UK business secretary Greg Clark has travelled to India and China over the past two weeks to meet companies viewed as potential bidders for British Steel, as efforts intensify to rescue the ailing business and save thousands of jobs, the Financial Times reported. In the past few days, the cabinet minister met JSW, one of India’s largest steel manufacturers, according to two people briefed on the matter, and other businesses. This followed a trip last week to China, whose Baowu has been linked with a move for British Steel.

The Brexit Coalition, a newly-formed body of 29 diverse pro-Brexit campaigning organisations, including the Alliance of British Entrepreneurs, Artists for Brexit and Farmers for Britain, said the UK would still have to contribute if a future bail-out sparked financial meltdown in the eurozone, the Daily Express reported.

Mining company Power Resources Group (PRG) said on Friday it was buying Metalysis, a British high-tech specialist which was backed by asset manager Neil Woodford, out of administration, Reuters reported. Metalysis, which manufactures 3D printing powder, fell into administration in June, around the same time Woodford’s equity income fund, was frozen. His fund had a 1.6 million pound stake in Metalysis, which has received a total of 92 million pounds ($115 million) through numerous funding rounds, most recently in 2018.

Countries that perform well on environmental, social and governance metrics are viewed by investors as less likely to default, a new study that examined credit default swap spreads on sovereign bonds has found, the Financial Times reported. In an analysis of 59 countries between 2009 and 2018, Hermes Investment Management found that countries with the best ESG scores tend to have the lowest CDS spreads and vice versa, suggesting a link between credit risk and ESG performance.

Funding Circle floated to much fanfare last September. It matches small businesses who want to borrow with investors looking for better returns than their cash could earn sitting in a savings account, the Financial Times reported. Shareholders may feel aggrieved about their returns however: shares in the lender are already down more than 60 per cent since its debut and fell another 25 per cent at the beginning of trading today. The reason for the sharp fall? Funding Circle warned this morning that revenue growth this fiscal year will only be half of what it previously expected.

Truworths International Holdings Ltd. fell the most in five months in Johannesburg as the South African retailer joined the ranks of those feeling the pain from the U.K.’s ailing shopping streets, Bloomberg News reported. Truworths said Tuesday British footwear subsidiary Office had started debt restructuring talks with its lenders in the face of the “depressed retail trading environment.” The stock slumped as much as 6.5%, the biggest drop since January, making it the second-worst performer among Johannesburg’s general retailers this year.

British manufacturers faced their worst month in six years in June, as companies and their clients continued to run down stockpiles amassed in the run-up to the March Brexit deadline, the Financial Times reported. The purchasing managers’ index compiled by IHS Markit, the research group, fell from 49.4 in May to 48 in June — the lowest level since 2013 — indicating that a majority of businesses had reported a fall in output for a second consecutive month. Production was the weakest since October 2012 and most companies reported job cuts for the third month running.

The risks to Ireland from a no-deal Brexit were outlined in stark terms as a top official warned that the country’s high debts had left it vulnerable to shock, the Financial Times reported.

Gold miner Avocet Mining Plc, which has been plagued by a shortage of cash and feeble production, on Friday said its board has proposed voluntary liquidation and that remaining cash should be used to pay creditors, Reuters reported. The company had warned in October that it could be broken up as it continued talks with its largest shareholder, Elliott Management, to restructure its debt. In June, it said it would sell its interests in a mine in Guinea to restructure loans.

B2B digital music services provider 7Digital is flirting with administration, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy, after investors rejected a plan to issue more shares for cash which the company says its needs to survive, Hypebot reported. 7digital Group Plc is a publicly traded digital music and radio services platform. 7digital offers both B2B services for digital media partners and 7digital branded direct-to-consumer music download stores.