them to investors.