More Than 1,700 Companies Requested Bankruptcy Protection in 2024

There were 1,723 Turkish companies that requested bankruptcy protection in 2024 as a result of outstanding debt stocks, surpassing the previous highest level recorded in 2019, Türkiye Today reported. Amid ongoing challenges such as tight monetary policies within the disinflation program, rising labor costs, and fluctuations in exchange rates, Turkish companies grappled with declining profits and unsustainable debt levels.
Turkey
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PBOC Maintains Support for Yuan With Fix Stronger Than Key Level

China reaffirmed its support for the yuan after allowing the currency to slip below a key support level in the last session, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate stronger than the closely watched line of 7.2 per dollar. That helped ease concern that Beijing will allow a sharper depreciation, after the onshore yuan slid past 7.3 per dollar due to mounting economic pressures and a widening yield gap with the U.S.
China
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Japan's Service Activity Expands on Solid Demand, PMI Shows

Japan's service activity expanded for a second straight month in December, buoyed by solid demand and business expansion, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Service purchasing managers' index (PMI) grew to 50.9 in December from 50.5 in November, according to the survey compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It was lower than a flash reading of 51.4 but stayed above the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction for a second straight month.
Japan
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China Services Activity Gauge Signals Pickup in Growth

A private gauge of China’s service activity expanded at a faster clip at the end of 2024 as Beijing moved to boost domestic demand, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Caixin services purchasing managers index rose to 52.2 in December from 51.5 in November, Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global said Monday. The index has remained above the 50 mark separating contraction from expansion for two years, Caixin said. Both business activity and total new orders increased last month.
China
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Jeju Air’s Problems Mount After Crash That Killed 179 People

When Jeju Air’s status as South Korea’s biggest low-cost carrier seemed under threat from the merger of the country’s two biggest airlines last year, the company’s chief executive assured employees that it would “actively respond,” possibly by acquiring smaller rivals. Now, a week after a crash that killed 179 people on Dec. 29, Jeju Air’s future is clouded by even deeper questions, the New York Times reported.
South Korea
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Akihabara Curry Restaurant Declaring Bankruptcy After 50 Years in Tokyo’s Otaku Neighborhood

For all its focus on the newest anime and latest electronics, Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood also has a lot of local history. Sadly, a tasty piece of that history is disappearing, with the news that an Akihabara curry restaurant that’s been in business for 50 years will be filing for bankruptcy, Japan Today reported. Bengal was officially founded in 1973 and started serving customers at its Akihabara curry restaurant in 1974, while also operating as a spice wholesaler.
Japan
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China Will Sharply Increase Funding from Treasury Bonds to Spur Growth in 2025

China will sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds in 2025 to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official said on Friday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalise the faltering economy, Reuters reported. Special treasury bonds will be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da, deputy secretary-general of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at a press conference.
China
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