US Airline Industry: Exclusive: U.S. airlines burn through $10 billion a month as traffic plummets

U.S. airlines are collectively burning more than $10 billion in cash a month and averaging fewer than two dozen passengers per domestic flight because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry trade group Airlines for America said in prepared testimony seen by Reuters ahead of a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.

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https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-airlines-congress/exclusive-u-s-airlines-burn-through-10-billion-a-month-as-traffic-plummets-idUKKBN22H2ZM

BRITAIN: THOMAS COOK BANKRUPTCY - Thomas Cook crash is dry run for Brexit failures

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https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thomas-cook-grp-investment-breakingvi/breakingviews-thomas-cook-crash-is-dry-run-for-brexit-failures-idUKKBN1W80Y2

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Saudis Brace for Bankruptcy, Bring Dramatic Measures to Public Sector

A two-year drop in oil prices has inflicted a dramatic blow to the economy of one of the world’s richest countries. If no changes are made, Saudi Arabia, according to some Saudi experts, will go bankrupt in three to four years.

Since 90 percent of the kingdom's income is derived from oil exports, the price drop, from over $110 per barrel in mid 2014 to a low of just over $30 recently, is a disaster, as national monetary reserves are depleted at a  breathtaking rate.

In 2015, Saudi foreign reserves were estimated at $654.5 billion, after the Saudi monetary agency lost almost $73 billion following the oil price drop, according to a 2015 Al Jazeera report. The monetary agency also withdrew some $70 billion managed by overseas financial institutions, and the state budget deficit that year was estimated at $98 billion.

This year's budget deficit is expected to be only slightly smaller. Riyadh, in an unprecedented move, offered its first international bond sale last week, worth $17.5 billion, to bring in additional much-needed cash.

Read more{ Saudis Brace for Bankruptcy, Bring Dramatic Measures to Public Sect

Netherlands Exonomy: Dutch retail chain V&D declared bankrupt

Vroom & Dreesman, the largest Dutch department store chain, has been declared bankrupt, it said in a statement published on its website on Thursday.

V&D, with 10,000 workers at 67 stores, has suffered in recent years as the Dutch economy stagnated and on-line stores won away customers. After weak sales in the Dutch holiday season, which falls in early December, it filed for protection from creditors on Dec. 22.

A statement on the company's website said it hopes to remain in business after a restructuring, and that it has been contacted by "dozens" of potential investors.

"Together with the curators and our employees, we're working hard on the best restructuring possible," it said.

The stores ran into liquidity problems in recent months and owner Sun Capital stopped providing emergency funding, V&D's Chief Executive John van der Ent said last week.

U.S. private equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc bought the retailer in 2010.

Read more: Dutch retail chain V&D declared bankrupt | Reuters