The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the US is running deficits that are too big and is weighed down by too much debt, and it warned of dangers from increasingly aggressive trade policies, Bloomberg News reported. While calling the world’s largest economy “robust, dynamic and adaptable,” the fund leveled unusually harsh criticism toward the US, its biggest shareholder. It also slightly downgraded its estimate for growth this year to 2.6%, down 0.1 percentage point from its April forecast.

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is encouraging the UK and others to shorten the settlement time for currency trading to better align their markets with those in Asia and North America, Bloomberg News reported. The UK is debating a transition to next-day settlement, known as T+1, for securities transactions, with its Treasury calling for the shift by the end of 2027. But SEC Chair Gary Gensler is nudging the UK to go bigger by adding more asset classes for shorter settlement. The US, Canada, Mexico and other countries already pressed ahead.

An Ontario court has approved a sales process and stalking-horse bid for Red Lobster Canada, which is operating under court protection from creditors, CBC.ca reported. The move comes after a U.S. court approved the sales process for the company which launched chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last month. Court filings made on June 11 say the steps are meant to "preserve" Red Lobster's business in Canada and the employment of the company's 2,000 workers stationed at 27 restaurants across the country.

A federal judge moved to untangle the complex bankruptcy case of a Byju’s unit by offering to rule out the arrest of a Florida hedge fund manager if he helps locate $533 million that the Indian tech company allegedly tried to hide, Bloomberg News reported. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, during a court hearing yesterday in Wilmington, Del., agreed to drop an arrest order for William C. Morton, the founder of Camshaft Fund. Byju’s invested $533 million of loan proceeds with the fund last year, according to court records. The money was later moved to a U.K.

U.S. hedge fund manager Elliott Investment Management has offered support to troubled Canadian miner Nevada Copper Corp. after the company filed for chapter 11 protection, Bloomberg News reported. Before Monday’s bankruptcy filing, Nevada Copper had attracted two bidders though it failed to close a deal with either one, Chief Financial Officer Gregory J. Martin said in a court filing. To help pay for the chapter 11 restructuring case, the company agreed to borrow as much as $60 million from Elliott affiliates.

Apollo Global Management Inc. and other investors are seeking to raise as much as $500 million in an initial public offering of Grupo Aeromexico SAB, the Mexican carrier that emerged from bankruptcy protection more than two years ago. The alternative asset manager, which owns about 22% of Aeromexico, and other selling shareholders are aiming to raise about $400 million to $500 million in the Mexico City-based carrier’s listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Legislation seeking to block holdout bond investors from using New York courts to sue defaulted foreign governments stalled in the state assembly, Bloomberg News reported. New York lawmakers ended the legislative session early Saturday without voting on the so-called champerty doctrine. The bill would have prohibited “litigious holdout investors” from purchasing emerging-market government bonds governed under New York laws for the sole purpose of bringing defaulted nations to court.

A former Allianz fund manager pleaded guilty on Friday over his role in a meltdown of private investment funds sparked by the pandemic that caused an estimated $7 billion of investor losses, Reuters reported. Gregoire Tournant admitted to two counts of investment adviser fraud at a hearing before Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the federal court in Manhattan. He faces up to 10 years in prison at his Oct. 16 sentencing. Tournant also agreed to give up $17.5 million in ill-gotten gains, including bonuses that were inflated by his fraud.

Venezuela’s opposition is ramping up lobbying efforts in Washington, trying to persuade the Biden administration to intervene in the court-ordered sale of Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent company in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported. The company is the South American nation’s most important foreign asset and its shares are due to be auctioned by July 15. The opposition fears Nicolas Maduro could blame them for Citgo’s loss ahead of crucial presidential elections set for the end of next month.