If efforts to address record global public debt are to leave no stone
unturned, then weak disclosure laws warrant deep scrutiny. Hidden debt is
borrowing for which a government is liable, but which is not disclosed to
its citizens or to other creditors. And while this debt—by its nature—is
often kept off the official government balance-sheet, it is very real,
reaching $1 trillion globally by

some estimates.

While these undisclosed obligations are not large when compared to
global public debt topping

$91
trillion, they pose a growing threat to low-income countries, already
highly in debt with annual refinancing needs that have

tripled in recent years. The problem is even more pressing amid higher…

UPDATE: An exclusive report from Reuters indicates that Nissan is the automaker with which Fisker is negotiating. The two companies are allegedly in “advanced talks,” and could finalize a deal by the end of the month. 

Nissan would allegedly invest more than $400 million into the platform for Fisker’s Alaska electric pickup, and the Japanese automaker would build the vehicle at one of its factories in the United States. Nissan would build an EV truck on the same underpinnings. 

The future of Fisker looks grim. The company admitted on Friday it might only be a year away from going out of business following a net loss of over $463 million in 2023. But not all hope is lost. The company says it’s negotiating with a “large automaker” that…

Simon Edel, UK Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy Partner at EY-Parthenon: “Company insolvencies in 2023 reached their highest annual total in 30 years reflecting the difficult business environment that companies have faced over the last 12 months. The final quarter of 2023 also saw the highest quarterly number of Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs) since this data started to be recorded in 1960.

“Whilst the uptick in insolvencies has been largely driven by smaller businesses and CVLs, we are now starting to see stress spread to some mid-market and larger companies, many of which are facing refinancing hurdles as well as ongoing inflationary challenges. 

“According to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit…

When Rob Minnick needed money to fuel his betting habit, he often found it where a lot of gamblers do. He got a cash advance on a credit card.

Minnick was 18 years old when he started betting, convinced that his extensive knowledge of sports would make him a winner. The New Jersey native moved from daily fantasy sports to traditional sports betting to casino games. Eventually, he’d find himself sitting at an Atlantic City poker table while simultaneously peeking at his cell phone, where an online slot machine was spinning.

In late 2022, Minnick was in recovery from his gambling…

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Mainscarf, which trades as Hansen Constructions NQ, fell into voluntary administration on January 3, with administrators David Stimpson and Michael Brennan of SV Partners appointed to take control of the North Queensland company.

A report to creditors from April 5 suggests the company’s fortunes started to crumble in 2022, with the company’s estimated working capital ratio falling below one.

A working capital ratio of one is considered to be a benchmark figure for solvency, the report notes.

Through to June 30, 2021, the company’s estimated working capital ratio stood at 1.15, but by the date of administration, according…

The Dutch branch of vertical farming startup Infarm, best known for its global network of modular container farms, has been “declared bankrupt” according to official documents.

Infarm says the bankruptcy is not impacting its current restructure in which the company is focusing on markets where profitability is likely attainable.

Multiple industry sources say Infarm has raised $40 million – $50 million in new funds from Qatar.

Update: A spokesperson for Infarm told AgFunderNews that the company “won’t be making any comments on the rumors” around the possible new funding.

Previously:

Signs of trouble first cropped up for Infarm at the end of 2022, when the company laid off…

Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in Tesla and megacap growth stocks, but volumes were thin ahead of the July Fourth holiday and the closely watched release of June nonfarm payrolls on Friday.

The US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed job openings increased in May after posting outsized declines in the prior two months, but layoffs picked up amid slowing economic activity.

The data is the first in this week’s series of US job reports, particularly Friday’s release of June nonfarm payrolls, which will be crucial in assessing whether the US labour market remains resilient against the backdrop of decades-high interest rates.

Tesla surged to its highest level since the start of…

The Queensland government made $1.9 billion in gambling taxes last year, but only spent 0.6 per cent on harm minimisation programs.

A damning Queensland Audit Office report has taken aim at the state government’s “inadequate” harm reduction strategies.

The report, tabled in state parliament, has revealed Queensland gamblers spent $56.4 billion in the 2022-23 financial year.

That amounts to 12 per cent of all the money spent in Queensland on goods and services that year.

The independent auditor found gambling taxes and levies increased 43 per cent over the past five years, but the amount spent on harm minimisation barely budged.

Over one-third of the corporate insolvency resolution processes that were withdrawn after admission resulted in full settlement with the creditor who filed the insolvency application, the latest data by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) shows. A total of 1,035 applications have been withdrawn under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process after admission till December 2023.

IBBI said that the credible threat of the code that a company may change hands has changed the behaviour of debtors.

“Thousands of debtors are resolving distress in early stages of distress. They are resolving when default is imminent…making best efforts to avoid consequences…