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☆ UK housing market shows new signs of strength - Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A rainbow is seen over apartments in Wandsworth on the River Thames as UK house prices continue to fall, in London, Britain, August 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - British house prices rose unexpectedly in monthly terms for the third time running in November, adding to signs that the housing market downturn has abated, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday. House prices rose by 0.2% on the month in November, after a 0.9% increase in October. Compared with a year ago, house prices were 2% lower - the smallest such drop in nine months. "There has been a significant change in market expectations for the future path of Bank Rate in recent months which, if sustained, could provide much needed support for housing market activity," said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, Robert Gardner, Andy Bruce, Sarah Young Organizations: REUTERS, Nationwide, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Wandsworth, London, Britain

LONDON (AP) — Comedian Russell Brand has been interviewed by British police over three alleged sexual offenses, U.K. media reported Sunday. The Sunday Times and BBC said Brand, 48, was interviewed last week at a London police station. He was interviewed under caution by detectives in relation to three non-recent sexual offenses. In September, the Times and Sunday Times newspapers and broadcaster Channel 4 said four women had made allegations of sexual assault against Brand. They dated from the period between 2006 and 2013, when Brand was a major star in Britain with a growing U.S. profile.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand, Katy Perry Organizations: British, Sunday Times, BBC, London police, Metropolitan Police, Times, Channel, Brand, Thames Valley Police Locations: London, Britain, Thames

☆ Opinion | In Britain, Reality Is Cleaving in Two
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Moya Lothian-Mclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In Britain, Armistice Day is usually an understated affair, marked only by two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. The other, comprising a few hundred people from Britain’s far right and football hooligan networks, gathered several miles away in Westminster. Her departure was quickly overshadowed by the shock return to frontline politics of the former prime minister David Cameron, the architect of austerity and Brexit. For all her extremist posturing, Ms. Braverman is part of an establishment consensus that firmly backs Israel’s war in Gaza. In Britain, as its politicians and public move away from each other, reality is cleaving in two.

Persons: Suella Braverman, Rishi Sunak —, Sunak, David Cameron, Braverman Organizations: Metropolitan Police Locations: Britain, London, Gaza, snaked, Britain’s, Westminster

LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds ($5.95 million), was an artwork titled “America” and intended as a pointed satire about excessive wealth by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, near the city of Oxford, a few days before it vanished overnight in September 2019. The Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it has authorized criminal charges against four men, ages 35-39, over the theft. The golden toilet was fully functioning, and prior to the theft, visitors to the exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use it.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Maurizio Cattelan, ”, Will, Matthew Barber Organizations: Crown Prosecution Service, Police, UNESCO, Guggenheim Museum, Thames Valley Police, BBC, Oxford, ’ Locations: Blenheim, Oxford, New York

☆ Storylines Residential Cruise Faces Backlash From Investors, Ex-Employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Kate Taylor | Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Storylines' first cruise ship was initially scheduled to launch in 2019; it's now set for December 2026. Nine former employees, consultants, and investors told Insider that they'd come to doubt the MV Narrative would ever be built. The only existing residential cruise ship is The World. Many Storylines buyers remain optimistic about the residential cruise ship. "The ball is in your court," Punton told buyers in July in a video that's since been taken down.

Persons: Alister Punton, Punton, Shannon Lee, Mike Kasperzak, Jim Holt, Holt, Angela Nuran, Paul Cosentino, Cosentino, We're, Lee, it's, Alexandre Caillol, Condé, superyachts, Sean Fremder, Weeks, Caillol —, —, Marco Polo —, PitchBook, Alexandra Zodian —, Caillol, Michael Edwards, Edwards, he'd, Martin Buggy, Melissa Edyvean, Edyvean, Paul Read, Salvatore R, Mercogliano, Pat Helmers, Helmers, Michael Perisi, Andrew Lentz, didn't, Lentz, Wrocław . Lentz, Andrew, I'm, Lee ., Dick Rosman —, Lee —, Krzysztof Kontek, Kontek's, Michal Jackiewicz, Brodosplit, Brian Martin, Read, Nuran, We've, he's, New Zealand —, Kasperzak, " Lentz Organizations: Punton, Army, West —, Industry, CNN, Brodosplit, Regent Seven Seas, Wall Street Journal, Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, Utopia, Beverly Hills, Rock City, The Raiders, Raiders, Holland America's, Mariners, New Zealand Locations: massages, Croatian, Beverly, Punton, Queensland, Australia, Broadbeach, California, Rock, Brisbane, Netherlands, Caillol, Polynesia, French Polynesia, France, London, Australian, British, Delaware, Sweden, Tahiti, Perth, Ecuador, Poland, Wrocław, Mexico, Florida, New

☆ GoStudent, the $3 billion edtech darling, scaled fast and partied hard. The result was a mess.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

These people were employees of GoStudent, an Austria-based online-tutoring startup that had quickly become the darling of the European tech scene. But 28 current and former GoStudent employees and tutors said they experienced a poorly run organization with clumsy management. Edtech companies "rarely have any major competitive advantage other than scale," a European venture capitalist who's not affiliated with GoStudent said. A GoStudent employee threatened to track down the petition's author using tutors' IP addresses, according to the German publication Handelsblatt. According to public documents updated in December 2022, GoStudent had shrunk to 15 markets and 1,500 employees, including its acquisitions.

Persons: Felix Ohswald, Gregor Müller, GoStudent, who'd, I'm, Heinz, Peter Meidinger, cofounders, Ferdinand von Hagen, Prada, GoStudent's, Dave Benett, Müller, —, Ohswald, Anthony Canavan, Canavan, Brutkasten, Norbert Wess, Harry Murphy, Duncan McIntyre, McIntyre, Neel Gupta, Anna Tuchy, Patrick Nadler, Nadler, Sarah Heuberger, Ross Slater Organizations: German Teachers ' Association, Employees, GoStudent, Conseil, prud'hommes, DBS, Safety Officers, Web, Getty, JP Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, TechCrunch, Organisation for Economic Cooperation Locations: Vienna, Austria, Silicon Valley, North America, South America, Europe, London, France, Soho , London, Dock, DACH, Germany, Switzerland, Spanish, Sweden, Swedish, GoStudent, Ukraine, Ibiza, GoStudent's, Deliveroo

☆ You can now book an Uber hot-air balloon in Turkey for $159
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Uber is now offering hot air balloon rides in Turkey's Cappadocia region for $159. AdvertisementAdvertisementUber is now offering hot air balloon rides for passengers in Turkey's Cappadocia region, as the company pushes to diversify offerings beyond ride-hailing. A 2022 report by local booking platform Upballoon said that over 150 hot air balloon launches occur daily in Cappadocia. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe new Uber Balloon feature appears to be part of the company's pivot toward areas beyond ride-hailing. And hot air balloons aren't the only way Uber has expanded its offerings.

Persons: Uber, —, Dara Khosrowshahi Organizations: Service Locations: Turkey's Cappadocia, Cappadocia, Turkey, London, Mykonos, Greece, Sri Lanka, India, New York

☆ Moody's lifts UK's outlook to 'stable' on restoration of policy predictability
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's revised Britain's outlook to "stable" from "negative" on Friday, saying policy predictability has been restored after heightened volatility last year around the so-called "mini-budget" under then-Prime Minister Liz Truss. Moody's last changed its outlook on Britain one year ago, when Truss had spooked markets with unfunded tax pledges, culminating in her resignation. "Policy predictability has been restored after heightened volatility last year around the mini-budget," the ratings agency said, affirming the country's rating at "Aa3". The government borrowed 81.7 billion pounds ($99.35 billion) in the first half of the 2023/24 financial year, 15.3 billion pounds more than between April and September 2022, but about 20 billion pounds less than the government forecast in March. On Friday S&P affirmed its AA rating and stable outlook for Britain.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Moody's, Liz Truss, Truss, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Poor's, Aatrayee Chatterjee, David Milliken, Alistair Smout, Shailesh Kuber, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Monetary Fund, Britain's, Conservative Party, Britain, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ A second UK police force opens investigation into Russell Brand claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - A second British police force said on Monday it had launched an investigation following allegations of harassment and stalking made against actor and comedian Russell Brand. Brand has rejected the "very serious criminal allegations", saying on his social media channels that he had never had non-consensual sex. "Thames Valley Police in the past two weeks received new information in relation to harassment and stalking allegations dating back to 2018," the force said in a statement. "This information is being investigated; as such it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation." There was no immediate response to a request for comment from representatives for Brand.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand, Michael Holden, Christina Fincher Organizations: British, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, BBC, Thames Valley Police, Valley Police, Brand, Thomson Locations: London

[1/2] The logo of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is pictured at the company's headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico July 26, 2023. A third senior trading source confirmed that Vitol had resumed business with Mexico. Neither the deals nor the fact that Mexico resumed trading with Vitol have previously been reported. Vitol declined to comment while Pemex and the Mexican government did not respond to requests for comment. Eventually, Pemex officials pulled the plug on contract negotiations after Vitol officials refused their proposed changes to terms.

Persons: Raquel Cunha, Pemex, cargos, Vitol, Arvin, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Octavio Romero, Pemex's Romero, Javier Aguilar, Aguilar, Stefanie Eschenbacher, Ana Isabel Martinez, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Luc Cohen, Marianna Parraga, Florence Tan, Stephen Eisenhammer, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, U.S . Department of Justice, Thames, Thomson Locations: Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO, Swiss, Brazil, Ecuador, Liberia, Houston, Pajaritos, Denmark, Tuxpan, Tampico, America, Geneva, U.S, Brooklyn, London, New York, Singapore

☆ ‘Argentina on the Channel.’ Mark Carney and Liz Truss clash over UK economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —When Liz Truss was briefly Britain’s prime minister a year ago, the world’s sixth-largest economy came close to resembling Argentina, a country plagued by financial and economic instability. Truss and her Brexit-backing allies have long argued that lower taxes and fewer regulations — akin to Singapore’s approach — would help kickstart sorely needed growth in the UK. Britain, for its part, is battling stubbornly high inflation, feeble economic growth and a rising public debt burden, which is the costliest to service among rich economies. At the time, Carney, who was head of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, accused Truss’s government of “undercutting” the nation’s economic institutions. “Mark Carney is part of the 25-year economic consensus that has led to low growth across the Western world,” she said.

Persons: Liz Truss, Mark Carney, kickstart, Carney, “, Kwasi Kwarteng, Truss’s, undercutting, “ Mark Carney, ”, ” Truss, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Bank of England, Institute for Government Locations: Argentina, United Kingdom, Montreal, Singapore, London

☆ Asking prices for UK homes pick up slightly despite summer slowdown: Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A rainbow is seen over apartments in Wandsworth on the River Thames as UK house prices continue to fall, in London, Britain, August 26, 2023. Rightmove said average asking prices for homes increased by 0.4% from the sharp 1.9% drop in the month before, but below the ten-year average of a 0.6% rise in September. A closely-watched Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors report last week showed a sharp contraction in the market was underway. Rightmove said the number of home sales was down 7% compared with 2019, before the pandemic distorted the market. It said the rate of reduction in asking prices and the number of homes reduced in price hit the highest since January 2011.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, Rightmove, Tim Bannister, Bannister, Suban Abdulla Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Bank of England's, Nationwide, Thomson Locations: Wandsworth, London, Britain, Halifax

☆ UK government under pressure to take tougher line on China amid spying allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss called for the government to formally designate China as a threat to the UK. Florence Lo/APUnder the radarBut back to the question at hand: should the events of the past few days affect the UK’s official policy? Despite the arrests, observers believe it is unlikely there will be a sea-change in the UK government’s policy on China. The allegations that China is spying on the UK, in the very heart of Britain’s democracy, is of course a very real concern. But it will not be a surprise to the government, which has baked it into British foreign policy.

Persons: Tom Tugendhat, Tugendhat, Rishi Sunak, Premier Li Qiang, ”, Sunak’s, Liz Truss, Iain Duncan Smith, UK’s, Oliver Dowden, James, Han Zheng, Florence Lo, —, Peter Ricketts, “, doesn’t, ” Ricketts, Christopher Furlong Organizations: London CNN, Sunday Times, Conservative, CNN, Premier, Embassy, Metropolitan Police, Conservative Party, of, People, parliament’s Intelligence, Security, British National Security, Getty, Russia, Diplomats Locations: China, Beijing, New Delhi, London, gossiping, Europe, Hong Kong, South China, Taiwan, Westminster

☆ UK man, accused of spying for China in parliament, says he's innocent
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] An Uber riverboat sails on the River Thames, with the Houses of Parliament seen behind in London, Britain, May 17, 2023. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and the parliamentary speaker were due to raise the case, after several lawmakers called for not only an explanation but also tighter vetting procedures for those working in the House of Commons. The Sunday Times reported one of those arrested was a researcher in the British parliament. His alleged spying in parliament was raised by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in India on Sunday. "I think that's the central question that needs to be answered by the prime minister today."

Persons: Toby Melville, Oliver Dowden, Rishi Sunak, Premier Li Qiang, Birnberg Peirce, James, Sunak, Keir Starmer, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Christina Fincher, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, London's Metropolitan Police, Sunday Times, Times, British, Premier, Chinese Communist Party, Labour, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, London's, India, Beijing

☆ A 'ferry house' made famous by Charles Dickens was converted into a 4-bedroom home with a private mooring. Now it's on the market for $2.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

A former ferry house just outside of London is on the market for £2.25 million, or around $2.8 million. The ferry house. DextersThe former ferry house on the River Thames was converted into a four-bedroom house in 2016 and comes with its own private mooring and a boat house, a spokesperson for real-estate agency Dexters told Insider. It has an open-plan reception, kitchen, and dining area, and an outdoor patio and terrace with views of the river, according to Dexters' press release. The property is located in Sunbury village, which is around a 45-minute train journey to central London, the press release states.

Persons: Dexters Locations: London, Sunbury

☆ UK watchdog to 'ramp up' checks on how banks assess risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog told banks on Friday it would "ramp up" checks on whether they were properly assessing and managing risks from large customers to avoid any liquidity crunch in stressed markets. "We are ramping up our testing programme to look at how banks are controlling these risks, including more in person supervisory assessments." Under pressure from the European Central Bank, bankers have moved from London to staff these hubs, raising questions about sufficient staff in UK units. "While there are various booking and organisational arrangements underpinning these activities, there should be appropriate oversight for any business booked into the UK," Walls said. The FCA said it may also check how banks deal with non-financial misconduct, such as sexual harrasment.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Liz Truss, Simon Walls, Huw Jones, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Financial, Authority, Bank of England, European Union, Brexit, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ After big GDP revision, UK statisticians seek faster data access
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A rainbow is seen over apartments in Wandsworth on the River Thames as UK house prices continue to fall, in London, Britain, August 26, 2023. A senior official at the Office for National Statistics asked Britain's statistics regulator to review the outcome of its upcoming work on how it revised its estimates of the swings in the economy around the coronavirus pandemic period. The ONS collects a lot of data itself through surveys of businesses and households, but relies on government departments and other agencies for certain numbers. On Friday, revised data from the ONS showed that Britain's economy performed more strongly than previously thought in its recovery from the pandemic and was ahead of other big European countries at the end of 2021 rather than lagging behind them. Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by David MillikenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, Michael Keoghan, William Schomberg, David Milliken Organizations: REUTERS, Office, National Statistics, Statistics, Thomson Locations: Wandsworth, London, Britain

A pedestrian carrying an umbrella walks along the River Thames in view of City of London skyline in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Australia's second-largest pension fund plans to open its first overseas office by mid-2024, its chief investment officer said on Friday, the latest retirement manager to look overseas as the country's pension sector outgrows the home market. The team will "almost certainly" be based in London and only be small because ART relies mostly on external managers, Patrick said, adding the office would likely open between now and mid-2024. A decision on a second overseas office would be made 12 to 24 months after the first opens. ART invests roughly two-thirds of all new money funds overseas.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Ian Patrick, Patrick, HarbourVest, Neuberger Berman, Lewis Jackson, Praveen Menon, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Stepstone, AustralianSuper, Nikkei, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, New York, China

☆ British water companies face $1 bln lawsuits over pollution - law firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Environmental and water consultant Carolyn Roberts, who plans to bring the claims, says water companies would have faced penalties if they had properly reported pollution incidents. The firm said it will also be filing cases against five other companies – Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water – in the coming months. Water companies have pushed back against the proposed claims, describing them as "highly speculative". A Thames Water spokesperson said the company was aware of the potential claim, which they said was without merit. Water companies have avoided being penalised by regulator Ofwat for "serial and serious under-reporting" of pollution incidents, she said in a statement.

Persons: Trent, Darren Staples, Carolyn Roberts, Roberts, Leigh Day, Severn, Sam Tobin, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Environment Agency, Water, Thomson Locations: Cropston, England, British, United, Water, Yorkshire, United States

☆ Britain's banks told to justify low savings rates by end of August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Britain's banks and building societies have until the end of August to justify to regulators why some of their savings rates are low or face sanctions, the markets watchdog said on Monday, as Bank of England rates look set to rise to their highest since 2008. Smaller lenders offer higher savings rates than their bigger rivals, the FCA added. "Firms offering the lowest savings rates will be required to justify by the end of August how those rates offer fair value, according to the consumer duty that enters into force today," the FCA said in a statement. Banks and building societies offering the lowest rates have to complete a "fair value" assessment for the regulator by the end of August. The FCA will also review the timing of changes to savings rates each time BoE rates move, publish an analysis every six months of easy-access rates, analyse how savings products contribute to profitability and, by the end of March 2024, review how firms engage with customers.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Banks, BoE, Huw Jones, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Financial Conduct Authority, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Santander UK, Barclays, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, FCA, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ King Charles Doesn’t Have as Many Swans as He Used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The counters on the River Thames recorded 94 cygnets, as young swans are called, compared to 155 last year. Mr. Barber said he didn’t expect this year’s count to be quite as low as it was, and that the numbers were the most disappointing in years, Mr. Barber said. He added that 2009 was a worse year, when the uppers counted 84 young swans. The count was 166 cygnets in 2021 and 147 cygnets in 2019, he added. But there was also good news: Even though the number of cygnets was low, they were all in excellent health, Mr. Barber said.

Persons: That’s, Barber Locations: United Kingdom, England

☆ Clashes in Kenya over tax hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Young cygnets and swans are counted and have their health assessed during the 'swan upping' census on Britain's River Thames, in a tradition that dates back to the 12th century when swans were an important food source.

Persons: Young cygnets

☆ Raging wildfires spread in Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Young cygnets

☆ Factbox: Corporate debt woes are on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Size of debt: 14 billion pounds ($18.33 billion). The firm said earlier in July shareholders would provide 750 million pounds, but warned it would need an extra 2.5 billion pounds between 2025-2030. Size of debt: 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) in net debt. What's at stake: Casino faces 3 billion euros of debt repayments in the next two years, with rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's warning a default is likely. Deadlines to watch: Casino aims to secure an agreement with creditors by July 27.

Persons: Toby Melville, What's, Jean, Charles Naouri, Casino, Daniel Kretinsky, Kretinsky, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: Thames, REUTERS, Water, Casino, SBB, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, LONDON, Sweden, France, England, Czech, Brookfield, Spain, Barcelona

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - The spectre of rising corporate debt defaults exacerbating a global economic slowdown has for months been largely brushed aside by resilient credit markets. Now, long-feared corporate debt woes are starting to hit home, while more companies are being downgraded to a junk credit rating - facing higher borrowing costs as a result. Retailer Casino, with 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) of net debt, is in court-backed talks with creditors; Britain's Thames Water is in the headlines with its 14 billion pound ($18.32 billion) debt pile. For FACTBOX: Corporate debt woes are on the rise, click here. Nonetheless, not all firms may be able to survive the challenges of vast debt, higher interest and business costs and declining profits.

Persons: Julius Baer's, Markus Allenspach, Guy Miller, Miller, it's, Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott Will, Emery, Elena Lieskovska, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: SBB, P Global, U.S, Reuters, ICE, Zurich Insurance, ABN AMRO, European Central Bank, London Finance, Bain Capital, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Spain, Europe

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