Bermudian-domiciled artificial intelligence firm Afiniti Ltd, which once said it would bring 1,000 jobs to the island, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition in the U.S., the Royal Gazette reported. “We are continuing to make progress on our balance sheet restructuring, which will strengthen our financial foundation and position us well for future growth and success,” said Hassan Afzal, Afiniti’s chief executive.

Brazilian airline Gol said on Wednesday it has signed a deal with shareholder Abra to reinforce its current restructuring plan and raise credit to exit bankruptcy, including the conversion of $950 million in Abra's secured debt into Gol shares, Reuters reported. Abra is the main investor in airlines Gol and Avianca. The agreement is related to Gol's chapter 11 request, filed in January. According to the filing, Gol will present a restructuring plan that will allow a significant reduction of its leverage.

A threat by Donald Trump, who has been elected as the next U.S. president, to impose 60% tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese goods poses major growth risks for the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. Not only are the tariff rates much higher than the 7.5%-25% levied on China during his first term, the economy is also in a much more vulnerable position. In 2018, the property market was strong, driving about a quarter of China's economic activity. That meant local government finances, heavily reliant on auctioning land for residential projects, were not questioned so forcefully.

China's push to shift its food import sources since 2018 has put it in a better position to impose tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. farm goods with less harm to its food security if trade friction with Washington flares after the U.S. presidential election, Reuters reported. The threat of a trade war looms for China, the world's top importer of farm products such as soybeans and corn, with Republican candidate Donald Trump floating blanket 60% tariffs on Chinese goods in a bid to boost U.S. manufacturing. His opponent Kamala Harris, a Democrat, is also expected to confront China on trade.

Esprit Holdings Limited announced the bankruptcy of its two U.S. subsidiaries, adding to insolvency filings in Europe and Asia as the brand struggles to stay afloat, RetailDive.com reported. Both Esprit U.S. Distributions Limited and Esprit U.S.Retail Inc. filed notices of chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, according to a company announcement. Esprit U.S. Distributions, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Esprit Holdings, and Esprit U.S. Retail, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Esprit U.S.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the West Bank’s economy could collapse if Israel doesn’t preserve its banking relationship with Palestinian financial institutions in the territory it occupies, highlighting another potential source of instability as Israel also fights foes in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yellen and several of her global counterparts urged the Israeli leader’s government to approve a waiver that would continue to allow Palestinian and Israeli banks to correspond.

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen rebuked China’s “opaque” lending practices and urged global financial institutions and other creditors to accelerate debt relief to low- and middle-income countries in an interview on Monday, the New York Times reported. Her comments came ahead of this week’s annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where global economic policymakers are gathering in Washington at a pivotal moment for the world economy. Inflation has eased, but war in the Middle East has threatened to jolt energy markets.

Key terms of a proposed court agreement with a U.S. hedge fund seeking to gain control of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum from Venezuela would lock in the fund's low-ball bid, the company's creditors said in new court filings against the deal, Reuters reported. The backlash to Elliott Investment Management's wholly-owned Amber Energy's offer ends any chance this year of a change to Citgo's ownership to satisfy debt defaults and expropriations by Venezuela.

Europe's biggest debt collector, said on Friday that it will file for voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as it seeks to restructure its own finances, Reuters reported. The company has struggled as the pandemic, an energy crisis and two-decade-high interest rates failed to unleash a wave of loan defaults, with concerns mounting over Intrum's net debt, which reached 49.4 billion Swedish crowns ($4.69 billion) at the end of June.