Business News Roundup, Jan. 11

American Apparel’s brand and some other assets were acquired in bankruptcy proceedings by Canadian T-shirt and underwear maker Gildan Activewear for about $88 million in cash.

Gildan will separately purchase inventory from American Apparel to ensure that customers receive a steady supply, the Montreal company said Tuesday. It won’t acquire any stores.

American Apparel filed for a second bankruptcy in October after struggling to recover from a tumultuous period that included slumping sales, financial losses and the ouster of founder and CEO Dov Charney in the wake of allegations of misconduct.

The company behind messaging app Snapchat will place its European base in Britain in a vote of confidence in the economy after the vote to leave the European Union.

Snap’s decision runs counter to that of tech giants like Apple and Google, who have chosen lower tax bases like Ireland. It also comes amid public frustration over alleged tax avoidance schemes of multinational corporations.

Snap, which has 75 staff members in Britain, will pay that nation’s corporation tax on its international profits.

The Los Angeles company has 150 million users a day worldwide and is planning an initial public offering with a reported valuation nearing $25 billion.

The World Bank is forecasting that the global economy will accelerate slightly in 2017 after turning in the worst performance last year since the 2008 financial crisis.

The 189-nation lending agency said Tuesday that global growth should see a 2.7 percent annual rate this year.

That is down from the bank’s June forecast for 2.8 percent growth this year, but it’s better than last year’s 2.3 percent growth.

The global economy faced a number of headwinds last year, from economic troubles in China to bouts of financial market turmoil.

The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report projects 2.2 percent growth in the United States, up from an estimated 1.6 percent in 2016.

In the years since the 2008 financial crisis, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have both repeatedly proved too optimistic in their forecasts.

Volkswagen has reached a deal with the federal government to pay $4.3 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into its cheating on emissions tests, the company said Tuesday.

As part of the settlement, the company will plead guilty to criminal charges.

The company’s management board must still approve the payment, which includes both criminal and civil fines. The civil part of the fines include environmental and customs-related penalties.

Chronicle News Services