The fate of debt-ridden Hanjin Shipping Co. remains yet uncertain with its parent group having missed the August 20 deadline to submit additional financial support measures to creditors to salvage its shipping unit from heading to court receivership, Pulse reported. All eyes are now on whether the South Korean shipping company would successfully strike a deal with foreign ship owners to reduce chartering fees, a move that is expected to allow its creditors to be more lenient in providing additional financial support.

It was billed as a powerful tool in the clean-up of bank balance sheets laden with bad loans, but has proved to be a bit of a dud. The strategic debt restructuring (SDR) initiative, which allowed creditors to convert debt into equity and take over the management of defaulting companies, could well end up in failure judging by the experience so far, said officials at three large banks, Deal Street Asia reported. In the 14 months since it has been introduced, banks have invoked the provisions of SDR in at least 21 cases. Of these, they have closed out only two.

When Woolworths reports its full-year results on Thursday, expect to see a loss of about $1 billion, analysts say, after restructuring costs and its exit from the disastrous Masters hardware business, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Credit Suisse analysts say that with a restructuring charge of $960 million and its exit from the Masters Home Improvement business being treated as a "discontinued operation", total impairments could hit $2.7 billion. That could leave Woolies with a statutory loss of around $1 billion.

If a country’s fiscal deficit hit 10% of GDP five years running, you might reasonably conclude that its public finances were parlous, The Economist reported. So it is understandable that China has bristled at suggestions that it is veering into such territory. Officially, China is a paragon of fiscal rectitude: its annual deficits have averaged just 1.8% in the past half-decade. But the IMF, Goldman Sachs and others have come up with “augmented” estimates of nearer to a tenth of GDP, more than five times the official number.

The Bank of Japan will likely take bold action next month, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, rejecting speculation that the central bank may use a coming policy review to justify a paring back of its stimulus, The Wall Street Journal reported. “However they conduct the assessment, there is already an answer: Monetary policy hasn’t been eased enough,” Etsuro Honda said of the review set for release at the central bank’s next policy meeting in September. Without further action, people would give up on the Abenomics drive to defeat deflation, he added.

China home prices rose 0.8 percent in July nationwide, but stalled or fell in more cities than in June, adding to concerns that one of the economy's key growth drivers is losing steam but offering some relief for policymakers worried about property bubbles, Reuters reported. A robust recovery in home prices and sales gave a stronger-than-expected boost to the world's second-largest economy in the first half of the year, helping to offset stubbornly weak exports.

Debt in the world's top 30 steel companies totals a record $150 billion (£115.05 billion), international accountancy firm EY said on Thursday, adding governments' action to support the sector would work only if matched with more radical industry restructuring. Overcapacity and weak steel prices have piled pressure on firms such as Tata Steel, which is in merger talks with German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp.

Banks can confiscate security in case of loan default as President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to a law aimed at faster recovery and resolution of bad debts, The Indian Express reported. The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act, 2016, has received nod from the President and it has been notified, officials said today.

Three weeks into the sudden collapse of Swiber Holdings - the first major casualty of a protracted slump in oil prices - concerns are emerging over possible spillover into the local economy as one-fifth of manufacturing employment is linked to the beleaguered offshore and marine (O&M) industry, The Straits Times reported. Economists warn that insolvencies of offshore service companies can potentially affect the country's gross domestic product (GDP) as the sector accounts for up to 11 per cent of manufacturing's contribution to GDP, and 20 per cent of manufacturing employment.

BHP Billiton reported a record $6.4 billion annual loss on Tuesday, hammered by a bad bet on shale, a dam disaster in Brazil and a commodities slump, but said it expects its free cash flow to more than double this year. “While commodity prices are expected to remain low and volatile in the short to medium term, we are confident in the long-term outlook for our commodities, particularly oil and copper,” chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said in a statement.