Simeon Kerr in Dubai and Ahmed Al Omran in Riyadh
The Saudi Binladin construction group said some shareholders may have handed over stakes in the company as the kingdom’s anti-corruption drive starts to take assets claimed by the government.
The Jeddah-based company said over the weekend that it remained a “private sector company owned by its shareholders”. Its government contracts, which make up the majority of its business, continue to be fulfilled, it added, including projects at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
“Based on information available to management, some of the shareholders may have agreed a settlement that involves transferring some [Saudi Binladin Group] shares to the government of …
Read the full article at: http://www.afr.com/news/world/middle-east/saudi-binladin-group-hands-shares-to-state-in-anticorruption-deal-20180115-h0ibbi
Dear Lifehacker, I’m getting on in life and at this point it seems unlikely that my credit card debts will ever be paid off in full. (I can barely afford the monthly interest repayments, let alone the outstanding debt.) I also don’t own much in the way of assets. So my question is: What happens to my credit debt when I die? Do I need to worry about my adult son getting saddled with my debt? (more…)
DEBT-laden Australians admit to burying their head in the sand to avoid facing the reality of paying back large sums of money owed.
While many shoppers have arrived in 2018 with a whopping credit card debt in tow, new data from debt solutions agency Fox Symes has revealed one in four desperate consumers admit they had tried to resolve their debt woes by simply ignoring calls by creditors chasing money.
But of those who had successfully paid back their debts, 23 per cent vowed they would be more careful with how they manage their money and live more frugally.
CREDIT: Australians are putting these critical expenses on credit cards
Fox Symes executive director Deborah Southon warned those relying on credit to remember one critical thing, youre…
Read the full article at: http://www.news.com.au/finance/easy-ways-to-juggle-your-debts-in-2018/news-story/65110401b6d7347ffe8443b86616b465
About $100 million appears to have disappeared from Plutus Payroll, the company at the centre Australia’s largest tax fraud case, according to a first report from liquidators who are now investigating tens of millions of dollars pumped out of the company to related entities and offshore in the past 12 months.
In his first report to creditors, Tim Norman of Deloitte Financial Advisory estimated that Plutus Payroll Australia, the main company in the group, which had total debts of $44 million, would be left with a “deficiency” of $30 million on a conservative basis.
Deloitte said it could not yet even estimate how much money it could recover of the $92 million owed by nine other Plutus Payroll group companies also involved in the liquidat…
Read the full article at: http://www.afr.com/news/policy/tax/plutus-payroll-collapse-leaves-100m-black-hole-20180112-h0hjn1
AUSTRALIAN luxury goods brand Oroton (ASX: ORL) has warned landlords that if rent is not slashed then more stores will close.
Landlords will have to cut Oroton rents by up to 40 per cent within the next few days or the national retailer will shut down stores.
This latest development in the long-running demise of the national retail sector sees Oroton, an ASX listed luxury handbags and goods retailer, pulling out the final stops to keep the business afloat.
Over the weekend, two stores were shut on Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall and Macarthur Central in Brisbane CBD after the landlords refused to cut the rent.
Oroton went into voluntary administration in late November 2017 following a rough slide thr…
Read the full article at: https://www.businessnewsaus.com.au/articles/oroton-issues-ultimatum-to-landlords-and-threatens-major-closures.html
PETALING JAYA: Scomi Group Bhd 
plans to dispose of some assets within the next 12 months as the group aims to pare down its debt after its merger with Scomi Engineering Bhd .
Scomi Group told StarBiz the asset disposal is one of the avenues to reduce the debt position.
Apart from asset disposals, we are also considering using cash from our operations to reduce our debt.
As to timeline, we hope to materialise the asset disposals within the next six to 12 months, a spokesperson from the company said.
As at Sept 30 last year, Scomi Group stood in a net debt position of RM673.7mil, while Scomi Engineering has a net debt of RM473.6mil.
The spokesperson said Scomi Groups proposed merger exercise with Scomi Engineering will proceed.
…
Read the full article at: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/01/15/scomi-group-may-sell-some-assets/
Troubled gold miner Blackham Resources has taken another step towards its recapitalisation with its main contractor MACA providing a $14.3 million loan to help it out of its short-term cash crunch.
The MACA loan will enable Blackham to pay its financier Orion for a $14.8 million debt repayment which was due at the end of last year.
Orion, MACA and former contractor Pybar have also agreed to jointly sub-underwrite a $36 million rights issue to the value of $13 million, which will be arranged and underwritten by broker Hartleys.
Blackhams non-executive turned executive chairman Milan Jerkovic has also agreed to sub-underwrite the offering to the tune of $500,000.
The gold miner announced this morning the rights issue would be priced at just 4c…
Read the full article at: https://thewest.com.au/business/gold/blackham-resources-given-143m-loan-for-debts-ng-b88714252z
Andrew Hatcher, 34, of Holtye Crescent in Maidstone, appeared before magistrates charged with theft over the course of three months.
The court heard how the confessed gambling addicts mother has since forgiven him.
Andrew Hatcher leaving Maidstone Magistrates Court
Defending, Simon Holmes told magistrates: He remains on good terms with his mother, if it were not for his admission he made at the police station, he would not be here now.
Hatcher admitted the theft in front of magistrates.
Between May and August, the college lecturer withdrew £70,096 through a number of large transactions to fund his online gambling addiction.
Once the theft…
Read the full article at: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/gambler-who-stole-70k-from-mum-158367/
ATHENS The forbidden subject of Greek debt relief but with new measures attached was raised by Eurozone officials at a meeting but even if granted means Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wont get the clean exit, from three international bailouts of 326 billion euros ($397.61 billion) hes been touting.
With the bailouts expiring in August, Tsipras said hes bringing Greece to recovery without mentioning hes reneged on anti-austerity promises to do it but that the country cant repay its debts and needs a break from its creditors, the Quartet of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank-European Stability Mechanism (EU-IMF-ECB-ESM).
Germany, the biggest contributor to the rescue packages, includi…
Read the full article at: http://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/economy/29436-eu-talks-greek-debt-relief-with-new-monitoring-and-no-clean-exit.html
Like old-school text adventure games and novels, Tally Ho wants to spark the readers imagination with a stripped-down interactive story. At the start, the protagonists employer, Rory Wintermint, has landed in a bit of gambling debt and, fearing a visit from violent thugs, plans to charm Aunt Primrose into providing a bailout. And from here the story expands. The user can determine how the tale plays out within certain limits. User actions can range from diligent to downright negligent, and the different pathways enhance the apps replay value. This is also boosted through the presence of achievements, awarded for directing the narrative in interesting ways. But although the user can take different routes through the story, the same endpoi…
Read the full article at: https://appolicious.com/tally-ho-a-jaunty-interactive-story/