Services companies in the U.S. and Asia gained ground in January, while a continued contraction in the eurozone threatened a double-dip recession, surveys of purchasing managers showed, the Wall Street Journal reported. The eurozone economy shrank in the final three months of last year amid high Covid-19 infection rates and related restrictions posed the risk of a double-dip recession. Surveys compiled by data firm IHS Markit released Wednesday showed the eurozone’s service sector fell to 45.0 from 46.4 in December.
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Resources Per Country
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- China
- Cook Islands
- Cyprus
- Fiji
- Georgia
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Micronesia
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- New Zealand
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
Better operating numbers and lower write-downs saw Singapore Airlines report a lower loss in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, the Straits Times reported. The carrier racked up a net loss of $142 million for the three months to Dec. 31 compared with a net profit of $315 in the same period in 2019. However, the latest figures were a significant improvement on the massive $2.34 billion loss in the July-September period. Those second-quarter results were also marked by huge impairment write-downs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
If India’s Future Group cannot sell assets, $4 billion in bank loans and debentures will be at risk, pushing its retail unit into insolvency, the company said in a court filing on Wednesday against Amazon.com Inc., which wants to block the sale, Reuters reported. A court in New Delhi blocked Future Group’s sale of retail assets to Reliance Industries on Tuesday after Amazon raised objections to the deal. The corporate battle has embroiled sprawling businesses led by two of the world’s richest men: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani.
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China will improve policies to help medium-to small and micro companies deal with bankruptcy more smoothly, state broadcaster reported on Wednesday, citing the state council meeting, Reuters reported. China will also crack down on such firms dodging repayment obligations for defaulted bonds in order to protect the interests of workers, creditors and investors, the cabinet said.
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Ant Group Co. has agreed a restructuring plan with Chinese regulators under which the fintech giant will become a financial holding company, potentially easing founder Jack Ma’s regulatory woes, Reuters reported. The plan calls for putting all of Ant’s businesses into the holding company, including its payment processing and technology offerings in areas like blockchain and food delivery, the person said, declining to be named due to confidentiality constraints.
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Australia’s central bank will extend its quantitative easing program by a further A$100 billion ($76.2 billion) and doesn’t expect to increase interest rates until 2024, following in the footsteps of global peers in moving to stamp out premature tapering speculation, Bloomberg News reported. Governor Philip Lowe left the key rate and three-year yield target at 0.10%, the Reserve Bank said in a statement Tuesday. In addition to the QE program now extended beyond mid-April, the RBA also operates a bank lending facility.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday proposed a nearly half-a-trillion-dollar budget for the 12 months beginning on April 1 that shows New Delhi is taking a largely conservative tack, the New York Times reported. Infrastructure and health care spending are set to rise significantly, but Mr. Modi’s budget also calls for reducing debt. Over all, spending would rise less than 1 percent at a time when India is suffering from its worst recession in years while battling the coronavirus.
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Siam Commercial Bank, one of the largest banks in Thailand and whose largest individual shareholder is King Maha Vajiralongkorn, said Monday it has secured a 26.49% stake in upscale grocer Dean & DeLuca by converting debt held in the U.S.-based company, Nikkei Asia reported. The stake acquisition results from a debt-to-equity option exercised for a $45.83 million loan extended to Dean & DeLuca. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court last March.
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An Indian court has temporarily restrained Future Group from selling its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd., an interim win for Amazon.com Inc. which is opposing the deal with an eye to dominate a large and vital consumer market, Bloomberg News reported. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered the Future Group and Indian authorities to ensure the status of the indebted Indian retailer’s assets are maintained as is, putting on hold any further steps toward completing the $3.4 billion sale to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance conglomerate.