Yahoo Finance What to watch: Wow Air collapses, Debenhams rescue, and watchdog probes funerals
Here are the top business, market and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad:
Wow Air collapses
Icelandic budget airline Wow Air confirmed on Thursday that it has collapsed after failing to secure emergency funding.
“WOW AIR has ceased operation. All WOW AIR flights have been cancelled,” the company said in a statement on its website.
The airline told customers left stranded by the airline’s collapse to check the availability of flights with other carriers.
Wow grounded all of its flights on Thursday as the heavily indebted operators sought emergency funding to stave off collapse. However, the talks failed and the airline shut on Thursday.
READ MORE: Budget airline Wow air collapses with all flights cancelled and passengers stranded
Debenhams rescue plan gets greenlight
Debenhams has received approval from its bondholders to press ahead with a £200m refinancing.
The department store chain said on Thursday that a majority have agreed to amendments to bonds due in 2021. It will allow Debenhams to embark on a wider restructuring in an effort to secure the future of the business.
Shares in Debenhams were down over 20% to 2.1p in early trade. Debenhams previously warned that at least one of the rescue plans it was considering would wipeout shareholders. It didn’t give any update on whether this would happen.
It comes as Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct battles to take control of Debenhams. Sports Direct, which owns 30% of the struggling department store, said on Wednesday it was considering a takeover bid that would value Debenhams at £61.4m.
Watchdog probes funeral market
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an in-depth market investigation into the funerals sector.
The watchdog said that it is “concerned about the effectiveness of competition” in the sector. The investigation will focus on the supply of services by funeral directors and the supply of crematoria services.
The CMA flagged the rise in cost of organising a funeral, which has increased by 6% every year – twice the inflation rate – for the last 14 years.
Some funeral directors, it said, were taking advantage of the “vulnerability of many people” when organising a funeral by charging higher prices.
Firms are also reluctant to publish clear prices, including online, or to provide comprehensive information on quality and range, making it difficult for people to compare funeral directors.
UK car production falls 15%
UK car production fell by 15% in February compared to a year earlier, according to a new report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It marks the ninth consecutive month of production decline and the worst February for the industry since 2011. Car production in the past 12-month period has fallen to the lowest level since 2013, after peaking about two years ago.
The industry is “challenged by international trade hostilities, declining markets, and technological disruption,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said.
The report should provide “a wake-up call for anyone who thinks this industry … could survive a ‘no-deal’ Brexit without serious damage,” Hawes said.
European and Asian markets
European stock markets were higher, despite US 10-year Treasury yields tumbling to a 15-month low overnight. Britain’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was up by 0.7%, Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was up by 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) was up by 0.3%, and the Euronext 100 (^N100) was up by 0.3%.
Asian markets were spooked by the US Treasury yield collapse. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) closed down by 1.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (^HSI) was up by 0.1%, and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was down by 0.9%.
What to expect in the US
US stock futures were pointing to a quiet open. S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F), and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all flat.
