President Trump recently delayed for 90 days raising tariffs on China to give the two sides more time to negotiate a trade deal. Where the sides ultimately end up is an open question: The president hasn’t said how much more he will impose on China beyond the 30% currently in place if a deal isn’t reached, the Wall Street Journal reported. But this much is clear: The U.S.’s reliance on Chinese goods has fallen off since Trump first put tariffs on China in 2018. China now accounts for only about 12% of all U.S.

Pressure is mounting within the Bank of Japan to ditch a vaguely defined gauge of inflation as worries about second-round price effects prompt some board members to call for a more hawkish communication of policy and a clearer path to future rate hikes, Reuters reported. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has justified going slow on rate hikes by explaining that "underlying inflation," which focuses on the strength of domestic demand and wages, remains short of the central bank's 2% target.

Japan's annual wholesale inflation slowed for the fourth straight month in July, data showed on Wednesday, underscoring the central bank's view that upward price pressure from raw material costs will dissipate, Reuters reproted. But the wholesale prices of food and agriculture goods continued to rise in a sign of broadening price pressure that will likely keep alive market expectations of an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

China’s new yuan loans dropped unexpectedly in July, sending yet another sign of weak demand in the economy despite Beijing’s efforts to bolster domestic demand, the Wall Street Journal reported. A measure of new yuan loans shrank by 50 billion yuan last month, according to official data released Wednesday by the People’s Bank of China, suggesting that borrowers rushed to repay funds. It marked the first such decline in about 20 years.

Thailand’s central bank resumed cutting rates to help an economy beset by domestic instability and tariff headwinds, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to cut its policy rate to 1.50% from 1.75%. The committee said monetary policy should be accommodative going forward to boost the economy. “At the same time, it is important to ensure macro-financial stability, while taking into account the limited policy space,” the BOT said.

The severely indebted real estate developer China Evergrande, already in the process of liquidation, said on Tuesday it will be delisted from Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Aug. 25, another setback to mainland China’s property sector, the Associated Press reported. Evergrande was the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, with over $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders, when the court handed down a liquidation order in January 2024.

The Indian government on Tuesday introduced the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha, with reforms that are intended to speed up the insolvency process. The reforms are related with group insolvency, credit-led resolution, and cross-border framework. The legislation proposes amendments in Section 7 of the current law, that deals with mandatory admission of insolvency if default confirmed and conditions met. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while introducing the bill, said it aims to reduce delays, boost value, and improve governance.

BluSmart, the electric cab firm, is grappling with a complex insolvency case that began on July 29, 2025, when the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted a petition from a creditor, ElectronicsForYou.biz reported. The case has uncovered major challenges in valuing the company’s assets, particularly its fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) and proprietary technology, which are locked within subsidiaries not automatically included in the insolvency process.