When Swiss commodity trader Andre & Cie went bust 17 years ago, Richard Elman pounced. He bought its Asian grains business for next to nothing as part of an acquisition spree that would make his own fledgling company, Noble Group, into Asia’s biggest commodity trader within a decade.

Elman, 77, has watched another global commodity-trading powerhouse collapse before his eyes over the past year: his own.

As spectacularly as Noble grew under Elman’s leadership into a company bankers once dubbed a “mini-Glencore,” its dizzying downfall was just as staggering. Like Andre & Cie, debts became untenable and trading losses mounted as Noble was dogged by allegations that it deceived inves…

Read the full article at: http://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/rags-to-riches-tale-ends-in-disaster-for-noble-groups-richard-elman-20180130-h0qgrx

DARLING Downs grain trader, A&B Grains, has gone into liquidation, according to a notice published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The notice says a general meeting of the members of the company held last Wednesday resolved A&B Grains be wound up, and that Gavin Charles Morton of Mortons Solvency Accountants, Brisbane, be appointed liquidator.

The company operates out of a facility at Oakey on the Darling Downs of southern Queensland.

A&B Grains was established in 1959. Trade sources said it had been a significant trader of sorghum, cottonseed and birdseed, as well as cereals and pulses, over the years.

The reason for the companys winding up of operations…

Read the full article at: https://www.graincentral.com/markets/domestic/darling-downs-trader-ab-grains-in-liquidation/

Proposed legislation to help over-indebted consumers might prove to be a double-edged sword, discouraging consumers from managing their credit responsibly, the Banking Association South Africa (Basa) warns.

The organisation was referring to the draft National Credit Amendment Bill, which was published by Parliaments portfolio committee on trade and industry last year. Public hearings on the bill are due to be held over the next two weeks.  

The draft bill permits a person who earns less than R7500 a month and who owes less than R50000 in unsecured debt relating to credit agreements to apply to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) for intervention.

If the NCR is of the view that the applicant requires assistance, a single member of the …

Read the full article at: https://www.iol.co.za/personal-finance/debt-relief-measures-will-reward-irresponsible-consumers-12997992

THEY knew there was a problem, but Linc Energy just “kept going” with devastating coal gasification activity.

That is what a prosecutor has claimed as Linc faces five counts of causing serious environmental damage in Chinchilla.
The energy company, in liquidation, is not in Brisbane District Court to defend the charges.

Jurors on Tuesday heard allegations of Linc’s reckless disregard for the environment.

Prosecutor Ralph Devlin alleged Linc had injected air underground “in a way that created and enhanced fractures in surrounding” land.

He said Linc used its underground wells in a way that made them fail.

“Those well failures created underground pathways” for toxins to escape far way, to places Linc coul…

Read the full article at: https://www.news-mail.com.au/news/failed-energy-company-accused-of-knowingly-polluti/3322416/

MUMBAI: The refinancing of bankrupt companies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code would probably be the biggest opportunity for refinancing of loans of up to Rs 2 lakh crore this year.

A few strong banks could scoop up the opportunity even as the state-run banks hold back and clean up their bad loans. Furthermore, the restrictions on joining the consortium will eliminate a chunk of state-run banks from exploiting the refinancing activities.

Several bidders have submitted letters of comfort from banks willing to refinance these loans. In case of Monnet Ispat, the JSWAION consortium has submitted a letter of comfort from ICICI Bank ensuring financial help to the bidder.

In case of Essar Steel, almost all potential bidde…

Read the full article at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/bankrupt-companies-offer-banks-refinancing-opportunity/articleshow/62703907.cms