Libby Cherry

HelloFresh SE shares and bonds sank to record lows after the German meal-kit company struggled to attract enough busy parents to meet its full-year targets.

One in six companies in western Europe is under financial strain as rising leverage leaves businesses more vulnerable to shocks, according to Boston Consulting Group.

Business leaders rate Germany’s competitiveness at the lowest level since an Alvarez & Marsal survey began in 2024, as companies grapple with mounting pressure from global rivals.

UBS Group AG shareholder Artisan Partners urged the Swiss bank to leave the country, saying the lender faces a “grim reality” with stricter capital rules.

Commerzbank AG’s main office tower in Frankfurt is experiencing difficulties in attracting fresh money, raising uncertainty over the future of an iconic but ageing building that’s been a defining feature of Germany’s financial capital and the lender’s corporate identity for three decades.

Virgin Media O2’s bonds are slumping again on Friday, extending weeks of declines that have sent its notes to deeply distressed levels.

Creditors of the struggling Mall of Berlin are looking to sell about €550 million ($615 million) of debt they had extended to the sprawling shopping complex in the heart of the German capital, while its owners are also trying to get a refinancing over the line.

Creditors to Unsere Grüne Glasfaser have picked Lazard Inc to advise them in talks over the troubled fiber operator’s debt load.

Bonds of Ineos Quattro slumped after the unit of Jim Ratcliffe’s chemicals empire reported that pricing gains from Iran war-related import disruptions are fading.

Market watchers wonder: are these unusual instruments more attractive than meets the eye?