Deteriorating credit outlooks for two U.K. retailers serving different ends of the wealth spectrum show that investors may drive a hard bargain when those companies next tap the debt market, Bloomberg News reported. First S&P Global Ratings downgraded value clothing chain Matalan one notch further into high-yield territory to CCC, citing a proposal to buy back some debt in the secondary market. This could amount to a "selective default," if it purchases debt at a market price that’s below par, S&P said.

The number of people declared insolvent in England and Wales rose last year for the first time since 2010, after hitting a post-financial crisis low in 2015, official figures showed on Friday, raising concern about households' financial health. Britain's economy was the fastest-growing major advanced economy last year, despite initial fears that June's Brexit vote would lead to an immediate downturn. But it has become increasingly reliant on rising consumer borrowing.

The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Thursday that it would set aside an additional $3.8 billion in its fourth quarter for investigations and litigation in the United States, even as rivals have reached settlements with the American authorities, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. The bank, which is 73 percent owned by the British government after a bailout during the financial crisis, is looking to address legacy legal issues as its chief executive, Ross McEwan, aims to turn around the lender’s prospects.

UK banks risk losing their privileges to do business in the European Union, unless the British government agrees to abide by financial regulation decided in Brussels even after Britain leaves the union, the head of the group of euro-area finance ministers said, the Irish Times reported. “It is unthinkable that the EU will allow UK-based financial institutions full access to do business in the internal market without a sustainable coupling of future dynamic UK standards to the EU framework,” Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in a speech in Brussels on Tuesday.

If the U.K. Supreme Court rules against her, Prime Minister Theresa May plans to rush a short bill through Parliament to trigger Brexit by her self-imposed March 31 deadline, Bloomberg News reported. The court’s 11 judges are due to give their verdict on a government appeal against a High Court decision that May should seek the approval of lawmakers before formally starting Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The ruling will be announced at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in London in a session expected to last five minutes.

Having left us fumbling around in the dark for months, British prime minister Theresa May finally flicked the light switch this week and revealed some of the UK’s strategy and the post-Brexit landscape that’s likely to unfold, the Irish Times reported. In a landmark speech that won her much acclaim from Brexiteers and the British media, May – “the new iron lady”, as the Daily Mail beamed – declared London’s intention to leave the single market and walk away from talks in the event Britain is offered a bad deal.

HSBC has agreed to stump up £4 million (€4.6m ) to pay back customers subjected to “unreasonable” debt collection practices following a regulatory probe, the Irish Times reported. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday that the bank has voluntarily agreed to set up a redress scheme for customers who were left out of pocket after paying unreasonable debt collection charges imposed by HFC Bank (HFC) and John Lewis Financial Services Limited (JLFS), both part of HSBC.

New analysis from KPMG reveals that 2016 saw the reversal of a six year downward trend in levels of insolvency for British businesses, following an uptick in companies entering into administration in the second half of the year. The numbers, taken from notices in the London Gazette, show that 1,174 companies, or groups of companies, entered into administration across the UK during 2016, compared with the 15-year low of 1,111 in the previous year. The picture in the Midlands shows a similar trend, with insolvencies in the region increasing in the year from 163 to 169.

Although Britain’s economy has so far not suffered the economic blowback that many predicted would follow the vote in a referendum last year to quit the bloc, British companies that import or export goods and services are anxiously assessing the potential costs of departure, the International New York Times reported. Complicating matters is continuing uncertainty over the terms of departure that the government wants to negotiate.

The British government opened a long-awaited consultation on how to crack down on corporate fraud, money laundering and false accounting on Friday, in what it billed as an effort to repair public trust in businesses and improve accountability. Government ministers floated suggestions that ranged from introducing tough, U.S.-style laws that punish companies for the crimes of their staff to holding companies accountable for failing to prevent staff from committing such crimes and merely strengthening regulatory regimes.