A rally in bonds from China’s local government finance vehicles, sparked by the recent easing measures, may be at risk of losing momentum after a surprise bond default by a state-owned firm on Monday, Bloomberg News reported. Xinjiang Production Construction 6th Shi State-owned Assets Management, a cotton trader owned by the local government, missed interest and principal on a 500 million yuan ($72.6 million) note on Monday. The company has features similar to an LGFV, which raises funds for local authorities and carries out infrastructure investments, according to analysts.

As China girds for an escalating trade fight with the U.S., it is facing increasing trouble on the home front from a slowing economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. Spending on so-called fixed assets such as factory machinery and public works projects cooled to the lowest point in nearly two decades, the government reported Tuesday. Other data also pointed to economic challenges. Retail sales grew, but not as sharply as analysts had expected. And unemployment ticked up to 5.1% last month, from 4.8% in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

An investment arm of western China’s Xinjiang region has failed to repay a Rmb500m ($73m) bond, marking the first public default by a Chinese government-linked holding company, the Financial Times reported. The default by the Sixth Agriculture State-Owned Assets Management Co is the first by an investment holding company and a signal to investors that even state-owned groups that are agents of fiscal policy — considered closer to Beijing than commercially operated state-owned enterprises— are not guaranteed to be bailed out by the state. Sixth Agricultural is a holding compa

Struggling commodity trader Noble Group, which is trying to push through a debt-for-equity restructuring in a bid to secure its survival, slumped to another quarterly loss in the second quarter of this year as the Asia-focused commodity house paid out bumper fees to its advisers, banks and creditors, the Financial Times reported.

The worst of the plunge in China’s yuan should be behind us. That’s the view of Charles Feng, head of macro trading for Greater China at Standard Chartered Plc., even as drama in Turkey rattles markets worldwide, Bloomberg News reported. Factors pressuring the yuan -- such as trade tension and easing China monetary policy -- are almost priced in, while there’s limited room for the dollar to rise further, he said. Investors could also start seeing a bottom for mainland stocks, which are down more than 20 percent from this year’s peak.

Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as Philippine president more than two years ago on a promise to be different from his predecessors. Like them, however, he is proving vulnerable on inflation and that will prove a challenge for his legislative agenda, the Financial Times reported. FTCR’s Economic Sentiment Index for the Philippines dropped to 48.9 in the second quarter, marking the first time consumers have turned pessimistic since the fourth quarter of 2015, and since Mr Duterte took office in June 2016.

Investors are fretting about emerging markets again. Turkey is the front-burner concern at the moment, but what really is getting people’s attention is the prospect that the financial problems there could spread to other fast-growing but risky countries, the International New York Times reported. If history is any indication, that has the potential to quickly turn a local crisis into a global one. Or maybe not. Over the last week the value of the Turkish lira collapsed by more than 20 percent, shocking financial markets.

In a related story, The Irish Times reported that Turkey’s economic crisis poses a threat to European banks with business in the country. Spain’s BBVA, Italy’s UniCredit, France’s BNP Paribas, Dutch bank ING and Britain’s HSBC are the most exposed to Turkey and vulnerable to its free-falling currency. Analysts see as manageable even a worst case scenario which they deem unlikely at present – under which these banks would be forced to write off completely their local operations or exit the country.

JB Hi-Fi expects to see another year of declining revenues on this side of the Tasman as the ASX-listed discount consumer electronics retailer attempts to drive profitability in its New Zealand unit, The New Zealand Herald reported. The local division of the Melbourne-based company widened its loss before interest and tax to $2.9 million in the 12 months ended June 30 from an ebit-loss $2.7 million a year earlier. Not only did margins shrink, but revenue dipped 1.1 per cent to $231.5 million with the closure of one store and exit from whiteware goods.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is showing no signs of backing down in a standoff with the U.S. that rattled markets. As investors worry about Turkey sliding toward a full-blown financial crisis, the big question now is how far the pain may spread, Bloomberg News reported. “I call out to those in the United States. It is a shame. You are trading a strategic NATO ally for a pastor,” Erdogan said Saturday during a rally in the Black Sea port of Ordu, referring to the U.S. decision to sanction Turkey for its imprisonment of an American priest.