Crisis-hit Sri Lanka has announced that it will halt payments on its foreign debt as its dwindling reserves of dollars are needed to purchase food and fuel. “We have come to a situation where the ability to service our debt is very low. That’s why we decided to go for a preemptive default,” the newly appointed central bank governor, Nandalal Weerasinghe, announced during a briefing on Tuesday. The... 

Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, has basically stolen 20 tons of gold belonging to Venezuela as collateral after Caracas defaulted on a gold swap agreement valued at US$750 million. The seizure comes as part of a deal clinched between the Bolivarian Republic and the lender as early as 2016, Bloomberg reports. Under the terms of the agreement, Venezuela received a cash loan from Deutsche... 

On Thursday, Donald Trump told CNBC that his solution to dealing with the $19 trillion-plus national debt involves a form of default such as repurchasing existing bonds at a discount. The media jumped all over him calling his idea “insane” and warning that it would tank the economy or set off an “unprecedented financial crisis.” They are right that it would set off an unprecedented financial... 

Moscow wants Kiev to pay interest daily on its $3 billion defaulted bond, Bloomberg reports after viewing court documents. Ukraine failed to pay the debt on December 20 and the penalty fee has grown to about $66.3 million as of Friday. The Kremlin refused to take part in the $15 billion debt restructuring Ukraine reached with its foreign creditors in 2015. Russia wanted Ukraine to recognize the debt... 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk declared a moratorium on the payment of three-billion-dollar debt to Russia. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine supported his decision. In addition, the official Kiev is not going to pay the debt of $507 million to Russian banks (the debt was amassed by two Ukrainian companies that collaborated with Russian banks). “From today, all payments shall be... 

The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that it didn’t receive the €1.6 billion payment from Athens that was due by the end of June 30, Brussels time, making Greece the first developed country to default on its international obligations. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement that Greece had asked for a repayment extension earlier Tuesday and that the fund’s board will consider... 

Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof says his country is not in default amid an ongoing debt row with US hedge funds. Ratings agency Fitch declared Argentina in “restrictive default” on Thursday after Buenos Aires failed to clinch a deal with representatives from the funds. Kicillof, however, said his country has not defaulted and that the Argentinean government is open to agreements between... 

Argentina’s credit rating was downgraded to “selective default” by Standard & Poor’s as the South American country missed Wednesday’s deadline for a grace period during ongoing negotiations with holdout debt holders. Wednesday is the cutoff for Argentina to make good on a $539 million payment to bondholders, which was placed on hold by US judge Thomas P. Griesa’s order tying that payment... 

The Fitch ratings agency has downgraded Argentina five notches, saying the country could default on its obligations to US creditors. That’s after a US judge ordered Argentina to set aside $ 1.3bn for debt repayment by December 15. The rating agency cut its long-term rating for Argentina to “CC” from “B,” with the short-term rating being cut to the level one step above default – to “C”... 

Ireland is voting in a referendum on an EU austerity pact. If Dublin does not accept tough budget deficit obligations, it would be a kiss goodbye to EU rescue money, which could be followed by default and a eurozone exit. The mooted European Fiscal Pact was initiated by Germany and France. If approved, it would oblige Dublin to strictly control its budget deficit, which reached 13.1 per cent last... 

European stock markets fall as Greece seeks to convince EU and IMF officials it can avoid a default, 2011-09-19. European stock markets have plunged once again amid fresh fears of Greece defaulting and more signs of economic weakness in the region. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index fell by 3.20 percent, while in Paris the CAC 40 dived 2.73 percents on Monday, AFP reported. The London FTSE 100 index plunged...